Raiders Big Takeaway Against Chiefs Was Proving They Belong

The Las Vegas Raiders suffered a tough loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, and they understand full well that there are no moral victories in the NFL. They refused to go along with what Paul Gutierrez of Raiders.com called the “MV” words, and safety Jeremy Chinn expressed his anger about a game he thought Las Vegas should have won. 

But Chinn did have a different takeaway that was common the Las Vegas locker room after the game, according to Gutierrez. The Raiders competed until the last snap, and that got them a final drive that gave them the opportunity to try and onside kick, then get the ball back after that failed. 

What was different about this loss was that the wheels would have come off all the way, to use the writer’s words. We saw that in game after game last year, and it didn’t take much adversity to send the Raiders spinning into a downward spiral. 

Against the Chiefs, though, one or two of the wheels did come off especially on that late fumble by return man Dareke Young that was one of the biggest turning points. But the Raiders kept going and playing through it, and that’s how good teams respond to adversity. 

We still don’t know if the Raiders are that yet, but we will in a few weeks. The Raiders’ October schedule is brutal, with three more playoff teams up on the docket.

That’s why defensive end Maxx Crosby talked about the need for improvement as he talked about his big takeaway. He’s been on a lot of bad Raiders teams over the years, but he sees a team that’s in the process of figuring out how good it can be. 

Crosby also expressed support for the decision made by coach Klint Kubiak to take points on the board and try to finish a third quarter drive for a touchdown, saying that support was “a million percent.” 

It’ll take more than hard work to fix some of the Raiders’ problems, though. They fell apart against running back Kenneth Walker after containing him early, and Las Vegas gave up some big plays in the passing game down the stretch as well. 

There’s clearly a talent gap between these two teams, but it’s not nearly as large as many of us thought. That’s a good place to start for a team that still looks to be on the rise, even in the aftermath of a tough loss.