Alright, welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' Thursday Night divisional matchup vs. the Kansas City Chiefs where the Raiders finally got that elusive win as they come from behind with a 20-24 upset victory over the Chiefs after blowing a 14 point lead in the 2nd half.
Holy crap, I'm going to have a heart attack! What a game and what better way to have a win under the lights, at night time, with the rain pouring down on the O.Co. We haven't won exactly in a year, it looked 0-16 was inevitable, but man the Raiders did it and to make even things more good, the Chiefs were riding a 5 game winning streak and were 1 win away from taking the AFC West division lead away from the Broncos, and the Raiders cashed in on the opportunity on a short week and then boom, caught the Chiefs off guard like fish in a barrel.
The Positives
Latavius Murray, 4 carries, 112 rushing yards, 2 rushing TDs. Hope Murray gets better after that hit he took from the Chiefs defense. Even though, he wasn't there to finish up the game to give us this first win, but his rushing TDs were instrumental to this win. Unlike McFadden and MJD, Murray knows how to use his vision to find the hole, make a sharp cut, get off the edge, and turn on the jets in the open field. Murray's spectacular game in the 1st half saved this game for the Raiders.
Marcel Reece, 8 carries, 37 yards, 1 reception, 8 yards. With Murray gone and McFadden and Jones-Drew being inefficient in the running game, Marcel Reece stepped it up when needed. Yes, Reece has been inefficient in the passing game, but give him the ball for run play and he'll use his size and speed to shake off tackles. I hate Olson's style of running up the middle, but putting Reece in those plays worked. He stepped it up big in crunch time.
Derek Carr, 18 of 35 passes, 174 passing yards, 1 passing TD. I am happy for Derek Carr. These last 10 games have been so hard on him, many skeptics were jumping early calling for his head, faulting him for every game lost, imploring the coaching staff to bench him with Schaub and McGloin, but Carr perservered through all the adversity and it has paid off. In that close loss vs. the Chargers, he threw a game-losing INT when he's trying to will us for the game winning drive, he learned his lesson and was patient, making the right adjustments, 2 QB sneaks on 4th down and on 3rd down to get the first down. He made a beautiful and I mean beautiful game winning pass to James Jones for the TD.
Defense. I still hate the "bend but don't break" philosophy of defense the Raiders are playing, but the defense bent, they bent, but they didn't break this game. The defense did a good job for the most part, containing Jamaal Charles, not letting Alex Smith beat them in the screen game. Guys like Tuck, Woodson, Moore, Hayden, and Mack were playing out of their minds. In the 2nd half, not so much, it looked like Tarver was calling plays not to lose, hence why they were in zone for the majority of the 2nd half, but they didn't break when it mattered. A couple of penalties there in that final drive, but the defense got a grip and they made the big stop for the big upset. Another mention, Charles Woodson becomes the first NFL player with 50 interceptions and 20 sacks, congrats C-Wood.
The Negatives
Special teams. Special teams weren't so special this game. You know the scenario with Denarius Moore and the muffed punt/fair catch, too many holding penalties on the receiving end, allowing the Chiefs return men to return a punt or a kickoff for a big return, giving the Chiefs good field position. One return set up the Chiefs to take the lead and the other almost set up to give the Chiefs a potential game winner (Janikowski should've boot that out of the end zone). Special teams were the only negative this game and almost singlehandedly gave the Chiefs the game and a lot of momentum.
Conclusion
Another negative, I want to bring up, that last Sio Moore sack when they were celebrating and the Chiefs managed to get into the line of scrimmage in a hurry for one final play on 4th down, it's a reminder that the game is not over till it's over. Moore got away with that with Justin Tuck pulling a veteran move and calling timeout before the crucial 4th down stop. But other than that, I'll take this win. Too many moral victories, too many posts of me sounding like a broken record whenever the Raiders lose, but man it's good to have a W on the board even though it doesn't mean much at this point of the season. Detroit Lions, sorry guys, we'd like to join you in the 0-16 party, but we're going to respectfully decline that with an upset win against the now 7-4 contending Chiefs. The Raiders have a long rest now until November 30 when they go to St. Louis to play the Rams, who upset the Broncos just a week ago. That's another tough game, a tough place, and the Raiders are going to have their hands full to build a winning streak down the stretch. For now, I'll enjoy this win, good week to be a Raider and Laker fan (even though the Lakers still have Dallas this Friday to wrap up their road trip). I'll see you guys later.
Oh and since it's a win over a divisional rival:
