Mahomes delivers in blink of an eye
Barrage in second quarter enough to take down Raiders
OAKLAND >> The Raiders just learned how far away they are from the top of the AFC West Sunday.
And they learned it in the blink of an eye.
Patrick Mahomes got hot in the second quarter — about the same time Derek Carr cooled off — and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the
Raiders 28-10 before a sellout crowd at the Coliseum.
Carr and the Raiders built a 10-0 lead on their first two possessions, looking much like the methodical possession-minded team that beat Denver in Week 1. But being methodical is no match for lightning, and Mahomes strafed the Raiders for 278 yards and four touchdowns in the second quarter alone to put Kansas City up 28-10.
“They made some great plays, a barrage of plays in about a five-minute period that really turned this game around,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said.
It was Kansas City’s ninth win in the last 10 meetings against the Raiders. The Chiefs finish with a 22-20-1 record all-time in the Coliseum, assuming the Raiders’ Las Vegas stadium is ready in 2020.
It was the home fans’ last chance to see the Raiders until Nov. 3 when they host the Detroit Lions. The only game listed as a “home date” among the next five is against the Chicago Bears in London on Oct. 6.
A look at studs and duds as the Raiders fell to 1-1 and the Chiefs improved to 2-0:
Studs
PATRICK MAHOMES >> The Chiefs quarterback missed some throws, but that didn’t stop him from throwing touchdown passes of 44 yards to Demarcus Robinson, 44 yards to Mecole Hardman, 27 to Travis Kelce and 39 yards to Robinson in the first half. Mahomes was 18 of 26 for 313 yards. Mahomes had 278 yards and all four touch
downs in the second quarter.
It could have been worse. A 72-yard strike to Hardman in the second half was called back by penalty. Mahomes finished 30 of 44 for 443 yards and the four touchdowns.
“We were just hitting on the plays,” Mahomes said. “We hit a lot of them in the second quarter, and we missed them in other parts of the game.” DEMARCUS ROBINSON >> Who needs Tyreek Hill? Robinson caught five passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the first half and finished with six receptions and 172 yards. RAIDERS RUN DEFENSE >>
The Chiefs never did much traction against the Raiders on the ground, not that it mattered given what Mahomes was doing through the air. Kansas City had 32 yards on 22 carries. TYRELL WILLIAMS >> Gruden said Williams was thought as a No. 1 receiver and is being paid like it. And he’s playing like it too. He left at one point in the second quarter to get a pain-killing injection in on an injured hip, and was the intended receiver when Carr’s pass was intercepted by Bashaud Breeland in the end zone.
Carr said he saw an allout blitz and gave Williams a hand-signal that the ball was coming to him. Williams either didn’t see it or didn’t understand it. Breeland picked it off.
PASS PROTECTORS >> Tackles Trent Brown and Kolton Miller kept Carr upright and clean in the first half, as did interior linemen Denzelle Good, Jordan Devey and center Rodney Hudson. The Chiefs’ Chris Jones broke through and sacked Carr late in the half. Carr’s pass protection was for the most part pretty good. The Chiefs had three sacks in the second half, when all threat of a Raiders running game had been removed.
The Chiefs got Carr on back to back plays in the fourth quarter, with Kendall Fuller and Tonah Kpassagnon doing the honors.
Duds
DEREK CARR >> Carr threw a pair of interceptions in the third quarter when the Raiders could have gotten back in it, one in the end zone on first-and-goal intended for Tyrell Williams and another in the third quarter on a play in which Ryan Grant was being flagged for pass interference and Charvarious Ward had the ball come right to him.
But those picks didn’t hurt as much as the four straight three-and-outs following a 10-0 lead, which helped keep the Oakland defense under press.
But there was some good news for Carr. He became the Raiders’ career passing leader on a 16-yard pass to Darren Waller in the second quarter, breaking the mark of 19,078 set by Hall of Famer Ken Stabler. Carr finished the day 23 for 38 for 198 yards with one TD and two interceptions. He has 19,196 yards in his career.
LAMARCUS JOYNER >> The Raiders slot corner let Demarcus Robinson come unimpeded across the line and into the secondary. If there was supposed to be help, it wasn’t evident. Robinson was wide open and caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes on the first play of the second quarter as the Chiefs got within 10-7. Joyner and Curtis Riley were in coverage on 42-yard scoring strike from Mahomes to Mecole Hardman.
It’s probably not fair to single out Joyner since pretty much everyone in the secondary got roasted at one time or another, including undrafted rookie Keisean Nixon.
RAIDERS’ PASS RUSH >> Mahomes was sacked twice, but had way too much time to throw.
MAXX CROSBY >> The Raiders’ rookie defensive end drew a personal foul for putting his full weight on Mahomes after a short pass which was sniffed out by Trayvon Mullen for a short gain. It helped sustain the Chiefs first scoring drive. TYRANN MATHIEW >> Chiefs free safety had a 43-yard pass interference penalty after Grant broke free to the post in the first quarter on the Raiders’ first touchdown drive.
CLELIN FERRELL >> Rookie defensive end stuffed a Chiefs run play early but had a neutral zone infraction on third-and-4 during Chiefs, 95-yard touchdown drive in second quarter.
Interesting audibles
Carr spiced things up early by calling out Richard Nixon, Clayton Kershaw and even Raiders owner Mark Davis while audibilizing to a different play.
Carr used the second play of the game to remind us of our 37th president. Faced with a second-and-3 play, Carr surveyed the Chiefs’ defensive alignment, shouting “Richard Nixon!”