Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders: 5 takeaways from Week 13

6 of 6

OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 02: Lee Smith #86 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates with Doug Martin #28 after scoring on a one-yard catch against the Kansas City Chiefs during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 2, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

They could have won

The Oakland Raiders have had an issue closing out games this season, as they have been close, or in the lead at half time for most of the season. On Sunday, they allowed a big touchdown to Kansas City right before the half, and you have to believe Raider Nation was thinking, “here we go again.”

However, this team bared down, and staring at a 26-10 deficit in the third quarter, they kept fighting back, pulling within three in the fourth. In fact, they had a chance to get the ball back with under a minute left, but could not pull in the onside kick from Daniel Carlson, who has been excellent since taking over as the team’s kicker.

Next. Raiders: Good, Bad, and Ugly from Week 13. dark

Maybe Sunday was the kind of game that can give this young roster a boost in confidence, as they bent, but did not break against the Chiefs. In fact, they made star Patrick Mahomes look lost at times in the 40-33 loss, and just maybe, this Raiders team can play well enough over the last four games to head into next offseason with more answers than questions.

Home/Las Vegas Raiders News