The Oakland Raiders were thoroughly outmatched by the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. Here are three things we learned from the 40-9 blowout.
The Kansas City Chiefs and Arrowhead Stadium is a hurdle that these Oakland Raiders have yet to overcome in recent memory and Sunday’s 40-9 loss was just another example. Derek Carr has taken plenty of the blame in the aftermath, but from the coaching staff to the players, the Raiders as a whole were thoroughly outplayed.
At 6-6 the Raiders are still in the playoff hunt, and with all due respect, their current record is a testament as to how much the team has weathered the obstacles that have come their way. And yet, the Chiefs are and will be the standard to measure against for the foreseeable future, and Sunday was once again proof that the Raiders still have a ways to go.
On top of the offensive struggles, the penalties suffered on Sunday (all on Oakland, none registered by Kansas City) showed a lack of discipline, and that falls on Jon Gruden and the coaching staff. Ultimately, Sunday was another example of lack of execution by the Raiders, just like their performance the week prior in New York.
If Oakland wants to fix their errors, they must begin acknowledging what we learned from Sunday’s loss.