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

The Ugly: Alex Smith Suddenly Looks Elite

Alex Smith is a good quarterback. He can move an offense down the field and excels at the short and intermediate range stuff. He’s not going to dazzle you and he’s not going to be explosive. He’s a solid game manager who isn’t going to kill you with mistakes. And in this Andy Reid offense, Smith’s skill set works pretty well.

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Against the Raiders though, Smith looked like anything but a second tier, game manager of a quarterback. Against the Raiders defense, Smith looked positively elite. He made absolute mincemeat out of the Oakland defense and couldn’t be stopped. Anything Smith wanted, Smith got.

For the day, he finished a pretty stellar 19 of 22 for 224 yards. The one bright spot – and we’re really reaching here – is that he didn’t throw a touchdown. Then again, he really didn’t have to, given the fact that his ground game was eating up the defense.

While Smith’s numbers aren’t eye popping, they don’t have to be. They were highly effective. Smith was incredibly efficient running the Kansas City offense and made play after play after play. And nothing the Raiders did on the defensive side of the ball seemed to stop him from completing pass after pass.

It helped quite a lot to have his ground game working so well, but the biggest culprit in Smith’s efficiency was the fact that he had all day to throw. While Khalil Mack did notch his second sack of the season, the Raiders were not able to generate any sort of a sustained pass rush. Again.

It’s a lot easier for opposing quarterbacks to look like world beaters if they have the time to sit back in the pocket, do a crossword, and have a cup of coffee before they have to throw. And the Raiders are doing an exceptional job of making opposing quarterbacks look like world beaters this season.

If they hope to make any sort of noise in the postseason, they’re going to have to learn how to put pressure on the passer. And do it quickly.