Chiefs’ goal-line stand extends Raiders’ misery: ‘You gotta punch it in’
One yard. One measly yard.
That’s all that stood between the Raiders and a second-half lead against the Chiefs on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium. Safety Tre’von Moehrig returned an interception to the Kansas City 3-yard line with 5:38 remaining in the third quarter. Running back Alexander Mattison gained two yards the next play to give the Raiders, down 17-13 at the time, a second-and-goal from the 1.
All they needed was one yard.
What happened next is a microcosm of the Raiders’ season. They lost seven yards their next three plays and never recovered in a 27-20 loss, their fourth straight.
The Raiders, now 2-6 with a trip to Cincinnati upcoming this week, are seeing their season slip further and further from their grasp.
“It’s just frustrating when the outcome isn’t what you know it could be,” Mattison said.
The Raiders, as has been the case for much of the season, only have themselves to blame.
Mattison, on the game’s fateful series, was stuffed for no gain on second down. He was thrown for a 2-yard loss on third down when the Raiders lost track of Kansas City linebackers Drue Tranquill and Nick Bolton.
Quarterback Gardner Minshew then dropped back to pass on fourth down. He was sacked for a loss of five. The Raiders, rather than taking a lead against a Chiefs team that won Super Bowl 58 in their home stadium in February, came up empty.
“That was disappointing,” left tackle Kolton Miller said.
What happened next seemed almost inevitable.
Kansas City (7-0), the NFL’s lone unbeaten team, drove 87 yards and extended its lead to 20-13 on a 24-yard field goal by kicker Harrison Butker with 8:44 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Minshew fumbled the ball away at his own 38-yard line the Raiders’ next drive. The Chiefs took advantage, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes throwing an 9-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy to put the team up 27-13 with 4:59 left.
Mahomes said afterwards Kansas City’s goal-line stand “switched the momentum.” The Raiders entered the season believing they could push teams around when they needed to. Instead, they were the ones getting pushed back.
“Ball at the 3-yard line, you gotta punch it in,” coach Antonio Pierce said.
Play-calling problems?
Pierce said he wasn’t going to get into offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s play-calling after the game. It seems at least curious that the Raiders didn’t feature rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who finished with five catches for a team-high 58 yards, once in the deciding sequence.
Minshew refused to place the blame at Getsy’s feet.
“I feel comfortable with the plays we’re calling,” said Minshew, who completed 24 of 30 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns. “I think in a lot of cases, we have to execute better.”
Pierce pointed out that the Raiders passed the ball three straight times when they had a first-and-goal from the 4-yard line in their 20-15 road loss to the Rams on Oct. 20. They completed just one of those passes for zero yards.
The Raiders decided to try something different against the Chiefs. It didn’t work.
“I’m trying to establish some physicality with our guys up front,” Pierce said. “Right there at the 3-yard line, you have to pound it in. Turnover, sudden change. You should be able to punch that ball in.”
The Raiders were done in by the pressure packages cooked up by Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Miller said they led to unblocked tacklers that kept the team out of the end zone.
“It came down to technique and finish,” Miller said. “But man, that’s one that I really want back.”
Need to cash in
The goal-line series was the latest disappointing showing from the Raiders’ offensive line.
They’re supposed to be the engine that makes the team go, but their season-long run-blocking issues continued Sunday. The team gained just 33 yards on 21 carries.
The Raiders failed to take advantage of great field position earlier in the third quarter as well.
Wide receiver DJ Turner had a 17-yard punt return and drew an unnecessary roughness penalty to set his team up at the Chiefs’ 28-yard line. The Raiders gained just 14 yards on 10 plays, however, leading to a 32-yard Daniel Carlson field goal to make the score 17-13.
Another missed opportunity. Another reason the Raiders weren’t able to give their season a spark Sunday.
“That’s obviously something we have to be better at,” Minshew said. “We have to be able to get it in the end zone, point-blank, period, if we want to be the team we have to be.”
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.
