Final Oakland Raider Grades @ Kansas City Chiefs; Week 14:

Kansas City Chiefs 21 (10-3)

Oakland Raiders 13 (10-3)

In a cold winter night that resembled days of old, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Raiders 21-13. Maybe traveling Raiders fans knew something when a flight from Oakland to Kansas City actually ran out of alcohol serving thirsty fans; this would be a tough one. The Raiders lost to the Chiefs and went from the #1 seed to the #5 seed in a NY minute.

http://www.sfgate.com/raiders/article/Airplane-Raiders-fans-Kansas-City-no-alcohol-10784175.php

Maybe though it was having 3 turnovers in KC territory and ending up with only 6 points from it. Maybe it was a bad day for the offense and Derek Carr. The Raiders found out living on the edge against bad to average teams is a lot easier than magical comebacks against a good team like the Chiefs.

Quarterback:

I thought annoying Cris Collinsworth was going to start a Gofundme account for Derek Carr’s pinkie. His over dramatics make Jack Buck seem pleasant. Carr was interviewed after the game by ESPN and others and he said he was fine. Funny how he was fine against Buffalo and now some fans have him near death. Carr said he wasn’t cold and his hand felt so good he didn’t even wear a glove. “I just had a bad game”.

Carr is now 1-5 against the Chiefs and in the last 2 games at Arrowhead he has been off target amazingly on 29 passes. This wasn’t a one time thing. Why do they have his number? In the first game the Chiefs blitzed constantly. In this game with Justin Houston back they didn’t have to. Since high school Carr’s weakness is throwing under pressure. For most of the year he hasn’t had any pressure. Kansas City’s pass rush had him off balance all night. Carr floated 2 long passes that were wide open; too much loft.

Since last year against Minnesota, some teams try to take away the deep ball by playing 2 deep zone; the safeties playing back to protect the CB’s. Kansas City has done that a lot against Carr. When you don’t have to blitz to get a pass rush it makes it even more successful.

GRADE: D-

Carr was 17 for 41 for 117 yards with no TD’s or interceptions. In 2 games against KC he has 1 TD pass. NOT a coincidence. There were several times when KC was a sucker for a screen and I thought Carr didn’t audible as well as he has in past games. Just a bad day all around.

Running Backs:

The second the Chiefs leader LB Derrick Johnson blew out his Achilles heel, the Raiders run game excelled. The Chiefs really don’t have a solid LB backup to replace Johnson and it showed. Latavius Murray ran for over 100 yards and the Raiders avg. 4.3 yards a carry for RB’s. Not a bad night with 135 yards.

Grade B-

The Raiders RB’s never got too involved in the passing game which hurt the Raiders. Part of that was Carr but it was an issue.

Offensive Line:

When I wrote last week that the Raiders offensive line was the co MVP of the NFL some laughed. No one’s laughing now. When they don’t protect Carr well, he struggles.

With Cris Collinsworth’s dramatics about Keleche Osemele not playing, you would have thought the Raiders should just forfeit and give up. The Raiders run game rushed for 135 yards without him. In the passing game at times they struggled protecting Carr which is job 1 for this unit and that’s where he was really missed. Carr was flushed out of the pocket for much of the night and was uncomfortable for most of the game.

Grade C

Just like in the first game, Carr was forced out of the pocket and had to throw quicker than he wanted to. Not a bad game on the ground but the pass protection didn’t cut it.

Wide Receivers:

The television media sure isn’t saying much, but on the long pass to Amari Cooper, many KC Chiefs fans online have said that it was obvious that the ball hit a wire coming from the tv camera that floats around the stadium for better views. They didn’t say a word during the game about it. Cooper said he was ready to catch it and then suddenly it just dropped straight down.

Overall a tough game. With Carr being off and catches being dropped, this was the worst passing game for the Raiders. Seth Roberts dropped 2 passes in the red zone and Crabtree and Cooper had their issues too. Bad game all around.

GRADE: D-

The worst game of the year for this unit.

Defensive Line:

Overall a good game. The Raiders obviously made it a point to stop the run and they did. Dan Williams clogged the middle and Justin Ellis even pitched in. Bruce Irvin did have his issues at times against the run but the Raiders pass rush was pretty good with Kahlil Mack causing another turnover.

Grade: B+

One of their better games. Even with the Chiefs quick passing game and getting only 1 sack on the night, the Raiders put pressure on Alex Smith often.

Linebackers:

Another rough game. The Raiders plan for TE Travis Kelce was to put a LB on him and then if needed have a Safety give help. The help was often not there or late and Kelce over matched the LB’s. They played better in the run game this week but part of that was the excellent play of the DL.

Grade C

The Raiders had to stop Kelce and they didnt.

Defensive Backs:

All year David Amerson has struggled against fast WR who can go deep. He was burned again this week. In the medium to short passes he’s good; the deep ball though; not so much.

TJ Carrie seems to have gotten his confidence back; he had 2 solid plays and a key interception that helped the Raiders get back into the game. The safeties again struggled with help on deep balls. Nate Allen’s angles were as bad as Nelson’s have been. Alex Smith was 3-3 on passes 30 yards or longer. Again, Alex Smith.

Grade C

The Raiders defense was torched in the 1st half but played better in the second including the DB’s.

Coaching:

The Raiders need to come out no huddle right from the beginning. Against Buffalo and in other comebacks, the no huddle has been highly successful. Why not use it early? You can’t expect to start slow every game and come back and win. Punting to Tyreek Hill at all was another head scratcher.

The worst blunder though was with 2:06 to go in the game with 3rd and 1 at the KC 14. Instead of running the ball the Raiders threw to Andre Holmes in the corner which was well defended. On the next play Austin Howard commits a penalty and now it’s 4th and 6. Pass defended to the left side; game over. The Chiefs without Johnson could not stop the run anymore and to not run the ball was a huge mistake. There was plenty of time and the Raiders had 2 time outs. The Raiders on their last drive ran the ball 6 times for 30 yards. You can’t run the ball twice for 1 yard?

Grade D+

All Jack Del Rio’s jokes about the Raiders penalties didn’t seem so funny anymore. Austin Howard’s penalty on the last drive really hurt them. They have to start better on offense; go no huddle immediately.

Special Teams:

Janikowski was perfect on the night but then it got ugly. Jack Del Rio admitted that the Raiders were trying to punt to the left but then Marquette King kicked the ball in the middle of the field and Tyreek Hill ran the punt back for a TD against only 4 defenders. Travis Kelce’s riding the horse dance in front of King was loved by the media and Chiefs fans alike. The Raiders gave up 172 yards in the return game and their own return game was invisible. Worst game of the year for this group.

Raiders long snapper Jon Condo had a poor snap that was muffed by Marquette King which cost the Raiders 3 points. King didn’t do a good job of securing it either.

Grade D

Janikowski good; everything else a train wreck.

Conclusion:

Alex Smith is 9-1 in games against the Raiders and Derek Carr is 1-5 against KC. Until the Raiders can solve the Chiefs quick passing game and keep defenders off of Carr, this trend will continue.

Why This Loss Isn’t as Bad As First Thought:

Dry your eyes Raider fans. Let’s look at why this loss isn’t as bad as you think.

First, to the fans that said it was too cold for the Raiders to play well, I’m sorry but that is ridiculous. Al Davis didn’t say “Just Win Baby Unless It’s Cold”. The weather was a steady 20F and if you can’t play in cold then you are not going to do much in the post season. KC torched the Raiders in the first half. Funny how the cold didn’t hurt them.

No, Derek Carr’s finger wasn’t falling off. He just had a bad game. Against Buffalo he was just fine. In Kansas City he was harassed all night; it happens. Even Carr said he was fine and they will bounce back.

DENVER: Denver has the hardest schedule in the NFL the last 4 weeks. They go to Tennessee Sunday and then host New England. They also have to go to Arrowhead on Christmas day and then host the Raiders on New Years day. Hard to think with their struggles with run defense and QB that they will sweep.

KANSAS CITY: KC has an easier road but they are not the same team without LB Derrick Johnson. If people think they are going to stop the run with backup LB’s and hybrid safeties playing in the middle, they are crazy.

The Chiefs have Tennessee and DeMarco Murray at home next week; they host Denver and then they are on the road to SD who were destroying them in week 1 until the Philip Rivers express swallowed the olive late in the game. If Denver concentrates on their run game, I see the Chiefs losing to Denver.

RAIDERS: The Raiders lick their wounds and travel to SD. They’ve won 3 in a row there and tend to score at will against the Chargers who have given up over 30 points in the last 3 meetings in San Diego. It won’t be easy but its very winnable. They then host the Colts who have little to no defense and a poor OL but they also have Andrew Luck who can carry them to a win against anyone. Then the game in Denver on New Years Day. Yes it will be cold.

Jims Jamz:

Obviously you go week by week (save the emails) but for the sake of looking ahead, Denver probably loses at least another game and the Raiders should win at least 2 of those games. Again SHOULD. I see the worst case scenario is that the Raiders finish 1 game behind or tied with KC. If that happens the Raiders will be in the playoffs. I don’t see KC sweeping but there is a possibility because they always play Denver tough and have already beaten them once on the road. I just think the Broncos will gut out a win with no Johnson at LB. They can’t look past the running game of Tennessee.

Outside of New England; just like most of the NFL; the rest of the AFC just isn’t very good. Houston is tied for first place in the AFC South at 6-6 with a -50 point differential!

Look for a big game from the Raiders in San Diego. They weren’t ready for prime time yet and that was a bad loss in KC, but a Chargers game is just what they need.

During times like these, fans either throw players under the bus or blindly make excuses. The Raiders will do neither. They will own up that they lost, and will come back with a great effort next week. If my scenario rings true and Denver beats KC, then the Raiders can win the west in Denver on the last game of the year. Wow won’t that be fun. Get ready for a wild ride. The fun is just beginning and with every week, comes a new story and scenario. Even after a bad loss, I’m sure for Raider fans this sure beats NFL draft talk this time of year.