Chiefs Vs. Raiders Post Game Gab

It was ugly, there was penalties, there was dropped passes, fumbles and interceptions but the Chiefs find a way to get it done as they defeat the Raiders 16-10 in Oakland. The end result is exactly what the Chiefs were looking for but this game did not start out the way the Chiefs expected, on the second play from scrimmage Michael Bush took the hand off from JaMarcus Russell and busted up the left side of the line for a 60 yard gain which put the Raiders in prime scoring position at the Chiefs four yard line. Two plays later Justin Fargas would take it in for a touchdown. Trying to respond to the early Oakland touch down Matt Cassel was intercepted by Chris Johnson on a deep pass intended for Chris Chambers.

After a disastrous start the Chiefs finally got on the score board with a 50 yard Ryan Succop field goal with 4:54 left in the first quarter. The Raiders would answer right back with their own field goal after a muffed punt from Dantrell Savage turned in to a 50 yard Sebastian Janikowski three pointer. After trading punts Jamaal Charles would tie the game up with a 44 yard touch down scamper ( Charles would end up with 103 yards on 18 carries) and the Chiefs would not trail the rest of the game. On the ensuing Chiefs drive they would take their first lead of the game driving to the Raiders 7 yard line before settling for their second Ryan Succop field goal of the day.

The second half would start out even sloppier than the first half was, the Chiefs would leave six points on the board very early in the second half. Matt Cassel lead the Chiefs down to the Raiders 34 yard line only to watch Ryan Succop miss a 52 yard field goal but in typical Raiders fashion they come right back with their own missed 45 yard field goal attempt. Following the Raiders miss the Chiefs would find them selves on the Raiders 14 facing a fourth and one , instead of taking the easy three points Todd Haley opted to go for it resulting in a incomplete pass to Brad Cottam….. A play call that was questionable at best.

Starting the fourth quarter QB JaMarcus would be benched in favor of backup Bruce Gradkowski, the move would not pay immediate dividends for the Raiders as Gradkowski was picked off by safety Mike Brown on his first pass of the game. The Chiefs would parlay the turnover in to a 31 yard field goal giving the Chiefs their largest lead at 16-10 but the game was not over there. After stopping the Chiefs from running the clock out the Raiders would get one opportunity at the win. Bruce Gradkowski lead the Raiders down to the Chiefs 26 yard line with 38 seconds left only to be intercepted by Mike Brown for a second time in the game. The victory pulled the Chiefs in to a tie for last place with the Raiders at 2-7.

Grading the keys to the Game

1.Make JaMarcus beat you: Besides the 60 yard run by Michael Bush the Chiefs executed their game plan perfectly they kept the Oakland rushing attack in check for the most part and dared JaMarcus Russell beat them. Needless to say JaMarcus was not up to the challenge going 9 for 24 and 67 yards before being pulled at the start of the fourth quarter. JaMarcus will probably be back in the lineup next week since his back up came in and promptly threw two interceptions on eight passes.

Grade: A+

2. Don’t beat yourself: The Chiefs were lucky they were playing the Raiders today as they made several mistakes. The Chiefs were penalized five times for 35 yards, they fumbled 4 times and lost 2 of them in addition Matt Cassel was picked off once to bring the Chiefs turnover total to three. Also the Chiefs were a mere 1 for 15 on third down. The Chiefs are lucky they played the Raiders they are the only team that could out do that many mistakes.

Grade: D+

3. Be aggressive in the passing attack: The Chiefs did not completely open up the playbook but they did a good job of taking their shots down field and not being to conservative in the passing game. Dwayne Bowe had a reception of 41 yards and Chris Chambers had a reception of 30 yards even Mark Bradley got in the action with a 22 yard catch and run. The Chiefs offense is a long way from explosive but they are getting a lot closer to respectable.

Grade: B+