It was a historic day for the Raiders and Chiefs Sunday. The right kind of history for the Chiefs. The wrong kind for the Raiders. The history was that the 48-9 Chiefs win was the widest margin in the more than the 60-year rivalry between the two teams.
For this week’s Ballers & Busters, I’m only going to focus on the 33-point halftime margin. Because with the Chiefs jumping out to a 35-0 lead, this one was over by halftime. Nothing after that mattered.
Ballers
No one
Yup. No one. There wasn’t a single performance in this game that deserved to land them among the Ballers. Some might argue Hunter Renfrow with his 13 catches for 117 yards and a TD was surely worthy of Baller status. But I would argue that his fumble that led to the Chiefs’ fifth touchdown renders his stats null and void. Call me a hardass, but that was a big mistake that had a greater impact on this game than any and all catches he made.
Honorable Mention
DE Clelin Ferrell — Had a sack and disrupted a screen play.
LB Divine Deablo — Finished second on the team with nine tackles (four solo). If you add the special team’s tackle, he led the team in tackles.
Busters
DE Yannick Ngakoue
One of the dumbest decisions you’ll see a player on a team do, let alone a CAPTAIN, was to lead his Raiders teammates to the center of the field at Arrowhead to trample on the Chiefs logo prior to the game. Several of his teammates were clearly not happy about the decision but felt as a team they needed to go along with it.
The Chiefs didn’t really need any extra motivation. Their rallying cry all week was revenge for the Raiders doing laps around Arrowhead last year. But in case that fury was subsiding, Ngakoue made sure to renew it just prior to game time.
Then Ngakoue just flat had a bad game. He didn’t positively impact a single play in the first half. His one play was a sack in the second half for some window dressing.
On the Chiefs’ first scoring drive, he was offsides on third and eight. Then on third and three, the Chiefs scored on a swing pass.
Already up 28-0, the Chiefs would get one more shot before halftime thanks to the Renfrow fumble. They would drive to the 15-yard-line where they set up in third and five. Then Ngakoue didn’t keep containment, allowing Patrick Mahomes to scramble for nine yards to put the Chiefs in first and goal from the six. On the next play, Ngakoue was out of his gap to give up the six-yard touchdown run and make it 35-0.
And it all started with a captain showing a serious lapse in judgment and lack of leadership, let alone maturity. This team has lost its faith in its leaders.
RB Josh Jacobs, TE Foster Moreau
Literally, on the first play of the game, the Raiders were already in big trouble. Jacobs tried to get cute and when he felt like he didn’t see enough room in his running lane, he tried to bounce it outside. He would need to go around John Simpson and in so doing run backward.
By the time he made the wide turn, there were three Chiefs defenders to greet him. It only took one of them to rip the ball out and another to scoop it up and score. And before the Chiefs offense had even taken the field, they were spotted seven points.
The second quarter started just like the first for the Raiders. By the time they got the ball, they were down 21-0. On the second play, Derek Carr threw a perfect pass to Moreau only to have him bobble it where it ended up on the hands of Tyrann Mathieu. The Chiefs would get the ball at the Las Vegas 39-yard-line and drive for a fourth touchdown.
Things may not have gotten worse for Moreau after that, but they certainly didn’t get better. On the Renfrow fumble, Moreau was right there to fall on the loose ball, but much like the pass right into his hands earlier, he just couldn’t hold onto it and once again there was Mathieu getting the ball instead.
That turnover led to another touchdown drive. With just under two minutes left, the Raiders hoped to get things going before the half. Two of the first three plays featured Moreau flubs. He dropped the first pass. Then on third and three, he caught the pass only to get nailed right away by — guess who — Tyrann Mathieu short of the sticks. The Raiders needed to execute a fake punt to keep the drive alive. Lotta good it did at that point.
CB Trayvon Mullen
It was not great a great return to the lineup for Mullen who had been on injured reserve the past two months. He injured his toe in this game, but not until the third quarter, so he was fully available for the boat race that ensued in the first half.
The first touchdown drive by the Chiefs featured Mullen giving up a 44-yard reception. They scored the touchdown three plays later. On the fourth touchdown drive, Mullen gave up an eight-yard catch to set up third and short. Then from third and goal from the one, he gave up the TD catch to Josh Gordon.
On the Chiefs’ final TD drive of the first half, Mullen was flagged for pass interference that was good for 30 yards. Then was flagged for holding that put the Chiefs at the 20-yard-line. They scored two plays later. Just a brutal return to action for Mullen who may be back on the shelf already.
RG Alex Leatherwood, RT Brandon Parker
The disastrous duo, as I’m calling them now, was at it again. The two both gave up pressure that got Carr sacked on the Raiders’ first drive. The Raiders couldn’t recover from the seven-yard loss.
Leatherwood started out the next drive by losing his block to give up a run stuff. Then it ended with him and Parker both getting beaten again on a Carr sack.
Leatherwood would give up two more pressures and a QB hit on the Raiders’ final drive of the first half.
LB Cory Littleton
The Chiefs’ second touchdown drive featured a lot of Littleton getting beaten. These were on four consecutive plays: He gave up a 19-yard catch that put the Chiefs in Vegas territory at the 40-yard-line. Then he gave up a seven-yard run. Then he was out of position on a 28-yard catch. And finished it off by missing the tackle on a five-yard touchdown run.
IHC Rich Bisaccia
What a mess this team is. It’s a rudderless ship. That doesn’t all fall on Bisaccia. The players need to take some responsibility for their own actions or inaction as well.
Where Bisaccia really rubbed everyone wrong was the final play of the first half. It was a seemingly small thing that spoke volumes. With one play left in the first half, down 35-0, and sitting at the Kansas City seven-yard-line, he opted to line up for a 26-yard field goal.
That send the message that optics were all that mattered. That making any attempt to get back in this game was not on the table. He said after that game that he just wanted to get some points on the board before halftime. Oh, great. They saved the embarrassment of being shut out in the first half…for a historic embarrassment of a final score.
What an absolute joke. The players are talking about how some have given up. Well, when the head coach makes a call that signals he’s given up before halftime, why not? Pathetic.
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