3 takeaways from Raiders’ loss: Chiefs restore order in AFC West rivalry

Here are three takeaways from the Raiders’ 27-20 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium:

1. Order restored

Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said last week he can’t call the Chiefs true rivals until his team starts winning consistently again in the series.

That may take some time.

Kansas City’s six-game winning streak against the Raiders was stopped Christmas Day in a 20-14 loss, but it made sure to restore order Sunday. The Chiefs improved to 6-0 at Allegiant Stadium, a record that includes their win in Super Bowl 58 in February.

Kansas City (7-0) has won 17 of its last 20 meetings with the Raiders (2-6).

Sunday’s game was still close well into the second half. The Raiders began a drive at the Chiefs’ 3-yard line trailing 17-13 in the third quarter after safety Tre’von Moehrig picked off quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Their offense then lost five yards on four plays and turned the ball over on downs.

Kansas City proceeded to kick a field goal the next drive, then added on a touchdown after quarterback Gardner Minshew lost a fumble. That put the Chiefs up 27-13 with 4:59 remaining. The Raiders did get a touchdown from wide receiver DJ Turner with 2:03 left, but Kansas City recovered the ensuing onside kick.

Minshew completed 24 of 30 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers caught six passes for 52 yards and a score.

The passing attack didn’t get much help from the ground game. The Chiefs’ defense held the Raiders to 33 rushing yards on 21 carries.

Mahomes, who hadn’t thrown a touchdown pass since Week 4, threw for 262 yards and two scores in the win.

2. Fast starts continue

The Raiders’ offensive staff continues to do a good job scripting out the beginning of games. They scored an opening-drive touchdown for the third time in four games Sunday.

Minshew, who made his first start in three weeks, led the team down the field in 12 plays despite the Raiders committing a false start on their first play from scrimmage.

Running back Alexander Mattison ran for three yards and then took a swing pass for seven. Meyers, back on the field after missing two games with an ankle injury, converted on third down with an 11-yard reception.

The Raiders kept moving the ball with a Turner run for four yards and a catch by wide receiver Tre Tucker for 20. Two Mattison runs for three yards and an 8-yard catch by rookie tight end Brock Bowers then got the team into the red zone at the Kansas City 19-yard line.

A 7-yard run by Turner and a 3-yard carry by Mattison set the Raiders up with a first-and-goal at the 9. A run by running back Zamir White for two yards then led to a 7-yard touchdown pass from Minshew to Meyers.

Minshew completed all five of his passes on the possession for 53 yards. The Raiders’ main issue has been sustaining their early offensive success.

They didn’t score another touchdown until Turner’s at the end of the fourth quarter.

3. Questionable decisions

Pierce has been criticized for his game management during his Raiders’ tenure, and he opened himself up for more questions Sunday.

Many of them will surround the end of the first half.

The Chiefs had a third-and-goal from the 5-yard line after the two-minute warning and the Raiders used one of their remaining two timeouts on defense. It didn’t help. Kansas City scored on its next play to go up 14-10 thanks to a Mahomes pass to tight end Travis Kelce.

That left the Raiders with just one timeout when they got the ball back on offense with 1:57 left in the half. They elected to go conservative rather than attempt to take the lead.

The Raiders threw a short pass to Meyers for no gain and then huddled, allowing 40 seconds to run off the clock. Running back Ameer Abdullah gained just two yards on second down, leading the Chiefs to call a timeout with 1:11 remaining.

Kansas City forced an incomplete pass, got the ball back and marched 56 yards to set up a 42-yard field goal for kicker Harrison Butker to go up 17-10 at halftime.

That wasn’t the only sequence where Pierce will come under scrutiny.

The Raiders had a fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line in the third quarter trailing 17-13. They selected to go for the touchdown and came up short when Minshew was sacked.

It was the right move to attempt to take the lead. It just didn’t work out.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.