Tag: raiders vs. chiefs

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.

Raiders, Chiefs Friday injury report: RB Josh Jacobs returns to practice

Raiders RB Josh Jacobs returns to practice

The third of the three players head coach Antonio Pierce was optimistic would return this week has returned. Thursday it was LT Kolton Miller and C Andre James. Friday it was RB Josh Jacobs.

Also returning for the Raiders was G Dylan Parham who missed Thursday’s practice with an illness. Meanwhile LB Robert Spillane was upgraded to full from his illness.

Still missing were DE Maxx Crosby (knee), TE Michael Mayer (toe), and ST DJ Turner (shoulder).

Returning for the Chiefs was linebacker Nick Bolton who missed Thursday’s practice with numerous injuries. LT Donovan Smith had returned from his neck injury but Friday was back on the sideline.

Raiders, Chiefs Thursday injury report: LT Kolton Miller returns to practice

Raiders LT Kolton Miller returns to practice

Wednesday Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce expressed optimism the Raiders would get back three offensive starters this week — RB Josh Jacobs, LT Kolton Miller, and C Andre James.

Two out of three aint bad.

Thursday saw Miller and James return to the practice field. Jacobs was still not practicing, though there are still two more practices for him to return.

The Chiefs also got their left tackle back. Donovan Smith practiced Thursday.

Missing for the Chiefs were LB Nick Bolton, LB Cam Jones, RB Jerrick McKinnon, WR Kadarious Toney.

Missing for the Raiders Thursday along with Jacobs were DE Maxx Crosby (knee), TE Michael Mayer (toe), G Dylan Parham (illness), and RS DJ Turner (shoulder).

We all know Crosby is going to play. He wouldn’t miss any games, let alone against his favorite QB Patrick Mahomes. We’ll wait and see with everyone else.

Raiders HC Antonio Pierce expresses confidence Josh Jacobs will play vs Chiefs

Raiders HC Antonio Pierce expresses confidence Josh Jacobs will play vs Chiefs

Playing hurt is something Josh Jacobs has done a lot of in his career. In fact, he’s become known for playing some of his best football when he’s banged up late in the season. Which should tell you something about how injured he was against the Vikings two weeks ago.

He suffered a knee injury early in the game, fought through it for a while before eventually leaving the game and not returning. The Raiders lost the game 3-0.

When the Charger came to town four days later, Jacobs was not ready to go and was rendered inactive for the game.

Now with the team having a 11 days between that Thursday night game and their Christmas Day game at Arrowhead, head coach Antonio Pierce doesn’t see Jacobs missing this one.

“I think he was close the last week,” Pierce said of Jacobs. “That was a decision we all made in the best interest of him. For himself. If I had to be a betting man, I would think he would play this game.”

Along with Jacobs, there were two Raiders starting offensive linemen who also didn’t play last week — left tackle Kolton Miller and center Andre James.

“Same deal,” Pierce said of Miller and James. “If I was a betting man, those guys are going through the process. This is a game you want to play in now. You don’t want to be sitting at home watching it on television, you want to be there.”

Keep in mind, the Raiders have yet to practice this week, so this could just be unbridled optimism by Pierce. A combination of the long week off and this being the big annual Arrowhead matchup with a suddenly very vulnerable looking Chiefs team.

Weather forecast: Raiders, Chiefs to have wet Christmas at Arrowhead

Raiders to have wet Christmas at Arrowhead

For Christmas morning this year, the NFL is gifting fans with the Raiders vs Chiefs in Kansas City. Well, it’s Christmas morning if you’re on the West of the Rockies, anyway, as the game will kick off at Noon local time in Kansas City which is 10am Pacific and 1pm Eastern time.

Late December in Kansas City is often just asking for a snowy affair. And there will be precipitation, but with the temperature expected to be around 50 degrees at game time, it won’t be so much a white Christmas but a wet one for these two rivals.

The current forecast calls for rain Sunday to Tuesday, which could mean a muddy field and a wet, slippery ball.

We’ve still five days from the game, so the forecast could change between now and then.

Overall, the NFL has scheduled three games on Christmas Day this year, making it much like Thanksgiving. The seconds game on the slate is in The Giants and Eagles in Philadelphia, with the final matchup being the Ravens and 49ers in Santa Cla…ra.