Moral victories do not exist in the NFL, although the Las Vegas Raiders' Week 4 defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs was just about the closest thing to one. But they don't hang banners for 3-1 starts or for competing with your big rivals. These kinds of things still matter to a franchise, though.
And the Silver and Black proved on Sunday that they are not, in fact, the "same old Raiders."
Klint Kubiak's team is not just ahead of schedule in this rebuild; they are flat-out good. A four-game sample size is enough to make such a declaration, especially when the résumé includes two good road wins, a dominant home victory against an inferior opponent and a close loss to Kansas City.
If these were the same old Raiders, then the tale of this past weekend's game would be a lot different. Fans wouldn't be sitting there on Monday morning, still crushed by the loss but easily rationalizing the fact that this team is built of the right stuff. But that's what fans are doing, and they are right to do so.
Klint Kubiak's team proved they are not the "same old Raiders" in loss to Chiefs
Let's start with Kubiak having the gall to say at halftime that Las Vegas was going to win the game. Some may call that reckless or arrogant or painting an unnecessary target on his and the team's backs, but Kubiak truly, truly believed that in the moment. And it manifested throughout the game.
Kubiak went for it on fourth-and-2 after seeing the ball go through the uprights. He stayed aggressive throughout the contest with the understanding that trying to stick around with the Chiefs wasn't the goal; beating them was. These Raiders are capable of more than just competing in these games.
They can win them.
And while some self-inflicted wounds were the difference on Sunday, and that sounds like a case of the team being the same old Raiders, it wasn't. In fact, it was the opposite. Sure, a big swing occurred when Dareke Young fumbled the kick return and Kenneth Walker III ran in for a score on the next play.
In a matter of one minute, the score went from 19-17 in Las Vegas' favor to 30-19 with Kansas City out in front. But what did Kubiak's team do? Cower or accept defeat? Definitely not. They flew down the field for a touchdown, got a quick stop, and actually got the ball back and moved it again.
They came up short in the end, but the Raiders didn't roll over or let things spiral out of control. A team of the past would have crumbled after that dramatic swing or even let the fake punt in the first half break them. But with every punch the Chiefs threw in Week 4, Las Vegas got right back up.
Not only that, but Kubiak's Raiders went on the attack. They tried to win the game; they didn't try to just not lose it. They attempted to control their destiny; they didn't wait for Kansas City to screw up. And that is something that has been missing in this building: confidence and aggression.
"We love that from him, and that just shows the confidence he has in us as players and as a team," Ashton Jeatny said after the game. "So, we just got to continue to get better and make those plays."
"I think the whole team believes in us, defense coaches, organization, everybody," Michael Mayer also said. "There was no doubt in our mind that we wanted to do that. At the end of the day, the final result is what it is."
If that feeling hasn't quite caught on throughout a young locker room in Las Vegas that isn't used to winning, that's okay. It will eventually. And it'll be because Kubiak instilled that sense of belief in them, not just by saying these things, but by walking the walk when it matters most.
The Raiders have played close games with and even beaten the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs before, but not in the fashion that they did on Sunday. It didn't take fluky defensive touchdowns to keep the Silver and Black in this one. Instead, it looked like a bout between two AFC heavyweights.
Kansas City is one of the best teams in the league, with an all-world quarterback and a legendary play-caller on both sides of the ball. They have the reigning Super Bowl MVP at running back. They have been there and done that, and they look like a frontrunner. But they were tested by Las Vegas.
Almost everyone has come out of this game feeling more confident in the 3-1 Raiders than they were in the 3-0 Raiders. And that's why Week 4 mattered for Las Vegas. Even if there are no moral victories in the NFL for teams, there are for fanbases. Fans shouldn't be happy with a loss, but not devastated.
Perhaps the best part is that Kubiak and the coaching staff, and hopefully the roster as a result, all felt like they could win this game. And after Sunday's showing, they now know that they can win these types of games. The Raiders aren't just happy to be there anymore; they're pissed they aren't there.
But they will get there if Kubiak keeps up at this rate. Sooner or later, the connotation around "same old Raiders" will permanently change. The loss to the Chiefs was a major step in that direction, if nothing else, even with the Silver and Black on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
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