Oakland Raiders dominated inside Arrowhead Stadium in Week 13
By Brad Weiss
The Oakland Raiders went into their matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs with a chance to overtake them in the AFC West, but came out flat for the second Sunday in a row.
With a chance at grabbing the lead in the AFC West, the Oakland Raiders traveled to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs, hoping to erase memories of their loss at the hands of the New York Jets the week before. Unfortunately for the Raiders, the outcome was more of the same, as the Chiefs took control of the game early on, and pummeled Oakland 40-9.
Oakland got the ball to start the game, and rookie running back Josh Jacobs looked good early on, but a Derek Carr interception ended the drive. That would not be the first interception Carr would throw in the first half, but at least the first one was not returned to the house for a touchdown.
Once Kansas City got the ball back, they went right to work, as Patrick Mahomes found Darrel Williams out of the backfield to put the team up 7-0. Raiders kick returner proceeded to fumble the ensuing kickoff, and though they had the ball deep in Oakland territory, the Chiefs were not able to capitalize.
Jacobs would grab some history the following drive, becoming the first Raiders running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since Latavius Murray did it back in 2015. In fact, he became the first Raiders rookie running back to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark, as he continued his stellar first season in the NFL.
After the Raiders were stuffed on fourth down, the wheels started to come off the wagon, as the Chiefs drove down the field and scored a touchdown on a Mahomes run. Oakland got the ball back and Carr’s second interception proved to be more costly than the first, as it was returned by Juan Thornhill for a touchdown to put the Chiefs up 21-0.
A Daniel Carlson missed field goal late in the second quarter would send the two teams to the locker room with the Chiefs holding a three-touchdown lead.
In the second half, the Raiders tried to claw their way back, but the Chiefs were just flat out better on this day. For the Raiders, they cannot seem to get over the hump inside Arrowhead Stadium, where Carr has yet to figure out how to get a win against the Chiefs on the road.