RAIDERS LOSE; 49ERS WIN
Kansas City 28, Oakland 10
OAKLAND — It looked promising at the outset.
Raiders’ quarterback Derek Carr was in command, taking the Raiders 65 yards on their first possession for a 28-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson, then directing a 74-yard six play drive to make it 10-0. He even passed Ken Stabler as having the most career passing yardage in franchise history.
And then?
Punt, punt, punt, punt, interception, interception . . . Chiefs 28, Raiders 10.
Going forward, the Raiders can’t afford six such consecutive possessions in any of the next five games. Minnesota and Indianapolis are next on the road, followed by the Chicago Bears in London, the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field and finally a road game against the Houston Texans on Oct. 27.
The Raiders are going to need Carr to be at his best if they have any hope of emerging from that Murderer’s Row with any hope of being in the conversation for a .500 record.
Carr wasn’t at his best against the Chiefs. Some of it wasn’t his fault. Circumstances beyond his control and all that. But since Carr’s leading the orchestra, any off-key notes will come back to him. He knows this and understands it.
And while the Raiders were stuck in the mud after their first two drives, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes was given time to allow his receivers to stage a track meet on a baseball field. He completed 28 of 44 passes for 443 yards and four touchdowns while Carr and Co. were stagnant. Ballgame.
Carr finished 23 of 38 for 38 for 198 yards, a 6-yard touchdown pass to Tyrell Williams and interceptions to Bashaud Breeland and Charvarious Ward.
And the stalled drives which resulted in punts were as costly as the interceptions.
“They would get us on something or we’d be just short of the first down,” Carr said. “That’s football stuff. It’s nothing we were stressed out about or anything like that. But while we did that, they on offense were able to get going and get off to a big lead. Then the game changes, right?”
Indeed.
To be at their best in 2019, the Raiders aren’t going to be the Chiefs, as much as fun as it would be to watch. Rather than detonate, the Raiders will be a slow-burn type of team, completing safe short passes, running the ball with power, then occasionally taking the deep shot.
The Raiders aren’t built to come from be
hind. It changes everything with regard to how they run their offense.
Despite the 28-10 deficit, Carr had a chance to get the Raiders back in the game, and interceptions derailed both drives for different reasons.
With help from a 51-yard burst from rookie running back Josh Jacobs, the Raiders got to the 4-yard line with first-and-goal with 8:35 left in the third quarter. On first down, Carr threw one up for Tyrell Wiliams on a fade. Williams reacted as if surprised, and Bashaud Breeland made a subtle pushoff and got the interception.
“They brought an all-out blitz. They had more than we could block so I hand-signaled to the one I wanted and we miscommunicated on the hand signal,” Carr said. “It’s honestly as simple as that.”
Carr said he was fine with the play if he and Williams had been on the same page. Coach Jon Gruden wasn’t so sure.
“It was a power play off the right side,” Gruden said. “Derek saw a free safety blitz and tried to make a play. He probably tried to do a little too much in that situation, but we were down 18 points, first-and-goal. We probably should have handed it off.”
The next time the Raiders got the ball back, they got near midfield when a Carr pass went directly to Ward at the Chiefs 45-yard line. The intended target was Ryan Grant, who was on the ground and called for offensive pass interference.
Carr was demonstrably upset, way more so than usual.
“The second interception will blow my mind forever,” Carr said. “They said (Grant) was blocking. So I asked the man, ‘Sir, why would I throw him the ball if he was blocking?’ And he didn’t have an answer for me. He walked away. I don’t know what to do in that instance. We got the coverage we want, the exact look we want, I’m throwing where I’m supposed to throw it. They tackle our receiver and yet it’s a penalty on us.
“This is changing the outcome of a football game. That shouldn’t happen. When things like that happen, I get kind of upset.”
There was no reason to doubt Carr’s desire even when the Raiders’ offense went off the rails after the 10-0 lead. He tried to run for a first down and got spun around in the air, coming up a yard short with the Raiders punting.
“I really appreciate Derek going for it, selling out for the first down,” Gruden said. “Unfortunately he came up a bit short.”
If Carr lost confidence, it was well hidden. “On both turnover drives, we were moving the ball straight down the field,” Carr said. “It’s not like we forget how to play offense. . you look at the scoreboard and it’s, ‘My gosh they’re up three scores,’ but it really was a lot closer than that.”