It wasn’t exactly a blood bath Thursday night, when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Oakland Raiders by an eight-point margin. Still, it was a defeat, and Oakland players disappointed their fans with the first loss they’ve had in the last seven games. It was particularly disappointing that the Kansas City Chiefs delivered the loss. The defeat took the Raider’s record down a peg, to a 10-3 season.
What is disturbing to Raider’s fans is the Chiefs’ overall record against silver and black. The Oakland Raider’s don’t seem capable of buying a break. Oakland has failed to overcome whatever Svengali the Chief’s have over them, having lost two consecutive seasons to Kansas City. Ouch!
In a postgame press conference, Oakland Raider’s head coachJack Del Rio.said his players,“had a few opportunities, but didn’t “fully take advantage of those opportunities and came up a little bit short”. He went on to say how he liked the Raider’s efforts but not their execution.
Raider’s fans are keenly aware of the lack of execution put forth by their team against the Raiders in the 13-21 game. There were multiple turnovers, created by several drops throughout the evening. Seth Roberts had a huge drop that would have resulted in a touchdown if he could have held on to it. Weather may have been a factor. It was the first cold weather game of the season for the Raiders, with a wind chill factor nearing single digits. Coach Del Rio expressed to the press that the team would have “better days ahead” at throwing and catching as they usually do. The fans certainly hope so.
Quarterback Derek Carr was completely daunted in the game, almost from the very beginning. This might be attributed to his injured pinkie finger, though Carr denies that to be the reason behind his lack of performance. The MVP candidate didn’t give an MVP performance, with only 17 of his 41 passes connected, resulting in a season low of 117 yards.
The game knocked Oakland from its pedestal as the number one seed in the AFC.