Oakland Raiders: Top 5 takeaways from Week 2 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs
The Oakland Raiders matched up against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and were promptly brought back to reality — this season won’t be as easy as last week made it seem.
After the Oakland Raiders victory last Monday’s over the Denver Broncos, yesterday’s 28-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Oakland might as well have been a dousing of ice-cold water on what was a steaming hot redemption story, post-Antonio Brown.
Hopes were cautiously high going into a Week 2 matchup against one of the Super Bowl favorites led by young phenom Patrick Mahomes. Headed into a string of games on the road, this last matchup on the dirt infield would be crucial for the Raiders’ success.
But it didn’t pan out.
The Chiefs are the real deal, and any shortcomings that were exposed this week shouldn’t be taken as nails in the coffin. This team has plenty more to prove against future opponents.
Still, measuring up to the bar set by Kansas City is always an important test, especially when the rivalry is taken into consideration.
The Raiders jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead in the first quarter, thanks in large part to their dependence on Derek Carr airing the ball out down the field. The offense looked good. The defense looked good.
But then the second quarter happened.
The Kansas City Chiefs put up all 28 of their points in a single quarter, and they were scoring at will. Patrick Mahomes was operating like he was playing Madden on beginner’s difficulty. He was bombing away fifty-yard touchdowns like they were handoffs.
Neither team would put up a single point for the entire second half of the game.
On paper, shutting the Kansas City Chiefs out for three quarters seems like it would be a win, but it felt far from it.
Typical of an Andy Reid team, the Chiefs seemed like they were mostly checked out for the second half of the game. The Raiders didn’t entirely roll over, but the Chiefs knew that they got the job done and didn’t need to overexert themselves.
This loss sent the Raiders right back to reality — and, in the process, right back to the drawing board on what needs to be done this season to consider it a success.
As the Oakland Raiders prepare to hit the road and regain the confidence they had in Week 1, we take a look at five takeaways from the Week 2 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs.