Tag: raiders vs. chiefs

Raiders PFF grades: 5 highest rated Week 13 vs. Chiefs

The Raiders lost in spectacular fashion against the Chiefs on Black Friday, but who played the best for Las Vegas despite the defeat?

The Raiders and Chiefs put on a show for a national audience on Black Friday, but Kansas City escaped with a win as Las Vegas was left to wonder what could have been.

The Raiders were in position to kick a game-winning field goal but ran one too many plays, resulting in a miss-timed snap, fumble, and a crushing last-second defeat.

However, some Raiders had a productive day. Tight end Brock Bowers was spectacular, catching 10 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. He’s the highest-graded player on the team this week, according to Pro Football Focus.

The No. 2 player on the list is graded 10 points below Bowers’ impressive 90.6 rating. Defensive tackle Jonah Laulu earned playing time on Friday and rewarded his coaches with three tackles and a pass breakup. He helped the Raiders’ strong run defense on Friday.

Three more players on offense — quarterback Aidan O’Connell, running back Sincere McCormick, and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers — complete the list this week.  That’s no surprise, as the Raiders offense outgained the Chiefs offense by a healthy margin, 434 to 329.

But at some point, it would be nice for the Raiders to earn grades from PFF after a victory. Las Vegas has lost eight straight, and coach Antonio Pierce probably has to win a game or two to save his job, regardless of how hard his team plays on gameday. They’ll try for a win aginst Tampa Bay in Week 14.

Raiders winners and losers in 19-17 defeat vs. Chiefs

The Raiders had a chance for an upset win but a bizarre late blunder cost them dearly. Which players stood out, for better or for worse?

The Raiders had a chance to upset the Chiefs in Kansas City but a huge last-second blunder cost them dearly, leading to a 19-17 defeat for Las Vegas on Black Friday.

After driving to within field goal range with a few seconds left in the game, center Jackson Powers-Johnson snapped the football before quarterback Aidan O’Connell was ready for the third-down play, resulting in a fumble that the Chiefs (11-1) recovered.

The miscue ruined a spirited effort from Las Vegas on national television. Here are the winners and losers after the Raiders lost their eighth straight game and fell to 2-10.

Loser: C Jackson Powers-Johnson and G Dylan Parham

Let’s get the losers out of the way first this week because many Raiders performed well in this one. The blunder of the game wasn’t all Powers-Johnson’s fault. Guard Dylan Parham tapped him on the knee, typically a signal to snap the ball.

 

After the game, O’Connell provided clarity on the fumble: He clapped for the snap too early, putting the wheels in motion for Parham and Powers-Johnson. But clearly, it was an awful look for the Raiders’ two linemen.

Coach Antonio Pierce could have kicked a field goal rather than running a third-down play at all. He said postgame that he planned to throw the ball away and waste a few seconds before trying to win with a field goal from kicker Daniel Carlson on fourth down.

Loser: K Daniel Carlson

Carlson was robbed of an opportunity to make up for three missed field goals. They were all long attempts, including a 58-yard try when the Raiders were down 19-17 the drive before the fateful late fumble.

Loser: OT Kolton Miller

One of Carlson’s long misses came after a sack surrendered by offensive tackle Kolton Miller. The play resulted in a loss of 15 yards and ruined a spectacular one-handed catch from tight end Brock Bowers earlier in the drive.

 

Winner: QB Aidan O’Connell

O’Connell returned from injury on a short week and balled out. He finished with 340 passing yards and two touchdowns, completing 23 of his 35 attempts. O’Connell provided a glimpse of what this offense could have become had he begun the year as the starter and didn’t get injured.

His part in the last-second fumble is a definite downer for O’Connell, but he played exceptionally overall.

Winner: TE Brock Bowers

Bowers took advantage of the national stage and turned in a spectacular performance. His 33-yard touchdown reception came after an impressive one-handed catch the drive before. He ended up with 140 receiving yards, catching 10 of his 14 targets.

 

Winner: WR Tre Tucker

The Raiders defense forced a three-and-out for Kansas City after Bowers’ touchdown and the offense responded with a 58-yard touchdown bomb from O’Connell to wide receiver Tre Tucker. The play gave Las Vegas a 17-16 lead just as the fourth quarter began.

 


Winner: RB Ameer Abdullah

Bowers’ touchdown grab was set up by a timely kickoff return by running back Ameer Abdullah. The Raiders had fallen behind 16-3 before Abdullah ran the kick back 68 yards to the Chiefs’ 26-yard line.

 

Winner: RB Sincere McCormick

The Raiders ran the ball well on Friday and finished with an impressive 116 yards on the ground. They couldn’t have done it without a recent practice squad call-up, running back Sincere McCormick. He had 64 yards on 12 carries, good for an average of 5.3 yards per attempt.

Winner: OC Scott Turner

The Raiders outgained the Chiefs in this game, racking up 434 yards compared to 329 for Kansas City. Offensive coordinator Scott Turner deserves a lot of the credit, especially as he quickly adapted to O’Connell’s skill set after the injury to QB Gardner Minshew last week.

Winner: DE K’Lavon Chaisson

The Raiders mixed coverages all afternoon on defense, and when they weren’t blitzing, defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson provided a ton of pressure. He had multiple QB sacks, a tackle for loss, and three QB hits. His pressures were sudden and impactful, as he flew by the Chiefs offensive line on several occasions.

 

Winner: DE Maxx Crosby

This game was promoted as a battle between Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby. Crosby was under pressure to perform and he came through in a big way. He had a QB sack, two tackles for loss, and four QB hits. He was a menace all afternoon, despite constant attention from the Chiefs’ pass protection; Crosby was even triple-teamed at one point.

 

Winner: DC Patrick Graham

No guts, no glory. Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham played a lot of man coverage and trusted his cornerbacks to play one-on-one as he called for the blitz early and often. He also mixed coverages, as Crosby dropped back to cover on at least one occasion. Altogether, his game plan worked exceptionally well.

Winner: HC Antonio Pierce

Despite the defeat and the late mistake from his offense, coach Antonio Pierce had a good day overall. His team played hard, and Turner unlocked the running game that Pierce planned to rely on this season.

In hindsight, he should have tried for a potential game-winning field goal on third down before the infamous fumbled snap. But it’s also easy to imagine the Raiders attempting a field goal and winning if they hadn’t fumbled. In the big picture, this effort will help Pierce’s job security tremendously.

At the end of this day, however, the Raiders keep losing. Will they win another game this season? They’ll have a long week to gameplan for a trip to Tampa Bay on Dec. 8 to face the Buccaneers.

Raiders winners and losers in 27-20 defeat vs. Chiefs

The Raiders played better than most expected against the Chiefs but it wasn’t enough. Which players and coaches affected the game the most?

The Raiders played better than most expected against the Chiefs on Sunday but still came up short, losing 27-20 at Allegiant Stadium.

Las Vegas (2-6) was within one score of Kansas City (7-0) in the fourth quarter when quarterback Gardner Minshew fumbled as he scrambled from the backfield. The Chiefs recovered and scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive, taking an insurmountable 27-13 lead.

Before Minshew’s miscue, the Raiders offense wasted incredible field position in the third quarter, including a drive starting at the Chiefs’ 3-yard line that resulted in zero points for Las Vegas.

The Chiefs recovered an onside kick to officially end the Raiders’ chances. Here are the winners and losers for the week after Las Vegas lost its fourth straight.

Winner: WR Jakobi Meyers

Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers returned after missing two weeks with an injury and made a big impact for the Las Vegas offense. He provided a lifeline for Minshew on a big third down play on the Raiders’ first drive and finished the job with a touchdown catch.

Meyers also had a big catch on third down in the second half and ended up with six receptions for 52 yards. His stat line reflects the performance of the Raiders offense. They only gained 228 yards, including a last-gasp touchdown drive while trailing by two scores late in the game.

Winner: S Tre’von Moehrig

The Raiders had tightened the score at 17-13 when the Chiefs offense had its back against its goal line, thanks to two holding penalties on Kansas City, including a hold induced by defensive end Maxx Crosby.

Defensive tackle John Jenkins tipped the ball as Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw the ball and Raiders safety Tre’von Moehrig grabbed an easy interception, returning the ball to the Chiefs 3-yard line.

Incredibly, the Raiders offense couldn’t score on the ensuing drive, but Moehrig continues to be a bright spot on the back end of the Las Vegas Defense.

Winner: CB Jack Jones

Cornerback Jack Jones appeared on the loser list last week for poor tacking. This week, he was an aggressive tackler and played solid coverage. His effort was duplicated by many on the Raiders defense, which kept Las Vegas in the game as long as it could.

Winner: DE Tyree Wilson

Defensive lineman Tyree Wilson notched a quarterback sack, and for better or worse, that’s big news and a huge win for Wilson. A former first-round pick, he’s losing snaps to recently acquired free agents. Perhaps his takedown of Mahomes can boost his confidence and snowball into more impact plays.

Loser: QB Gardner Minshew

Minshew had an early touchdown pass and protected the football for most of the afternoon. But he’s started hot in a few games this season; it was almost as if you knew he’d commit a turnover at the worst time.

After Las Vegas held the Chiefs to a field goal and took the ball trailing 20-13 midway through the final quarter, it happened, as Minshew bolted from the pocket immediately and fumbled the ball away to Kansas City.

At least Minshew didn’t turn the ball over four times like last week. But considering recently acquired QB Desmond Ridder was active today and got on the field for a moment, Minshew’s days as a starter could be over, at least for a while.

Loser: TE Brock Bowers

Tight end Brock Bowers was a bright spot early in the game and was his usually talented self on Sunday. But as the game wore on, he was outperformed by Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

That’s not a huge deal, but considering Bowers led all tight ends in receptions entering the game, it would have been a nice win for him to outperform Kelce, long considered the league’s best at that position. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy must do better to adjust to the defense as the game moves along and get the ball to Bowers, his best player.

Loser: DE Maxx Crosby

Crosby appears on the loser list because he loathes the Chiefs more than any Raiders player in recent memory. He trash-talks more than most too, and while the defense played well, they couldn’t quite back Crosby up.

Unfortunately for Crosby, his offense underperformed and Mahomes and Kelce are simply too good on most Sundays. Crosby also appeared to induce a holding penalty while Mahomes was in the end zone and didn’t get the benefit of the doubt from the officials.

Loser: OC Luke Getsy

The Raiders offense started hot but only gained 228 yards, including just 33 yards on the ground. Worse yet, the offense failed to take advantage of incredible field position in the third quarter, blowing Las Vegas’ chances to win.

After a 17-yard punt return by WR DJ Turner and a late hit on Kansas City, the Raiders offense took the ball inside the Chiefs 30-yard line, down just 17-10. They clawed their way to a 1st-and-goal at the 4-yard line but couldn’t advance further, ultimately notching a field goal. This drive featured a silly appearance from Ridder, which resulted in a false start penalty on Las Vegas.

Moehrig intercepted Mahomes when the Chiefs got the ball back, returning the ball to the Kansas City 3-yard line. Getsy gave the ball to running back Alexander Mattison three times for a net loss before a fouth-down pass attempt ended in a QB sack.

Loser: Offensive line

It’s hard to leave the offensive line off the loser list this week, so here they are. They allowed five QB sacks and the run game was awful. With just a few more key blocks, one has to figure Las Vegas could have scored a touchdown on one of Mattison’s three rushing attempts near the goalline after Moehirg’s interception.

Offensive tackle Kolton Miller and guard Jackson Powers-Johnson both had multiple costly penalties, too, including a flag on Miller on the Raiders’ first snap of the game.

Loser: HC Antonio Pierce

Coach Antonio Pierce prepared his team to play hard against the defending Super Bowl champs. He’s on the loser list because it will be difficult for him to win ballgames this season due to his woeful quarterback situation, not to mention injuries on the defense.

But it’s mostly the quarterback spot that should have Pierce singing the blues behind the scenes. Even when his team is in position for an upset (down one score with the ball midway through the fourth quarter), quarterback play failed him again. Pierce has few options to turn to and has to hope Ridder, who was just plucked off a practice squad, can deliver. That’s a terrible position to be in as head coach.

This game was a huge mismatch on paper but the Raiders performed relatively well. It’s still a loss that further sinks their season, however. It’s hard to see this team winning many more games no matter how well Pierce motivates his team, but their next chance is against the Bengals in Cincinnati this coming Sunday.

TV broadcast coverage map for Raiders vs. Chiefs Week 8

The Raiders need a win and face the undefeated Chiefs in Las Vegas. Will your local station broadcast the game?

The Raiders need a win after losing three straight but face the undefeated Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium this week. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that Raiders fans in Oakland, Los Angeles, and, of course, Las Vegas can view the game on television.

The weekly broadcast map provided by 506sports.com shows that many fans across the United States will see the Raiders face their longtime AFL and AFC West rival. The broadcast areas are shaded in blue, and the kickoff will be at 1:25 p.m. Pacific time.

The Raiders’ first order of business will be to stop star Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes from having a big game. He uncharacteristically has more interceptions than touchdowns thus far, and the Las Vegas defense can’t let Mahomes reverse that trend on its watch.

The return of wide receiver Jakobi Meyers from injury should bolster the Raiders offense, which has struggled all season and been without Meyers for the last two weeks.

It will also be fascinating to see Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers perform on the same field as Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Kelce has long been considered the NFL’s best at that position and Bowers leads all NFL tight ends in receptions this year.

This game is a mismatch on paper, but anything can happen in a rivalry game. The Raiders’ victory over the Chiefs on Christmas Day last season is a recent example that fans, and many players on the field Sunday, will remember.

If the Raiders can win the turnover battle and limit penalties, anything is possible on Sunday. That will be easier said than done, but Raiders fans across the country will hope for a huge upset in front of a large TV audience.

Raiders Week 16 snap counts vs Chiefs: CB Amik Robertson leads team in snaps

CB Amik Robertson led Raiders in snaps and had a career-high 8 tackles vs Chiefs

The Raiders have gotten contributions from some unexpected places of late. That goes especially on defense where they’ve been one of the league’s top units since Antonio Pierce took over as interim head coach.

One of Pierce’s favorite players is Amik Robertson, who is a firey cornerback always out to prove he is better than people have given him credit for over the years.

The 5-9, 183-pounder saw every snap on defense along with three on special teams. His 79 snaps led the team. It was just the fifth time in his career he played every snap on defense. And his 76 defensive snaps were his second most ever. The result was a career-high eight combined tackles.

All told, the Raiders starting secondary of Robertson, Jack Jones, Nate Hobbs, Marcus Epps, and Tre’von Moehrig missed just one snap on defense (Jones).

Offense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Dylan Parham G 55 100% 3 12%
Thayer Munford T 55 100% 3 12%
Aidan O’Connell QB 55 100% 0 0%
Andre James C 55 100% 0 0%
Greg Van Roten G 53 96% 3 12%
Jermaine Eluemunor T 53 96% 3 12%
Davante Adams WR 50 91% 1 4%
Austin Hooper TE 49 89% 0 0%
Jakobi Meyers WR 45 82% 1 4%
Zamir White RB 42 76% 0 0%
Tre Tucker WR 22 40% 0 0%
Jakob Johnson FB 19 35% 14 56%
Cole Fotheringham TE 19 35% 8 32%
Ameer Abdullah RB 12 22% 14 56%
Hunter Renfrow WR 11 20% 1 4%
DJ Turner WR 4 7% 16 64%
Kolton Miller T 2 4% 3 12%
Jordan Meredith G 2 4% 3 12%
Brandon Bolden RB 1 2% 21 84%
Justin Herron T 1 2% 3 12%
Defense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Amik Robertson CB 76 100% 3 12%
Robert Spillane LB 76 100% 1 4%
Maxx Crosby DE 76 100% 0 0%
Tre’von Moehrig FS 76 100% 0 0%
Marcus Epps SS 76 100% 0 0%
Nate Hobbs CB 76 100% 0 0%
Jack Jones CB 75 99% 0 0%
Divine Deablo LB 66 87% 0 0%
Malcolm Koonce DE 50 66% 12 48%
Tyree Wilson DE 43 57% 5 20%
Adam Butler DT 36 47% 3 12%
Bilal Nichols DT 26 34% 5 20%
John Jenkins DT 26 34% 5 20%
Jerry Tillery DT 23 30% 3 12%
Janarius Robinson DE 21 28% 8 32%
Brandon Facyson CB 9 12% 0 0%
Isaiah Pola-Mao FS 5 7% 17 68%
Special Teams Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Curtis Bolton LB 0 0% 22 88%
Luke Masterson LB 0 0% 22 88%
Christopher Smith SS 0 0% 12 48%
Tyler Hall CB 0 0% 10 40%
Amari Burney LB 0 0% 10 40%
AJ Cole III P 0 0% 9 36%
Jacob Bobenmoyer LS 0 0% 9 36%
DeAndre Carter WR 0 0% 8 32%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 8 32%
Jakorian Bennett CB 0 0% 5 20%

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 16 win over Chiefs

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 16 win over Chiefs

A month ago the Chiefs boat raced the Raiders in Las Vegas to go 8-3 on the season take a commanding lead in the AFC Playoff race. At that time, it seemed you could chalk up another win for the Chiefs when the Raiders came to Arrowhead on Christmas Day.

Since then things have taken a turn for both teams. The Chiefs have been very beatable and the Raiders defense has been extremely stingy and opportunistic.

These teams collided on that same trajectory and the result was a stunner with the Raiders defense almost singlehandedly taking down Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs 20-14.

Raiders DE Malcolm Koonce first ever to sack Patrick Mahomes 3 times in game

Malcolm Koonce first ever to sack Patrick Mahomes 3 times in game

Patrick Mahomes has been the best quarterback in football for several years. And he has two rings to show for it. One of his best attributes is his elusiveness. He is hard to get ahold of with his ability to move around along with his speed and mobility.

For that reason it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that no single player had ever had three sacks on him in a single game.

Until today.

Malcolm Koonce chased down Mahomes three times in the Raiders’ upset win over the Chiefs Christmas Day to become the first ever to do it.

While this performance may come out of nowhere for most people, it’s been building to this all season for Koonce.

“Malcolm is really making a name for himself,” said Antonio Pierce after the game. “This is now three weeks in a row he’s been like ‘Wow!’ It’s good to see the effort. Fighting through a lot of stuff.”

Not only has Koonce strung together three solid weeks in a row, his three sacks in this game give him seven over the past seven games.

It’s certainly not a coincidence that Pierce took over as head coach seven weeks ago.

Koonce and Maxx Crosby have formed the kind of duo the Raiders had hoped they would get from Tyree Wilson when they spent their pick at 7th overall in this year’s draft on him.

“We talk about it each and every week,” Pierce added. “We got 98 on the left and if somebody shows up on the right or in the middle, that’s going to be a problem. It’s starting to become a problem.”

Koonce is in his third NFL season. He had just two sacks total over his first two seasons.

Watch: Raiders HC Antonio Pierce tearful postgame interview following big win vs Chiefs

Watch: Raiders HC Antonio Pierce tearful postgame interview following big win vs Chiefs

For three straight weeks following the Raiders bye, their defense has played the most inspiring football they’ve played in years. That is due in no small part to the leadership of interim head coach Antonio Pierce.

The first of those games ended with a 3-0 loss to the Vikings. The last two have resulted in huge wins over division rivals. The first a lopsided 63-21 win over the Chargers and Christmas Day it was a massive 20-13 win over the Chiefs at Arrowhead.

Afterward, you can see just how much this means to Pierce and why his players play so hard for him. He approached Tracy Wolfson already with tears in his eyes. And even the usual softball questions in the postgame on-field interview were getting him choked up.

Pierce took over for Josh McDaniels in Week nine and the Raiders have been a completely different team since then. They went 2-0 out the gates and are now 4-3 under Pierce. None bigger than coming away with the rare win at Arrowhead against the bitter rival Chiefs.

There are a lot of people calling for Pierce to get the job permanently and with every win and moment like this, it would seem to be more and more hard for Mark Davis to deny him a shot.

Watch: Raiders get consecutive defensive TDs to take 17-7 halftime lead over Chiefs

Watch: Raiders get consecutive defensive TDs to take 17-7 halftime lead over Chiefs

What an insane game we have on Christmas Day in Kansas City. And most of it has been by the Raiders defense.

The day began with the Raiders defense holding the Chiefs to -18 yards with no first downs in the first quarter. That included a couple sacks from Malcolm Koonce and Adam Butler.

The second quarter the scoring started.

Chiefs got it going first. They went on a long drive on offense, and got the touchdown on a trick play that looked almost just like the one the Raiders scored on against the Chargers last week.

This one had Isaiah Pacheco line up in the backfield with Patrick Mahomes out wide left. Just as Brandon Bolden got the direct snap last week for the Raiders, Pacheco took the ball and faked the sweep to Mahomes and ran for the touchdown.

That’s as good as it would get for the Chiefs in the first half.

The Raiders offense couldn’t answer with a score of their own, but on the first play of the Chiefs’ possession, they fumbled the handoff, Bilal Nichols picked it up, and scored the touchdown.

The Chiefs would get it back down 10-7. Then on the first play AGAIN, Jack Jones stepped in front of a Patrick Mahomes pass and was gone for the pick six.

The Chiefs would go on a long drive after those consecutive defensive TD’s, but the Raiders defense would stiffen up to force them to settle for a field goal. And it was missed to keep the score at 17-7 at the half.

Raiders, Chiefs final injury report: TE Michael Mayer OUT

Raiders TE Michael Mayer OUT, Josh Jacobs Questionable vs Chiefs

While the Raiders may get a few offensive starters back this week against the Chiefs, they will lose another. Tight end Michael Mayer is officially OUT with a toe injury.

They will for sure see the return of center Andre James who was removed from the injury report after missing the previous two weeks with an ankle injury.

Still Questionable are left tackle Kolton Miller (shoulder) and RB Josh Jacobs.

Jaacobs seemed on the path to returning this week and head coach Antonio Pierce seemed optimistic he would play earlier this week, but after a day back at practice, he was sidelined again, so once again, his status is uncertain.

Jack Jones landed on the injury report Saturday with a knee injury after not being on the injury report before that. He too is Questionable for the game.

The Chiefs will for sure be without three players. RB Jerrick McKinnon, WR Kadarius Toney, and T Donovan Smith are all OUT. WR Mecole Hardman began his 21-day window to return from injured reserve, but will not be activated this week.