Tag: Las Vegas Raiders vs Kansas City Chiefs

Raiders Week 13 snap counts vs Chiefs: Sincere McCormick sees big jump in snaps, carries

Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce kept his word and Sincere McCormick saw his snaps and carries increase week 13 vs the Chiefs.

This time last week, Sincere McCormick had never taken an NFL field. Then he took his eight snaps week 12 and made the most of them. He picked up 33 yards on five carries (6.6 yards per carry) and afterward head coach Antonio Pierce said McCormick had earned more playing time.

Pierce kept his word and McCormick’s snaps jumped to 26 Friday against the Chiefs (38%). He didn’t disappoint with his increased snaps, rushing for a team high 64 yards on 12 carries (5.3 yards per carry).

Both Zamir White and Alexander Mattison were inactive week 13 with injuries, which has led to McCormick’s emergence. The 2023 undrafted free agent could end up being a key part of the Raiders plans even when White and Mattison return to the lineup and beyond.

Offense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Kolton Miller T 68 100% 6 19%
Jordan Meredith G 68 100% 6 19%
Dylan Parham G 68 100% 6 19%
DJ Glaze T 68 100% 6 19%
Jackson Powers-Johnson C 68 100% 6 19%
Aidan O’Connell QB 68 100% 0 0%
Tre Tucker WR 66 97% 0 0%
Jakobi Meyers WR 63 93% 0 0%
Brock Bowers TE 61 90% 0 0%
Michael Mayer TE 43 63% 10 32%
Ameer Abdullah RB 42 62% 5 16%
Sincere McCormick RB 26 38% 8 26%
Terrace Marshall Jr. WR 16 24% 0 0%
DJ Turner WR 15 22% 12 39%
Thayer Munford T 6 9% 6 19%
Kana’i Mauga LB 1 1% 17 55%
Justin Shorter TE 1 1% 13 42%
Defense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Maxx Crosby DE 71 100% 6 19%
Isaiah Pola-Mao FS 71 100% 5 16%
Decamerion Richardson CB 71 100% 5 16%
Jack Jones CB 71 100% 0 0%
Robert Spillane LB 71 100% 0 0%
Tre’von Moehrig FS 71 100% 0 0%
Adam Butler DT 60 85% 6 19%
Divine Deablo LB 51 72% 4 13%
John Jenkins DT 43 61% 8 26%
Darnay Holmes CB 43 61% 0 0%
Jonah Laulu DT 37 52% 8 26%
Thomas Harper FS 34 48% 19 61%
Tyree Wilson DE 34 48% 7 23%
K’Lavon Chaisson DE 25 35% 0 0%
Charles Snowden DE 15 21% 6 19%
Zachary Carter DT 6 8% 0 0%
Amari Burney LB 5 7% 25 81%
Janarius Robinson DE 2 3% 3 10%
Special Teams Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Tommy Eichenberg LB 0 0% 25 81%
Amari Gainer LB 0 0% 22 71%
Christopher Smith SS 0 0% 17 55%
Dylan Laube RB 0 0% 13 42%
Trey Taylor SS 0 0% 13 42%
Sam Webb CB 0 0% 12 39%
AJ Cole III P 0 0% 10 32%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 10 32%
Jacob Bobenmoyer LS 0 0% 10 32%
Andrus Peat G 0 0% 6 19

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 13 heartbreaker vs Chiefs

A hard-fought game in Kansas City yielded some very conflicted results in this weeks tally of the best and worst performances.

This team put up a hell of a fight in Kansas City. They nearly pulled off a repeat performance to their Christmas Day upset last season. And very well should have done it if not for a botched snap on the final play.

Both teams started slowly, with the score just 10-3 at the half. Then the Chiefs pulled away, adding a couple field goals to make it a 16-3 game. But just when you thought the game was out of reach, the Raiders went on two touchdown drives to take the lead.

In the end they had the chance to win it on a field goal, but watched it slip through their fingers.

Ballers

TE Brock Bowers

Bowers just keeps upping his game. He put up double digit catches again, this time for a career-high 140 yards and a touchdown. He even had a ridiculous one-handed grab in the game. And on the final drive into field goal range, he made a 25-yard catch to midfield.

DE Maxx Crosby, DE K’Lavon Chaisson

Last week it was Tyree Wilson sharing the spotlight with Crosby. This week it’s Chaisson who routinely got into the backfield. Chaisson got to Patrick Mahomes three times, for 1.5 sacks and a pressure that led to Crosby’s sack. In total, Crosby had four QB hits and two tackles for loss. While Chaisson had a tackle for loss and three QB hits.

WR Jakobi Meyers

Meyers had two huge catches of 43 yards and 24 yards to lead out the Raiders first scoring drive. He added a ten-yard catch on the final drive that put the Raiders at the KC 40-yard-line. He finished with six catches for 97 yards.

RB Ameer Abdullah

His 69-yard kick return in the third quarter came just in time. The Raiders were down 16-3 at the time and it put the team in business at the KC 26-yard line. They would score their first TD two plays later to make it a one-score game. He would add two catches for 14 yards on the final drive, including the seven-yard catch to put the team in field goal range for what would have been the game winner.

QB Aidan O’Connell

If the Raiders could have closed the deal, O’Connell may have been Top Baller for this game. He threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, led the Raiders from down 16-3 to the lead early in the fourth quarter, and then down the field for what would have been the game-winner. But his clapping confused the line on the final play, causing the ball to be snapped early and costing them the win. He was superb other than that. Hence him getting credit for it despite his big mistake at the end.

Honorable Mention

DT Adam Butler — Second on the team in tackles (6) and had a half sack and a tackle for loss.

WR Tre Tucker — got open deep up the left sideline for the go ahead touchdown to open the fourth quarter.

RB Sincere McCormick — Had 12 carries for 64 yards (5.3 yards per carry)

Continue to the Busters…

Busters for Raiders Week 13 heartbreaker vs Chiefs

How it started out poorly and then went wrong in the end for the Raiders in their week 13 matchup with the Chiefs.

A valiant effort by the Raiders, but alas they were unable to come away from Arrowhead with a W. This is where I am looking for why that may be.

Busters

S Isaiah Pola-Mao, CB DeCamerion Richardson, CB Jack Jones

Let’s talk about how the Raiders found themselves in a 16-3 hole in the first place.

The second play of the game, Richardson gave up a 14-yard catch. Later Jones was flagged for pass interference to put the Chiefs in field goal range.

The next drive me gave up a catch and missed the tackle for a ten-yard gain. And. few plays later, Pola-Mao gave up the longest catch to that point of 24 yards to put the Chiefs in field goal range.

The first Chiefs’ touchdown, Pola-Mao was out of position to give up a wide open 27-yard catch to the tight end — a new long for the game. That catch put them in scoring range in one play. But it was Jones who would give up the touchdown catch from six yards out.

And on the next drive, Jones it on the double move and Pola-Mao was late getting over to give up *another* 24-yard catch to midfield.

The first drive of the third quarter, Richardson gave up an 11-yard catch to make for an easier field goal to make it a 13-3 Chiefs lead. And then on the next drive, in third and ten, he allowed a 30-yard catch to put them in field goal range again. And there you have that 16-3 lead.

After the Raiders scored two quick touchdowns to take the lead, the Chiefs drove right down to take a back. They did so in part because Jones gave up a a 15-yard catch on second and 20 and on third and five Pola-Mao was late helping again to give up a 19-yard catch to put the Chiefs in first and goal.

LT Kolton Miller, RT DJ Glaze

There were several opportunities for the Raiders to close that 16-3 well before they actually did it. In the second quarter a drive began with a two runs for 28 yards. But it ended three plays later with Glaze giving up a sack.

The first drive of the third quarter began with a 12-yard run and a 25-yard catch and run to put the Raiders in field goal range. But when they went for it on 4th and one, Miller gave up the run stuff for no gain for the turnover on downs.

The next drive, the Raiders got as far as the KC 22-yard line off a crazy Brock Bowers one-handed grab. Then Miller gave up the sack for a 15-yard loss and Daniel Carlson missed the 55-yard field goal attempt wide left.

Miller was called for holding on the next Raiders drive which threatened to spoil a 69-yard return. But this time a long TD pass from O’Connell to Bowers dug them out of it.

After the Chiefs re-took the lead in the fourth quarter, the Raiders picked up a first down, but got no further when Glaze gave up pressure on third and nine, leading to an incompletion and a punt.

HC Antonio Pierce

Aidan O’Connell took the blame for the errant snap on the final play. And, yeah, it was his fault. He was clapping to hurry things up and right guard Dylan Parham took that to mean he wanted the ball snapped, so he tapped Jackson Powers-Johnson’s leg to get him to snap it. But here’s my bigger issue — they never should’ve been in that situation in the first place.

There was too much to lose and not enough to gain from calling that play. He shouldn’t have been in shotgun. He probably shouldn’t have been running a play at all. They were in field goal range with 11 seconds left. That should be the game winner. And instead the team was a panicky, discombobulated mess.

Even if there hadn’t been a botched snap, there would’ve been an illegal shift penalty that wiped out whatever they did and backed them up because they weren’t set when the ball was snapped. They simply have to be more poised in crucial moments like that. Or they shouldn’t be put in that position in a hostile environment like that.

We should be talking about *another* huge come-from-behind, improbable victory in KC. But instead we’re talking about a massive missed opportunity.

See the Ballers.

Aidan O’Connell takes blame for Raiders debacle to end game vs Chiefs

If you’re searching for blame for the crushing ending that cost the Raiders to win in Kansas City, Aidan O’Connell says put it on him.

Everyone is still reeling from the ending to the Raiders vs Chiefs in Arrowhead today. With the Raiders in field goal range with 11 seconds left, looking to kick the game-winning field goal, they blew it.

Aidan O’Connell came out and lined up in shotgun to pass it. According to head coach Antonio Pierce, the reason for this formation was because O’Connell was to run some time off the clock and then throw the ball away before they came out to kick the field goal as time expired.

It was a risky play call for many reasons. And a bad snap was one of those risks. That’s what happened. Watch the full sequence as well as the confusion that ensued that took the game from a sure Raiders win to a defeat.

Kirk Herbstreit insisted in the broadcast that it wasn’t Aidan O’Connell’s fault. That Jackson Powers-Johnson simply snapped the ball too early. But O’Connell told a different story after the game, taking full responsibility for the miscue.

“It’s completely my fault,” said O’Connell after the game. “I was looking out to the right, making sure guys were set and I started clapping to…in my head I was thinking signal the ball to get the ball, but when I start clapping it tells Jackson to snap the ball. So, Jackson did exactly what he should have done and I clapped too early. That’s how the ball bounces sometimes. It didn’t go our way, so super tough, but there’s really nobody to blame by myself. That’s probably the hardest part to swallow.”

It’s hard to say, really, whether the blame falls completely on O’Connell or if he’s just doing the admirable thing and falling on the sword for his center.

Either way, it’s a good look for the young QB. He put the team in this position by completing several passes to get them in range for the field goal, and shouldn’t have been put in the shotgun on such a crucial play when the game was seemingly in the bag.

Watch: Aidan O’Connell throws 2 TD passes late to take lead over Chiefs

Two huge throws by Aidan O’Connell to Brock Bowers and Tre Tucker has the Raiders storm back early in the fourth to take the lead in KC.

It was getting late and the Raiders were showing little signs of life on offense. The Chiefs were up 16-3 and the way things were going, that seemed like enough to win it.

Then things changed very quickly.

Aidan O’Connell threw a couple touchdown passes to take the lead in Kansas City.

The first was a drop in the bucket to Brock Bowers.

Bowers had a one-handed grab a bit earlier, so he was showing that he was where they need to go to get the tough yards.

The defense forced a Chiefs three-and-out, and on the first play of the Raiders’ possession, O’Connell threw a perfect deep ball to a streaking Tre Tucker up the left sideline for another touchdown…and the lead.

Suddenly it was a 17-16 Raiders lead which no doubt had the Chiefs having flashbacks to their loss to the Raiders on Christmas Day last season.

Raiders down top 2 running backs again Week 13 vs Chiefs

The Raiders will once again be without top running backs Zamir White and Alexander Mattison Week 13 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Expect a heavy dose of Ameer Abdullah and Sincere McCormick again this week for the Raiders. Because top backs Zamir White and Alexander Mattison are once again inactive as the team prepares to face the Chiefs in Arrowhead.

RBs Alexander Mattison and Zamir White both inactive. Harrison Bryant is a healthy scratch. #Raiders

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— Levi Damien (@levidamien.bsky.social) November 29, 2024 at 10:35 AM

This is the second week in a row the Raiders have been without White and Mattison.

Last week against the Broncos, Abdullah and McCormick filled in admirably at the position.

Abdullah led the way in touches with 13 for 65 yards. McCormick led the team in rushing with 33 yards on five carries (6.6 yards per carry).

Joining White and Mattison on the inactive list are CB Nate Hobbs, G Cody Whitehair, WR Ramel Keyton, TE Harrison Bryant, and DT Matthew Butler.

Raiders strongest position will be at full strength for first time in 2 months vs Chiefs

No position on the Raiders was expected to be more a factor in their success this season than the tight end position. They made it a priority in the 2023 draft, a priority in 2024 free agency, and their top priority in the 2024 draft. But the trio …

No position on the Raiders was expected to be more a factor in their success this season than the tight end position. They made it a priority in the 2023 draft, a priority in 2024 free agency, and their top priority in the 2024 draft. But the trio of tight ends they acquired have barely seen the field together this season.

Friday in Kansas City they take the field together for the first time in more than two months.

Brock Bowers was the team’s pick at 13 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft and he has been on an historic pace this season for a rookie tight end. Or really for any rookie or at any position. But he’s done it without either of the two tight ends who were supposed to make the position one of the more formidable in the league.

Last year’s drafted tight end — who the Raiders traded up to get in the second round — Michael Mayer left after the team’s week three loss to the Carolina Panthers and was placed on the Non-Football Illness list.

By the time Mayer returned in week 11, following the team’s bye week, Harrison Bryant was lost to injury. Bryant had been among the team’s priority free agent acquisitions this offseason after four seasons in Cleveland.

Thursday, Bryant, was removed from the Raiders’ injury report, making him available for the game for the first time in since he went down with injury in week nine in Cincinnati. And thus having this trio of tight ends available for the first time since September 22.

No time like the present as they face the rival Chiefs and their future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce.

‘Records go out the window’: Raiders face Chiefs with ‘chaos’ in mind

The Raiders were the last team to beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead. They will look to do it again on Friday by sowing a little chaos.

It wasn’t a year ago a 6-8 Raiders team that had already lost big time to the Chiefs went into Arrowhead and beat a 9-5 Chiefs team. So, if anyone should know not to anticipate what is going to happen this Sunday in Kansas City, it’s the Chiefs.

“Records go out the window, just like they did last year when we played them on Christmas Day,” said Pierce. “So they understand that, we understand that. They’ll be excited, just like we will be excited for this game. Only two teams playing that day, right? It’s a great opportunity for us to showcase what’s improved about the Raiders, right? What’s different, what’s going to change, and obviously we got a chance to do that at two o’clock.

“The rivalry is what it is. I think if you look at the last couple games, we’ve played them close. It’s been back and forth, and it’s been physical, and they’re going to come after us. We know them, they know us, and there’s a lot of trash talking. And they don’t like the color of Silver and Black, and we don’t like red. So, it should be fun.”

Antonio Pierce had been on the job as interim head coach in Las Vegas for seven weeks when he took a revitalized Raiders team into Arrowhead and shocked the world by leaving with a 20-14 win.

What no one knew at the time was that the Chiefs would then go on to win the Super Bowl and not lose again until ten games into the 2024 season. They now sit at 10-1 looking like they could be headed for another championship. But that’s for later. They have to get through Black Friday first.

“Llet’s call a spade a spade,” Pierce said of the matchup. “The best team in football against the worst team in football. Let’s change the narrative, right? Let’s go out there and make it a dog fight. Let’s make it ugly. Let’s make it scrappy. It’s Black Friday. Let’s create a little chaos. Let’s get back to Raider football and have some fun and some personality. Let it loose.”

This season, the Chiefs may have the best record, but they haven’t been blowing teams out. Only two of their ten wins have been by more than one score. And one of those one-score wins was their 27-20 game against the Raiders. So, they’re not unbeatable. Even thought it took the second best team in the league to hand them their lone defeat.

Facing a 2-9 Raiders team currently on a seven-game losing streak would be what they commonly refer to as a trap game. Although, that’s usually when a team overlooks an opponent. And it’s hard to imagine the Chiefs doing that for this one.

Sincere McCormick performance to earn more carries for Raiders vs Chiefs

Former undrafted RB Sincere McCormick’s debut last week has earned him a bigger workload when Raiders face the Chiefs in week 13.

With both the Raiders top two backs out with injury last week against the Broncos, practice squad back Sincere McCormick got his first real shot in an NFL game. And he showed up well for himself.

The former undrafted free agent out of Texas-San Antonio carried the ball five times for 33 yards (6.6 yards per carry). This for a guy who had never had a carry in the NFL before. But he earned his opportunity with his play in practice

“We see it every day in practice,” Pierce said of McCormick. “Just opportunities, right? How many guys can we dress? We can’t dress five running backs each week. You don’t want to see it happen through injuries and guys getting hurt or anything of that nature, but when he got in there his first carry he went 10+ yards and the next one, he’s bouncing off guys. Just the energy that he brought to our offense, I really liked that.”

McCormick joined the Raiders prior to last season, and just hung around before last week, with both Zamir White and Alexander Mattison lost to injury in the same week, he got his shot.

Well, it’s very possible, even likely, that the Raiders will once again be without White and Mattison. And their absences as as McCormick’s performance may see an increased role for him in the offense this week when they head to Kansas City to face the Chiefs.

“I’m excited about Sincere this week,” Antonio Pierce added. “I’m fired up to see him carry the ball.”

McCormick figures to get more carries between the tackles while Ameer Abdullah could continue to see carries in space and catching passes out of the backfield.

Aidan O’Connell set to start for Raiders week 13 vs Chiefs

Seeing Aidan O’Connell practice this week, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce has named him the starter week 13 vs the Kansas City Chiefs.

Just in time for the loss of Gardner Minshew, the Raiders get back their former starter, Aidan O’Connell from injured reserve and he is set to start Friday when the Raiders face off against the Chiefs in Kansas City.

“Feel good about Aidan,” said head coach Antonio Pierce. “He’s been dialed in obviously throughout this time that he’s been on IR, he’s been in all the meetings, he’s been very encouraging on the sideline, he’s got that laser eye focus right now. Great opportunity for him.”

O’Connell had been named the team’s starter over Minshew in week six and in his second start, he suffered a broken thumb that landed him on IR. This is the first week he was eligible to return, but it was a matter of whether Pierce thought he was ready to go right away or not.

For that, he needed to see him throw the ball and his command of the offense. It was a short week, so he had just two days to get an idea of O’Connell’s readiness. He’s seen enough to make the call to give him the nod.

“He carried himself like a starter.,” Pierce continued.

“You can just look in his eyes, look at his demeanor, it wasn’t a guy like ‘I’m out for the season’, no, it was ‘I’ll be back, I’m ready to be back,’ and he worked his tail off to get back.”

O’Connell won his start at Arrowhead last season on Christmas Day and gets back in time to try and do it again.

Had O’Connell not been ready, Desmond Ridder would have started instead. Ridder will be his backup for the game.