Oakland Raiders: The Good, Bad, And Ugly In Loss To The Chiefs

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Oct 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper (89) carries the ball as Kansas City Chiefs defensive back Daniel Sorensen (49) tackles during the second quarter at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

The Bad: Amari Cooper

On paper and in some fantasy leagues, Cooper had an oustanding day. And yes, he did have a pretty good day overall, despite being held out of the endzone for the fifth time in six games. And though the stat line for Cooper against the Chiefs looks good – ten receptions for 129 yards – it doesn’t really provide an accurate reflection of his game against Kansas City.

By halftime of the game with Kansas City, Cooper had amassed 117 of his 129 yards on the day. After the halftime break, the Chiefs held Cooper to almost spectator status by limiting him to just twelve more yards on the afternoon.

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Of course, that’s not all on Cooper. He can’t do anything if he’s not getting the ball. And despite being down one of their starting corners in Philip Gaines and being without their top corner in Marcus Peters for a time in the second half, the Chiefs were still able to do a number on Cooper.

That’s not on Cooper. That all falls squarely onto the coaching staff. And in this case, on OC Bill Musgrave.

We saw this last week as well. San Diego, being without their top two corners in Brandon Flowers and Jason Verrett, seemed ripe for an all out air attack. And yet, instead of applying constant pressure downfield, Musgrave opted to be a little more – conservative – with his playcalling. Though Carr did take a few shots downfield, the Raiders did not really press the advantage they had.

The same thing happened with Kansas City. Rather than apply constant pressure on the weak parts of the Chiefs defense and wait for it to crack, Oakland’s offense didn’t do – well – much of anything. They certainly didn’t try to press their advantage when Peters had to leave the game for a time – at a point in the contest when they were still in the thick of it.

Instead of unleashing Cooper and Michael Crabtree to run wild in Kansas City’s secondary, Musgrave chose to play it more – safe. And that turned out to be a recipe for disaster.

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