Tag: raiders vs. chiefs

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.

Raiders Week 12 snap counts vs Chiefs: CB Jack Jones plays majority of snaps replacing Marcus Peters

CB Jack Jones played majority of snaps vs Chiefs replacing Marcus Peters

It’s been less than two weeks since the Raiders claimed Jack Jones off waivers from the New England Patriots. And Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, he was thrust into every down duties.

Jones didn’t get the start. That went to Marcus Peters who had started every game this season at right outside cornerback for the Raiders. But after just 20 snaps, Peters was yanked from the game and Jones was inserted.

Peters didn’t return to the game and has since reportedly been cut. While Jones ended up playing 67% of the snaps (40).

The only cornerbacks who played more snaps were starters Amik Robertson and Nate Hobbs.

Offense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Greg Van Roten G 58 100% 4 15%
Dylan Parham G 58 100% 4 15%
Jermaine Eluemunor T 58 100% 4 15%
Davante Adams WR 58 100% 0 0%
Aidan O’Connell QB 58 100% 0 0%
Andre James C 58 100% 0 0%
Kolton Miller T 53 91% 3 12%
Jakobi Meyers WR 53 91% 0 0%
Michael Mayer TE 49 84% 4 15%
Josh Jacobs RB 44 76% 0 0%
Hunter Renfrow WR 28 48% 0 0%
Austin Hooper TE 24 41% 0 0%
Tre Tucker WR 13 22% 4 15%
Ameer Abdullah RB 12 21% 13 50%
DeAndre Carter WR 7 12% 10 38%
Justin Herron T 5 9% 1 4%
Zamir White RB 2 3% 17 65%
Defense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Nate Hobbs CB 60 100% 0 0%
Robert Spillane LB 60 100% 0 0%
Tre’von Moehrig FS 60 100% 0 0%
Amik Robertson CB 50 83% 5 19%
Marcus Epps SS 50 83% 0 0%
Maxx Crosby DE 49 82% 0 0%
Divine Deablo LB 48 80% 0 0%
Jack Jones CB 40 67% 4 15%
Bilal Nichols DT 37 62% 5 19%
John Jenkins DT 35 58% 5 19%
Jerry Tillery DT 29 48% 5 19%
Tyree Wilson DE 28 47% 5 19%
Adam Butler DT 28 47% 4 15%
Malcolm Koonce DE 26 43% 7 27%
Marcus Peters CB 20 33% 0 0%
Malik Reed LB 16 27% 11 42%
Luke Masterson LB 10 17% 22 85%
Isaiah Pola-Mao FS 10 17% 17 65%
Janarius Robinson DE 3 5% 1 4%
Tyler Hall CB 1 2% 4 15%
Special Teams Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Brandon Bolden RB 0 0% 22 85%
Curtis Bolton LB 0 0% 22 85%
Christopher Smith SS 0 0% 19 73%
Jesper Horsted TE 0 0% 17 65%
DJ Turner WR 0 0% 17 65%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 8 31%
Jacob Bobenmoyer LS 0 0% 7 27%
AJ Cole III P 0 0% 7 27%
Jordan Meredith G 0 0% 4 15%
Thayer Munford T 0 0% 4 15

Raiders sizzling start suffers familiar fizzling finish in 31-17 loss to Chiefs

Raiders hot start vs Chiefs suffers familiar fizzling finish

We weren’t 18 minutes into the Raiders’ game against the Chiefs Sunday and the Raiders were already up 14-0. And they could’ve been up 17-0 had Daniel Carlson not missed a chipshot 30-yard field goal on their second drive. That would have been three Raiders drives, all for scores and two punts for the Chiefs with just one first down.

That was as good as it got for the Raiders.

After that everything flipped. The Chiefs offense got going and the Raiders’ offense fell flat. Specifically, the Chiefs outscored the Raiders 31-3 over the final 42 minutes to win 31-17.

It was an all too familiar pattern for these Raiders.

It was still anyone’s game at the half. The score was tied 14-14. It was similar to last week in Miami when it was a 14-13 game at the half. In both case things ground to a halt after that.

This one saw Davante Adams catch five passes on five targets for 73 yards to start things off. Then he had just two targets with no catches for nearly three quarters.

Josh Jacobs also had big numbers early on, running for 94 yards and a TD on 12 carries (7.8 yards per carry) including a huge 63-yard burst for the Raiders second touchdown. Then he got just 16 yards on eight runs (2.0 ypc) in the second half without picking up a single first down on the ground.

When that Jacobs TD run put the Raiders up 14-0, the Chiefs had just one first down and 13 yards of offense on two possessions. Then they went on a run, scoring touchdowns on three straight drives and four touchdowns on their next five drives. Any positive feelings early on were a distant memory.

“I don’t think you just jump up 14-0 if you weren’t gonna be aggressive and feel that way,” said Pierce after the game. “I think we knew early on we could run the ball with Josh we did that. We knew we had a great opportunity there with Tay on outside and we took advantage of that. And then at a point you know like every game is gonna come to a point where offense stalls and then how do you rebound from that and what we’re struggling with right now is just rebounding from those dry moments and you see them, it’s very evident in the game.”

Last week the Raiders offense was shut out in the second half. Just as they had been in Josh McDaniels’s final game in Week 8 against the Lions. In this game, the Raiders would get just five first downs in the entire second half and manage just three points.

The Raiders seemed to have stopped these late collapses in their first two games under Antonio Pierce when they beat the Giants and Jets in consecutive weeks. But it appears now that perhaps that was more a product of playing inspired football against two bad teams. Two weeks later after two very good teams, they just couldn’t hang. Simply put, they just faced better teams.

“Yeah squeezing all we can,” Pierce said. “Obviously 14-0, that’s a great start. But you knew at some point, World Champs, Patrick [Mahomes] and those guys will start making plays.”

From here the Raiders have a bye week before hosting the currently 6-5 Vikings.

Raiders winners and losers in 31-17 defeat vs. Chiefs

Raiders winners and losers in 31-17 defeat vs. Chiefs

The Raiders started red hot against the Chiefs but slowly lost control of the game, eventually succumbing to their AFC West rival in a 31-17 loss at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday.

Las Vegas outgained Kansas City 144 yards to 11 in the first quarter and had a 14-0 lead after a 63-yard gallop by running back Josh Jacobs early in the second. The Chiefs responded with 21 unanswered points to take the lead in the third quarter and never looked back.

Here are the winners and losers for the week as the Raiders fall to 5-7.

Winner: RB Josh Jacobs

Jacobs ran for a 7-yard gain on the Raiders’ first snap from scrimmage, which set the tone for Las Vegas’ hot start. His 63-yard run (with great blocks from tight end Michael Mayer and offensive tackle Kolton Miller) surely had many Raiders fans believing a win against the first-place Chiefs was in the cards.

Jacobs’ performance epitomized the entire team’s day, however. After 94 rushing yards in the first half, he slowed considerably and ended the day with 110 on 20 carries.

Winner: WR Jakobi Meyers

Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers got the scoring started for the Raiders with an 18-yard touchdown on Las Vegas’ first drive of the game. Meyers also converted multiple third-down opportunities, including an exceptional grab on a 3rd-and-4 play in the third quarter. The catch led to a Raiders field goal and tightened the score to 21-17.

On the day, Meyers had 79 yards on six receptions, leading the Raiders in both categories.

Winner: QB Aidan O’Connell

Quarterback Aidan O’Connell bounced back from a rough ending to the Raiders’ loss to the Dolphins last week, when he threw two interceptions late in the game and three picks overall.

He threw for 248 yards on 23-for-33 passing, good for a QB rating of 101.6. Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce turned to a rookie to lead the way on offense, and it appears that he made the right call. Though O’Connell has to do a better job of getting superstar WR Davante Adams the ball, even when he’s double-covered. Adams started hot along with his teammates but had very little impact as the game wore on.

Winner: DE Maxx Crosby

Defensive end Maxx Crosby didn’t practice all week due to injury and illness, but he still notched a QB sack, bringing him to 10.5 on the season.

Crosby (and DE Malcolm Koonce, who initiated the pressure) broke through when the Raiders needed a play to regain momentum in the third quarter. Las Vegas notched a field goal on the ensuing possession to pull with four points of Kansas City.

Loser: CB Marcus Peters

Cornerback Marcus Peters was slated for an appearance on the loser list after he missed an open-field tackle near the goal line while the Raiders still held a 14-0 advantage. He became a shoo-in after he was benched in favor of CB Jack Jones.

Peters has drawn the ire of many Raiders observers and fans this season for his lackadaisical tackling, even as the Las Vegas defense has played better as a whole. Peters’ latest whiff was too much for the coaching staff to take, apparently, especially with the recently acquired Jones on deck.

Loser: DE Tyree Wilson

With Crosby missing practice all week, this game presented a great opportunity for rookie DE Tyree Wilson to step up. Not only did he presumably get extra reps in practice, but Crosby’s playing time was limited against the Chiefs.

Wilson underwhelmed. He recorded just one tackle and lost some playing time to seldom-used DE Malik Reed.

Loser: CB Nate Hobbs

Cornerback Nate Hobbs had his share of good moments against the Chiefs, posting eight tackles (seven solo) and a tackle for loss. But one bad, unsightly play lands him on the loser list.

He misjudged a route by Chiefs WR Rashee Rice at the start of the fourth quarter, just after the Raiders tightened the score to 21-17. Rice ran 39 yards to paydirt as Hobbs followed him from a distance, which is just a terrible look for any secondary defender.

Loser: Coach Antonio Pierce

Raiders fell to 2-2 under interim coach Pierce after the team’s second straight defeat. Each loss was against first-place teams, but following some questionable decisions against the Dolphins last week (his conservative approach to end the first half), Pierce again had a notable head-scratcher.

As the Raiders burst out the gates for their fast start, Pierce opted to try a first-quarter field goal rather than go for a 4th-and-1 attempt. Las Vegas was already up 7-0 and the offense was gaining chunks of yardage seemingly at will. Making matters worse, kicker Daniel Carlson uncharacteristically missed the short 30-yard kick.

Pierce’s decision rose to the forefront later in the game when the Raiders were compelled to go for a 4th-and-1 try from their own 19-yard line late in the game, trailing 28-17. The fourth-down try early in the game was from a position of strength and favored the Raiders, as opposed to the fourth-down try late, which was an act of desperation.

Ideally for Las Vegas, Pierce is starting to gain a firmer grasp of when to go for it and when to kick, especially against a high-powered opponent. Otherwise, Pierce appears to have potential as a head coach. His team played hard against a tough team, as they have every week on his watch. But he takes the personal “L” this week, along with the Raiders team loss.

After the last two games against tough opponents, the Raiders schedule eases up a bit, but not by a lot. Can Pierce finish his tenure as interim coach on a positive note, much as tenure began? We’ll know more soon, as the team’s next test is against the Vikings at Allegiant Stadium in Week 14.

Raiders CB Marcus Peters benched before half time vs Chiefs

Raiders CB Marcus Peters yanked before half time vs Chiefs and didn’t return

Sunday was the first time Marcus Peters has faced the team that drafted him since he joined their division rival Raiders. And that reunion lasted less than a half of football.

The only reason Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce would give was “Coach’s decision”.

That reasoning rules out Peters being pulled from the game for injury reasons and leaves it to either his play or his attitude.

I pressed him to offer more details on exactly why he made that decision and he simply repeated “Coach’s decision”.

Peters spent the entire second half standing on the sideline without his helmet and instead sporting a beanie, which suggested he knew he wasn’t getting back in the game.

Peters was replaced at right outside cornerback by Jack Jones who the team claimed off waivers from the Patriots two weeks ago.

The Raiders were still up 14-7 when Peters was pulled from the game, so it’s hard to say what exactly happened that triggered Pierce to yank Peters, but it must have been pretty serious in his eyes.

Peters has started all 11 games this season and seven times played every single snap, including each of the previous two weeks. You’d have to wonder if this benching could be more than just sending a message.

Watch: Josh Jacobs lays wicked stiff arm on 63-yard touchdown run

Watch: Josh Jacobs lays wicked stiff arm on 63-yard touchdown run

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Mike Edwards. The Chiefs safety tragically had his soul taken from his body by Josh Jacobs Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas.

The incident occurred happened early in the second quarter of the Raiders game against the Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium. Jacobs found a hole along the left side of the line and shot through it. Edwards was the last man to beat and Jacobs beat him without mercy or regard for Edwards or the family he leaves behind.

The stiff arm left nothing but open field for Jacobs to streak 63 yards for the score.

It gave the Raiders a 14-0 lead over the Chiefs after they had opened the game with a touchdown and held the Chiefs to just one first down on their first two possessions.

Watch: Raiders score on opening drive, go up 7-0 in first quarter vs Chiefs

Watch: Raiders score on opening drive, go up 7-0 in first quarter vs Chiefs

The Raiders knew coming in that they would need to score early and often if they hoped to upset the Chiefs. And they are off to a good start in that objective.

Their opening drive went for a touchdown. The drive featured a 33-yard completion to Davante Adams and was capped off with an 18-yard pass to Jakobi Meyers who too it to paydirt.

From there, the Raiders defense stopped the Chiefs for a three-and-out. Then the Raiders offense went on another drive, but the drive stalled in the red zone and Daniel Carlson missed the field goal from 30 yards out.

The first quarter would end with the Raiders up 7-0 over the Chiefs. The Raiders had seven first downs while the Chiefs had none. The Raiders had 144 net yards while the Chiefs had one.

The Chiefs won’t be held down forever and presumably the Raiders offense won’t be this good all day. But it’s a great start to be certain.