Oakland’s offense sputtered and settled for four field goals, punted six times, went 2-of-12 on third down and scored a touchdown on just one of six trips into the red zone. If it wasn’t for Kansas City’s four turnovers and a couple big plays by the passing game, the contest could have gone much differently for the Raiders.
The defense in Oakland has been a problem for years, but has been significantly better since the team’s Week 5 bye. Oakland has been most vulnerable to the pass, but the Chiefs couldn’t get enough going to overcome the four turnovers.
Three of the turnovers were by Brady Quinn and Matt Cassel. Quinn started and lasted only a quarter before leaving the game in the first quarter with a head injury.
The Raiders also did a good job stuffing Kansas City’s ground game. Jamaal Charles was held to a total of 10 yards on eight touches, which is his lowest offensive production of the season. Charles inexplicably wasn’t given more opportunities against the Raiders, but he wasn’t really productive with the few opportunities he did receive.
The defense had three sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries to cap a solid performance. The defense allowed the offense to work through issues with the running game and converting on third down. Darren McFadden finally started to bust free in the fourth quarter and got good chunks of yardage at the end of the game to finish with 114 rushing yards on 29 carries.
It was Oakland’s passing game that did most of the damage and Denarius Moore hauled in five passes for 96 yards and one touchdown. Darrius ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
