Busters
HC Josh McDaniels
His decision to go for two with 4:27 left in the game cost the Raiders dearly. The attempt failed, so instead of the Raiders tying the game at 30 with an extra point, they remained down by one.
The Raiders defense got the ball back for the Raiders offense, but with less than two minutes remaining and no timeouts, the Raiders were in desperation mode. Even with that in mind, they moved into KC territory. On 4th-and-one, with the game on the line, they didn’t hand it to Jacobs who had been gashing the Chiefs all day. And when the passes fell incomplete, instead of the game heading to overtime, it was over.
It’s a shame, really, because the aggressive game plan prior to that was working perfectly. Crosby’s batted pass on the Chiefs’ two-point conversion attempt was a gift that allowed the Raiders not to have to go for two. McDaniels didn’t accept the gift and the Raiders ultimately paid the price for it.
CB Nate Hobbs
It may seem like picking on Hobbs considering he broke his thumb and was wearing a club on his hand for most of the game. But he was still in the game, so he’s expected to perform. And he was victimized time and time again in this game.
Hobbs was one of several Raiders defenders to miss tackles on Jerick McKinnon’s 30-yard run that set up their first touchdown of the game. Two plays before that he gave up an 18-yard catch.
On the Chiefs’ second scoring drive, Hobbs gave up a 23-yard catch on third-and-eight. And their final scoring drive he gave up catches of 37 yards, 17 yards, and four yards on third and two to put them in first and goal at the one.
DE Malcolm Koonce
The second half score would’ve been very different if not for Koonce being called for holding on a Chiefs field goal attempt. Call it a makeup call for the bogus roughing the passer penalty on the Chris Jones strip sack if you like, but it was an actual hold, just one that doesn’t happen very often and/or is not often called. Koonce held his man to try and give Matthias Farley a free run at the kicker. That’s not allowed.
The kick was missed, which means the drive would have ended without points. But after the penalty, the Chiefs got the first down and they finished the drive with a touchdown to go up 30-23.
DC Patrick Graham
That was the Chiefs’ fourth touchdown of the game. All four of them by way of tight end Travis Kelce.
Stopping the Chiefs offense is no easy task. But what we know for sure is that Travis Kelce is their star receiver. So, it seems like covering him — especially near the goal line — would be a top priority. And yet he always seemed to be open. None more so than the last TD where he was so open, it was impossible to tell who was even supposed to be covering him.
G Alex Bars, C Andre James
Bars helped upend the Raiders first possession when he was part of a chop block penalty. And while he had some good blocks on a few Jacobs runs, he also gave up several run stuffs. One of those was the stop on Jacobs’s run on the two-point conversion attempt.
While most people are talking about Hunter Renfrow and Davante Adams running into each other on the final play of the game, what’s seemingly being overlooked is the fact that neither of them would’ve gotten to the pass anyway. That’s because James missed the rush right up the middle that had pressure in Carr’s face very quickly, causing him to launch a prayer off his back foot. That play had no chance at that point.