The Raiders’ season didn’t go as planned this year, but the team had a chance to finish strong on Saturday on national television against the Chiefs.
Of course, that didn’t happen. Instead of playing spoiler against Kansas City and building momentum for next season, Las Vegas had one of its worst games of the campaign and lost, 31-13 at Allegiant Stadium.
Here are the winners and losers for the week, in a game that was a fitting end to a disappointing season for first-year coach Josh McDaniels and the Raiders.
Winner: WR Hunter Renfrow
The return of wide receiver Hunter Renfrow continues. After he tore through the NFL last season, he’d been ineffective or injured nearly all year long. In this game, he caught a touchdown in garbage time and also delivered one of his patented, eye-popping moves on “3rd-and-Renfrow” early in the second half.
Dodging this tackle is kinda wild 😮 @renfrowhunter @Raiders
📺: #KCvsLV on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/nMh7vXuCB4 pic.twitter.com/GfTnGAoKgq— NFL (@NFL) January 7, 2023
Winner: K Daniel Carlson and P A.J. Cole
This game was arguably the Raiders’ worst performance of the 2022 season. The Chiefs toyed with McDaniels’ roster for nearly 60 minutes. But kicker Daniel Carlson and punter A.J. Cole were solid, as always.
Carlson hit a 54-yard field goal, and Cole drilled a 63-yard punt late in the third quarter. That was actually Cole’s first punt of the game, which illustrates how many things went wrong for Raiders offense.
Plus, these two can’t continue to be standouts, no matter how good they are. It’s far too reminiscent of the days when former Raiders special teamers, P Shane Lechler and K Sebastian Janikowski, were among the best players on a series of dreadful squads.
Loser: CB Amik Robertson
The Raiders defense was awful all game long, and the Chiefs’ party started on their second snap from scrimmage. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes hit WR Justin Watson for a 67-yard completion at the expense of Raiders CB Amik Robertson.
2nd play of the game? No surprise with @patrickmahomes 😯
📺: #KCvsLV on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/nMh7vXuCB4 pic.twitter.com/3XtBo0E2H9— NFL (@NFL) January 7, 2023
Watson was wide open and the Chiefs scored a touchdown four plays later, in a drive that also featured a penalty on Las Vegas for having too many players on the field on 3rd and goal.
Loser: Red Zone defense
The Raiders defense didn’t do anything well, but their effort in the red zone was especially porous and furthermore, a representation of a year-long issue. The Chiefs scored four touchdowns on their first four red-zone chances and at one point, that part of the field turned into a literal playground for the Chiefs.
Kansas City’s huddle twirled around in a circle before trying a trick play that was called back due to a holding penalty. The Chiefs scored one play later and took a 21-3 lead late in the second quarter.
Would love to be in the meeting when the #Chiefs decided to add this into the playbook. 😂 pic.twitter.com/lgdEMmpIL3
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 7, 2023
Loser: DE Maxx Crosby
Defensive end Maxx Crosby had a QB sack in this game to reach 12.5 takedowns this season, but the Chiefs’ twirling huddle routine was the result of a crucial penalty on Crosby.
The Raiders, down just 14-3 at the time, had stopped the Chiefs on a 3rd-down play at the Kansas City 8-yard line. But Crosby hit Mahomes late, extending the Chiefs’ drive. Eventually, they finished their 98-yard march for a 21-3 lead.
Loser: QB Jarrett Stidham
After torching the 49ers defense last week for more than 10 yards per pass play, QB Jarrett Stidham came crashing back down to Earth on Saturday. He had just 219 yards on 22-for-36 passing with one touchdown, one interception, and two fumbles, one of which was lost. His interception resulted in a Chiefs touchdown.
Stidham did have 50 rushing yards on seven carries but unfortunately for the Raiders, that led the team in rushing, as running back Josh Jacobs had just 45 yards on 17 attempts. Plus, Stidham had to run because the offensive line had perhaps its worst day as pass blockers this season, which is saying a lot.
Loser: G Alex Bars/Offensive line
Stidham was sacked six times, though one sack was the result of a broken play. But Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones looked unblockable, many times at the expense of Raiders guard Alex Bars.
The line’s ineptitude was probably best displayed late in the first half. The Raiders took the ball and tried to score points before the break, but a sack by the Chiefs, followed by a penalty for illegal use of hands called on G Dylan Parham (with an assist from offensive tackle Kolton Miller) pushed Las Vegas back after it had reached the Kansas City 45-yard line.
Then, Stidham fumbled on another Chiefs sack, setting up a Kansas City field goal and a 24-3 halftime lead for the road team.
Loser: Red Zone offense
The Raiders offense had two failures in the red zone that cost the team dearly, both on long drives. First, they squandered a goal-to-go opportunity at the 7-yard line. Two Jacobs runs were followed by two missed passes, first to tight end Darren Waller and then to WR Davante Adams.
In the second half, the Raiders took the ball first, marched to the Chiefs’ 19-yard line, and eventually settled for a 38-yard field goal from Carlson. Together, the drives took nearly 17 minutes off the clock and resulted in just three points.
Loser: WR Davante Adams
Adams broke the 1,500-yard mark in this game and caught his 100th pass of the season, but he had a couple of costly, uncharacteristic drops in the first half.
Plus, looking at the big picture, he has to be wondering whether the Raiders can satisfy his expectations when he signed with the team. Las Vegas has a lot of work to do to make this team a contender and must acquire a QB who can get Adams the ball consistently.
The Raiders may have been his childhood team, but Adams is an adult now, and a 30-year-old WR at that. He’s said he wants input on who the Raiders’ next quarterback is after dumping Derek Carr, and that speaks volumes.
McDaniels is a loser too, as he finishes with a 6-11 record in his first year as Raiders coach. This team was a victim of unrealistic expectations, but those expectations were set by McDaniels and his new regime.
Now McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler have to add a slew of new players to turn this team around in a hurry. It doesn’t make sense to rebuild when you have a superstar like Adams, and that’s doubly true if Las Vegas signs Jacobs, who led the NFL in rushing at the end of this game.
But only time will tell which moves the Raiders make this offseason. As for now, a wasted season in Las Vegas has finally come to a fitting end.
