5 takeaways from Raiders’ loss to Chiefs in Week 14

The Oakland Raiders fall to 6-7 on the year after their most recent loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Here are five takeaways from the Raiders’ Week 14 loss.

Even though the Oakland Raiders looked like they were playing well of late, winners of four of six entering Week 14’s road game with the arch rival Kansas City Chiefs, well, that turned out to be fool’s gold and we bought that pyrite by the quarry.

Turns out the Raiders’ last three wins were mostly because they faced three of the five worst teams in football. When going up against a team with a similar record, the Raiders got boat raced by the Chiefs for three quarters. Oakland was shut out 26-0 before putting up 15 points in the fourth quarter in a too late comeback. The Raiders fell 26-15 to the Chiefs, stumbling to 6-7 on the year.

There is no other way to put this, but this loss severely jeopardizes the Raiders’ chances of making the AFC playoffs for the second consecutive season. Though the Raiders and Chiefs split their season series with the home teams winning both, the Raiders just look like the third best team in the worst division in football.

Now that we’ve had an afternoon and a night to digest what all went road in Arrowhead, let’s see what we can extract from this game. Here are the five biggest takeaways from the Raiders’ most recent defeat at the hands of the Chiefs.

Yes, the Raiders are still alive in the AFC playoffs, but come on!

At 6-7 with three games left, technically the Raiders are still alive in the AFC West race and the AFC wild card hunt. The Raiders are only a game back of the Chiefs in the AFC West and a game back of the Baltimore Ravens (7-6) for the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoff picture.

That being said, it feels like being back by more than a game. Oakland split the season series with Kansas City. Having the tiebreaker over the Chiefs would have been huge. The Raiders are a game back of the Los Angeles Chargers (7-6), but do not have the head-to-head tiebreaker. Those two rivals can only split the season series at season’s end in Week 17 at the StubHub Center in Carson.

So the division may not be the Raiders after all. The Raiders will have to win out and hope the Chiefs and Chargers collapse down the stretch. So what about the AFC wild card picture? At this point, 13 teams in the AFC are still alive for playoff spots, even the Houston Texans (4-9).

However, the Raiders do not have the tiebreaker with three of the teams they will be competing for that final spot. Those teams are the Chargers, the Ravens and the Buffalo Bills (7-6). Oakland does have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Tennessee Titans (8-5) but that might be all for not at this point. The Raiders only play teams above .500 the rest of the way. Good luck with that.