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.
Welcome back Mr. Meyers#KCvsLV | 📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/Q1NdgML78o
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 27, 2024
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.
"Gimme dat" – Tre'von probably#KCvsLV | 📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/ClntMpGPog
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 27, 2024
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.
Wilson sacks Mahomes 💪
📺: #KCvsLV on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/GaP5WkhGA0— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024
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.
Ball is out! @Chiefs ball!
📺: #KCvsLV on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/KWHdoBVzQX— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024
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.
Bowers showing off the hands on #NationalTightEndsDay
📺: #KCvsLV on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/RUjIkgkYcx— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024
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.
