Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders: 3 things we learned in Week 11

Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders: 3 things we learned in Week 11

The Raiders defense still can’t be counted on

When Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs got the ball back with less than two minutes to go in the game down 3, Raider Nation knew the game was far from over. This Chiefs offense is a machine that can often look unstoppable and though the Raiders came close, they could not make a play when it counted the most.

The defense was missing three starters in Cory Littleton, Clelin Ferrell, and LaMarcus Joyner which could explain some of the struggles, but it does not explain the mental mistakes they made throughout the game. Blown coverages have become one of the hallmarks of the Paul Guenther defense and that reared its ugly head on the deciding play of the game.

There is no shame in giving up points too perhaps the best quarterback in offense in the NFL, but it should not have been that easy for the Chiefs. On the game deciding play, everything the Raiders did went wrong, and it somehow led to Kansas City’s best offensive player being left wide open for the game winner.

Starting with the decision to slant the defensive line and let Mahomes run free to his right, and ending with safety Jonathan Abraham leaving his own, the play was a series of disasters for the Raiders. Some of that could be chalked up to youth and inexperience, but the coaching staff has to adjust their schemes to their personnel and of course to the opponent.

The rest of the Raiders schedule features some dangerous offenses in Atlanta, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles and we learned, even though we basically already knew, the Raiders will have to outgun them because the defense can’t be counted on. Thankfully the Raiders have an offense that can do just that.