The Raiders entered their Week 14 game against the Chiefs in desperate need of a win. But it didn’t take long before Las Vegas appeared desperate to get the heck out of Arrowhead Stadium to avoid further punishment.
The visiting team turned the ball over on the game’s first snap from scrimmage, with the play resulting in a Chiefs touchdown, and the rout was on from the start, ending in a 48-9 loss for the Raiders.
Here are this week’s winners and losers after an unforgettable shellacking at the hands of the division rival Chiefs, which put Las Vegas’ record at 6-7.
Winners
Malcolm Koonce
Yes, there were actually a couple of winners in this game, though each one comes with a dash of losing flavor.
Raiders rookie defensive end Malcolm Koonce notched a quarterback sack in the second half of this blowout, his second such play in two weeks.
Silver and Black lining pic.twitter.com/voHV8vlZuG
— BD Williams (@BDWilliams18) December 12, 2021
Here’s the losers aspect: On a team with ample QB pressures but too few QB sacks as the season was falling apart, why wasn’t Koonce playing more in previous weeks? He’s had two in the only two games he’s appeared in as a pro.
At least Koonce is a promising prospect for whoever is in charge of the Raiders’ personnel in the years to come.
Clelin Ferrell
Defensive end Clelin Ferrell also recorded a QB sack, his first in more than a calendar year. He actually has a signature sack celebration, a simulated fishing move to make it look like he’s reeling in a fish, and he finally got to use it again.
Still, even on his big play, look how slow his feet are. It’s actually kind of incredible. As the former No. 4 pick in the NFL Draft, Ferrell is a decent player but represents all that’s gone wrong as the team tried to build a winner on the way to Las Vegas.
Alright, I was going to show a clip of the play, but it appears the Raiders’ official Twitter account deleted it. Incredible. That says it all about how poorly this game went for Las Vegas.