Raiders Lose Another Heartbreaker; This Time, A Painful 30-29 Loss To Chiefs In Kansas City On MNF
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher/Writer
Raiders owner Mark Davis overhauled his NFL franchise. New coach and GM. A blockbuster trade for a star receiver. New team president.
He’s molded a team that’s highly competitive, but has found different ways to lose games in the most painful ways.
The Raiders are 1-4 after five games after blowing a 17-0 lead to their rival Kansas City Chiefs in the first half and losing, 30-29, on the road on Monday Night Football.
The Raiders were trying to win the game on a final drive. On a fourth and one yard to go for a first down, Raiders receivers Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow collided during their pass routes on the fourth down play and quarterback Derek Carr’s pass landed harmlessly downfield.
Game over. Adams, clearly frustrated, pushed over a media member as he walked off the field and headed to the locker room. Adams said the person ran in front of him.
Adams apologized for his action. He wrote in a Tweet: “Sorry to the guy I pushed over after the game. Obviously very frustrated at the way the game ended and when he ran infront of me as I exited that was my reaction and I felt horrible immediately. Thats not me..MY APOLOGIES man hope you see this.”
The Raiders had so much to be proud of tonight: two gorgeous touchdown passes from Carr (19 of 30 for 241 yards) to Adams, who caught three passes for 124 yards; Josh Jacobs ripping off big running gains for 154 yards and a touchdown; and placekicker Daniel Carlson’s flawless field goal boots, including a 53-yarder.
The Raiders trailed, 30-29, and coach Josh McDaniels decided to try for a two-point conversion late in the game. But Jacobs took a handoff and was tackled just shy of the goal line.
But in the end, the 4-1 Chiefs had Patrick Mahomes and his four short touchdown tosses to tight end Travis Kelce. Mahomes has 15 TD passes and only two interceptions in the Chiefs’ first five games.
“You didn’t see doubt in anyone’s eyes,” Kelce said after the comeback win.
LVSportsBiz’s underrated key play of the game: After the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby sacked Mahomes on second down, Mahomes handed the ball off to quick runner Jerick McKinnon, who ripped off an impressive Beast Mode-style 30-yard run, including taking Raiders cornerback Nate Hobbs for a ride on his back en route to a first down.
The Chiefs eventually drove to the Raiders goal line where Mahomes hit Kelce for the first of his TD catches. The score was, 17-7, and the Chiefs were coming back. KC also added a 59-yard field goal on the final play of the first half and the Raiders led, 20-10, at halftime.
The Raiders know heartbreak this season. They have have lost to the Chargers by five points, to the Cardinals by six in overtime, to the Titans by two points and now to the Chiefs by a single point. The 1-4 Raiders have been outscored by only five points after five games.
“The frustrating part is that it takes time,” Carr said after the loss. “It’s frustrating. I’m human. . . . It sucks what our record is.”
After the painful defeat, an even-keeled McDaniels offered the same words tonight that he has uttered after previous losses this season — that the Raiders gave a great effort but made a few plays less than the winning team.
The game was superb theater with Mahomes orchestrating the Chiefs’ comeback, a bizarre call by an official who called what appeared to be a sack of Carr a 15-yard penalty for roughing the quarterback and unsuccessful two-point conversions by both teams in the game’s fourth quarter.
The Raiders’ next game is October 23 when they host the Houston Texans at Allegiant Stadium after a bye week.
