Big plays cost the Oakland Raiders defense against the Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, MO - DECEMBER 30: Tyreek Hill #10 of the Kansas City Chiefs catches a pass in front of Nick Nelson #23 of the Oakland Raiders that would lead to the games first touchdown during the first quarter of the game at Arrowhead Stadium on December 30, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - DECEMBER 30: Tyreek Hill #10 of the Kansas City Chiefs catches a pass in front of Nick Nelson #23 of the Oakland Raiders that would lead to the games first touchdown during the first quarter of the game at Arrowhead Stadium on December 30, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /
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KANSAS CITY, MO – DECEMBER 30: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs is tackled after making a catch during the first half of the game against the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium on December 30, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO – DECEMBER 30: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs is tackled after making a catch during the first half of the game against the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium on December 30, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /

Linebackers

There have been so many games where you watch and forget that there are even linebackers on the field for Oakland and this game was no different. They make a minimal impact most of the time and even when they put themselves in a good position to change the game they are unable to do so.

On the first drive of the game, Tahir Whitehead had a chance to make an early impact when an errant pass from Mahomes came right to him, but he dropped the interception. Then later in the beginning of the second quarter, there was an under-thrown pass intended for Travis Kelce that Whitehead could have picked off as well but dropped too. I give credit to him for being in position but the inability to make plays have plagued these linebackers and really hurt this defense.

Nicholas Morrow and Marquel Lee were pretty invisible for most of the game, so there really isn’t a ton to say about them. This another situation where everything is on the table this offseason and every position could see an upgrade.

Grade: D