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☹ Official 2020 Las Vegas Raiders thread ☹ (3 Viewers)

Following a positive coronavirus test for defensive end Clelin Ferrell, six additional Las Vegas Raiders defensive players were put on the reserve/COVID-19 list as high-risk close contacts, per the transaction wire after an initial report from NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network's Tom Pelissero Wednesday afternoon.

Safety Johnathan Abram, defensive tackle Maliek Collins, defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, defensive back Isaiah Johnson, defensive end Arden Key and defensive tackle Kendal Vickers were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday.

The players will be eligible to play Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs should they continue to test negatively, Rapoport added, though some will only be eligible on Sunday, meaning practicing ahead of the key game will not be possible.

"I don't know about the whole defense," Raiders coach Jon Gruden said earlier Wednesday, per ESPN.com. "I'm not going to get into what list anybody is on. We practiced today and we'll be ready for the game on Sunday. ... It's what you have to do. Everybody has to adapt to a lot of things in every phase of life. We had to go through some things before. We'll be there on Sunday and we'll be prepared."

Ferrell's positive test and subsequent placement on the reserve/COVID-19 was reported earlier Wednesday.

Ferrell is likely out for Sunday night's game against the Chiefs. Those in close contact with him will likely be forced to miss multiple practices ahead of the game as previously mentioned. Safety Lamarcus Joyner was previously identified as a close contact and placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, bringing the total to eight Raiders defensive players.

Offensive tackle Trent Brown and linebacker Cory Littleton were also placed on the list this month. Littleton likewise had a positive test, while Brown hasn't played since Week 5 and has been on the list multiple times.

Las Vegas' starting defense's availability comes into question on the same day in which the NFL announced that, beginning Saturday, all 32 teams must operate under the league's intensive protocol for the remainder of the season.

It's also the latest in an ever-growing inventory of Raiders issues -- positive tests, failure to comply with protocols, fines -- dealing with COVID-19.

Las Vegas has incurred a total of $1.2 million in fines. Most recently on Nov. 5, the league fined the Raiders $500,000 and coach Jon Gruden $150,000 in addition to stripping the franchise of a sixth-round draft pick for coronavirus protocol violations related to Brown's previous positive COVID-19 test in late October. A positive test for Brown, who was initially placed on the list Oct. 21, called upon the need for the starting offensive line because contract tracing connected them to Brown, akin to Wednesday's events.

Gruden and the team were first fined $100,000 and $250,000, respectively, due to the coach's failure to follow proper face-covering protocol. After that, quarterback Derek Carr and tight end Darren Waller were among 10 Raiders fined for not following protocol at a charity event in which they were seen without masks. The team also incurred a $50,000 fine for an unauthorized visitor in the locker room.

 
really looking forward to Sunday night......busgate seeming to add a little juice to the matchup.....
Browsing Chiefs' subreddits, the fan base is all sorts of fired up to bury us for that little stunt.

I get why Gruden did it -- has a young team, wants to fire them up, and the bus driver seemed to be a goof which is why Gruden "retaliated" by making him take a victory lap. Childish, sure, but good team bonding. Problem was that was bound to get out given the bus driver was local.

I love the victory lap. Team deserves it.

But can see why giving the Chiefs extra incentive is not the best idea. I mean, I am sure our boys were likely pretty fired up last game to get after Drew Lock after he was dancing and rapping on the sidelines during our game last year. 

 
And I know COVID is hitting all teams in different ways (except for SEA, apparently), but you would think after Brown we would have tighter protocols and more effort to stay safe.

Pretty ridiculous how we have to put our entire D on the list, even if they do end up all playing.

Need to tighten that up, Gru.

 
Browsing Chiefs' subreddits, the fan base is all sorts of fired up to bury us for that little stunt.

I get why Gruden did it -- has a young team, wants to fire them up, and the bus driver seemed to be a goof which is why Gruden "retaliated" by making him take a victory lap. Childish, sure, but good team bonding. Problem was that was bound to get out given the bus driver was local.

I love the victory lap. Team deserves it.

But can see why giving the Chiefs extra incentive is not the best idea. I mean, I am sure our boys were likely pretty fired up last game to get after Drew Lock after he was dancing and rapping on the sidelines during our game last year. 
yeah Andy has never really been one to "rub people's nose" in it.....even though they do score a lot of points....that may be out the window here if the opportunity presents itself....although I don't expect the game to go that way.....Raiders are too good and a tough matchup for KC....that win may have been the biggest thing to happen to the Raiders in 15 plus years or whatever, so I guess I get it.....and its tough to go Barry Sanders and act like you have been their before when you really haven't for awhile.....but just not sure it was good to poke the bear......should be fun.....just might be tough staying somewhat sober till kickoff.....kinda nice to feel a little bit of that bad blood/rivalry maybe starting to build back up a little between these two....could see some "driving the bus" type TD celebrations (by either side) which would be fun.....

 
Browsing Chiefs' subreddits, the fan base is all sorts of fired up to bury us for that little stunt.

I get why Gruden did it -- has a young team, wants to fire them up, and the bus driver seemed to be a goof which is why Gruden "retaliated" by making him take a victory lap. Childish, sure, but good team bonding. Problem was that was bound to get out given the bus driver was local.

I love the victory lap. Team deserves it.

But can see why giving the Chiefs extra incentive is not the best idea. I mean, I am sure our boys were likely pretty fired up last game to get after Drew Lock after he was dancing and rapping on the sidelines during our game last year. 
I could see the whole victory lap thing being a spur of the moment thing to irritate the bus driver.  Team gets on the bus all fired up and one guy yells for a victory lap around the stadium, the rest of the team goes nuts and Gruden says go for it.  Who knows how it happened, but I it's not a big deal.  I'm cool with Gruden letting the guys have some fun after a big win.

 
I could see the whole victory lap thing being a spur of the moment thing to irritate the bus driver.  Team gets on the bus all fired up and one guy yells for a victory lap around the stadium, the rest of the team goes nuts and Gruden says go for it.  Who knows how it happened, but I it's not a big deal.  I'm cool with Gruden letting the guys have some fun after a big win.
agree it shouldn't be a big deal.....and Andy tried to downplay it it at first...saying they won and can do what they want....but then finished with "its not our style"......so feels like there's something there.....and then I'm sure the "it's not our style" may have gotten the Raiders attention a little....

 
Browsing Chiefs' subreddits, the fan base is all sorts of fired up to bury us for that little stunt.

I get why Gruden did it -- has a young team, wants to fire them up, and the bus driver seemed to be a goof which is why Gruden "retaliated" by making him take a victory lap. Childish, sure, but good team bonding. Problem was that was bound to get out given the bus driver was local.

I love the victory lap. Team deserves it.

But can see why giving the Chiefs extra incentive is not the best idea. I mean, I am sure our boys were likely pretty fired up last game to get after Drew Lock after he was dancing and rapping on the sidelines during our game last year. 
Hopefully it gets the two franchises to hate each other again.  I loved the rivalry back in the last couple years of the AFL.

 
Hopefully it gets the two franchises to hate each other again.  I loved the rivalry back in the last couple years 
I don't think there is any love loat between Raiders and the AFC West. The "we don't like these guys" has been handed down since the dawn of time. The level of the hate may be less as the cheap shots and extra player protection rules have taken some of the teeth out of that but I remember specifically hearing Gruden telling the team we don't like them and they don't like us

 
I could see the whole victory lap thing being a spur of the moment thing to irritate the bus driver.  Team gets on the bus all fired up and one guy yells for a victory lap around the stadium, the rest of the team goes nuts and Gruden says go for it.  Who knows how it happened, but I it's not a big deal.  I'm cool with Gruden letting the guys have some fun after a big win.
Agree -- I think that's the mostly likely way this went down and good on Gruden for letting the team have their bonding moment. Important in building identity. I highly doubt the guys in the locker room fear a team more just because they are more amped about it, as opposed to just being aware of the skill the other team brings to the table.

We saw it get chippy in Denver because of taking Lock out of the game and some huge hits being laid by our defensive backs. So the one thing I can coming out of this is seeing this one getting chippy even more quickly given this incident.

Hopefully it gets the two franchises to hate each other again.  I loved the rivalry back in the last couple years of the AFL.
Do you mean the actual players and staff?

The fan bases have absolutely kept their own hate alive. You ask any other AFCW team's fan which team they hate the most and by far it's going to be the Raiders (and I love our team even more because of it). Our fanbase splits its ire between Chiefs and Broncos. Personally I lean much more towards seeing the Chiefs as our biggest rival in the division just given the long history.

As for players and staff, maybe the front-office enmity died with Al, but I can see Gruden wanting to keep that spark going, he's definitely old school and has an appreciation of the history and lore of the team.

As for the players, there is always some rivalry caused by just the continuance of being in the division and seeing the same guys lining up against you twice a year. Otherwise I imagine they are too young to really care that much. 

 
Agree -- I think that's the mostly likely way this went down and good on Gruden for letting the team have their bonding moment. Important in building identity. I highly doubt the guys in the locker room fear a team more just because they are more amped about it, as opposed to just being aware of the skill the other team brings to the table.

We saw it get chippy in Denver because of taking Lock out of the game and some huge hits being laid by our defensive backs. So the one thing I can coming out of this is seeing this one getting chippy even more quickly given this incident.

Do you mean the actual players and staff?

The fan bases have absolutely kept their own hate alive. You ask any other AFCW team's fan which team they hate the most and by far it's going to be the Raiders (and I love our team even more because of it). Our fanbase splits its ire between Chiefs and Broncos. Personally I lean much more towards seeing the Chiefs as our biggest rival in the division just given the long history.

As for players and staff, maybe the front-office enmity died with Al, but I can see Gruden wanting to keep that spark going, he's definitely old school and has an appreciation of the history and lore of the team.

As for the players, there is always some rivalry caused by just the continuance of being in the division and seeing the same guys lining up against you twice a year. Otherwise I imagine they are too young to really care that much. 
I think players and staff will have a normal level of hate for division rivals based on seeing them twice a year and getting sick of each other.  Also the teams looking up at the first place team will naturally hate them for standing in their way.  

Actually, as a fan, with teams our town really hates, did you ever notice at the end of the game the two teams are almost all genuinely respectful of each other, professional, proud to share they are all in the NFL?  Don't they know they're supposed to be banging each other over the head with chairs?

 
I think players and staff will have a normal level of hate for division rivals based on seeing them twice a year and getting sick of each other.  Also the teams looking up at the first place team will naturally hate them for standing in their way.  

Actually, as a fan, with teams our town really hates, did you ever notice at the end of the game the two teams are almost all genuinely respectful of each other, professional, proud to share they are all in the NFL?  Don't they know they're supposed to be banging each other over the head with chairs?
I guess I think that in general, the staff are more focused on keeping their jobs and winning than caring about rivalry with the other coaches. We are a long way from the days of Al Davis vs Mike Shanahan or Ditka and Buddy Ryan.

As mentioned, I do think players may develop rivalries from butting heads twice a year with guys in the division. That may spill over with coaches as well.

At the end of the day, putting that aside and shaking hands at the end of the day is what makes sports sports. I am biased, but no better moment in all of sports than after a bloody, bruising, dusted-knuckles brawl of a 7 game series, no matter how heartbreaking or hard-nosed it was, two NHL teams line up to shake hands.

 
And so we are clear... I hate the Donkeys, Dolts and Chefs equally. 

But for the RIVALRY to mean much beyond hating someone, you have to habe two good teams that get in each others way. The rivalry hasn't been much because we haven't been much... but we just beat them and if we beat them again, you can dang well expect this to be a huge league wide RIVALRY again. 

 
I live in 49er country or Nor Cal and for whatever reason a lot of my friends think we hate them. I don't give #### about them. They actually take it personal when I explain to them how much I don't care about the 49ers. I hate the Chiefs and Broncos. If I had to pick one it would be the Chiefs. For the Chargers I just don't feel it as much but that might be a bias, as I really liked their lightning bolt symbol when I was little, so that probably eased it a bit.

 Side note, this is a completely natural NFL fandom grown for the Raiders. I was raised and surrounded by SF/PIT/DAL fans. Take that for what its worth. :shrug:

 
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I live in 49er country or Nor Cal and for whatever reason a lot of my friends think we hate them. I don't give #### about them. They actually take it personal when I explain to them how much I don't care about the 49ers. I hate the Chiefs and Broncos. If I had to pick one it would be the Chiefs. For the Chargers I just don't feel it as much but that might be a bias, as I really liked their lightning bolt symbol when I was little, so that probably eased it a bit.

 Side note, this is a completely natural NFL fandom grown for the Raiders. I was raised and surrounded by SF/PIT/DAL fans. Take that for what its worth. :shrug:
When I lived in Stockton for a year (Gawd... what a horrible year) it was funny how the Niner fans tried to make it a big deal. Sure, when we were back in the bay area, if you put up the Niners vs not liking some random team like the Saints or Dolphins... I am going to go against the Niners but really didn't care much about them one way or the other. Now that we moved out of the Bay Area, they are just another team in the NFL. 

One old school rivalry for us that has cooled is the Steelers. I am too young to have been personally invested in it but I am all about our history and that was a HUGE rivalry back in the 70's because it was like every year either we knocked them out of playoffs or they did the same to us. 

The thing with the Dolts that makes it a little less intense is that they have no fans to go against. I mean, even when they had a fan base in SD we would go down and fill the stadium up with our fans. Now that most SD pep's no longer follow them and they have about 5 non-family member fans.... it just isn't all that intense. I love having an extra home game though and can not wait to fill that stadium in LA when fans are in the stands again. What other team will be able to consistently have a 9th home game every year other than us? LOVE IT

 
Love that there is some back and forth going on between organizations. This is what Raiders week is supposed to be. Glad it's back.

Hope that the Raiders D is healthy so this game can go on.  This matchup is now a very scary one for the Chiefs. Out of all the teams in the division, the Raiders certainly have the look of the team that will challenge the Chiefs going forward.

Should be another great one. 

 
JJ needs 40 touches this game...keep Ma Homeboy off the field... Pound that rock... Chiefs arent invincible like everyone thinks

 
Former Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Vic Beasley may be on his way to finding a new NFL home sooner rather than later.

On Monday, it was announced that Beasley would be headed to Las Vegas for a tryout with the Raiders.

The Raiders placed a host of defensive linemen on the Reserve/COVID-19 list this week, so the addition of Beasley could give the team a much-needed boost.

Beasley signed a one-year, $9.5 million deal with the Titans during the offseason, but got off to a bad start and was cut after he failed to produce the way several thought he’d be able to.

Beasley will go through COVID-19 protocols before he can tryout, though.

 
Holy crap... I didn't know about this at all.... DeGuglielmo is not just an #### but world class ####. Kind of good that it happened though so we ended up with Good. I agree with this article that he is our MVP so far. He has performed at high levels being asked to play LG and then RT too. With a 'typical' back up our line would not have continued to play as well as it has with as many missing players as it has had to deal with. 

Dave DeGuglielmo hired by Giants so let's revisit his shameful treatment of Raiders LG Denzelle Good

Levi Damien 

November 19, 2020 1:47 pm

Hey, remember that time Dave DeGuglielmo tried to ruin Denzelle Good’s career after Good’s brother was murdered? Well, that guy just got another NFL job. So, in the spirit of not letting such things get swept under the rug, let’s revisit it.

In October of 2018, Good’s brother was murdered in a shooting in North Carolina. Good, who was with the Indianapolis Colts at the time, left the team for a week to be with his family. When he returned, His offensive line coach DeGuglielmo was pissed. He didn’t think Good should have left the team.

Ok, so, he has his opinion, even if it’s a terrible one. But DeGuglielmo didn’t just show a complete lack of support for Good’s tragedy, DeGuglielmo was downright furious at Good.

“He wanted players that fight through things and play,” Good told the Athletic in December of 2018.

The week before Good left the team to be with his family, he was the starter and played every snap (91) in a week four game against division rival Texans. When Good returned to the team, he was made inactive.  DeGuglielmo then made his intentions clear to Good.

“He told me that as long as I was here, I would never play for him again,” Good said. “I would never play another down because he felt disrespected. I wasn’t going to play even though I felt I was as good anyone on the field playing.”

Upon hearing this, Good did the only thing he could to try and revive his career. He went to Colts GM Chris Ballard and requested his release and it was granted. He was waived on December 2, the Raiders claimed him the next day and he played on December 9 in Oakland when the team faced the Steelers. He then started the final three games.

Good is now in his third season with the Raiders and was recently called the team’s MVP by his coaches and teammates for filling in at right tackle at a moment’s notice and then left guard for the past seven weeks. I agreed with this and made him my Raiders midseason MVP.

DeGuglielmo was fired by the Colts after that 2018 season. He has since found work with the Dolphins in 2019 and today was hired by the Giants to replace offensive line coach Marc Colombo who was so angry at the team wanting to bring in DeGuglielmo to ‘help out’ that he cussed out head coach Joe Judge and was fired and replaced by DeGuglielmo.

DeGuglielmo is still finding work, albeit a one-off for a 5-11 Dolphins team and now a midseason replacement on a 2-7 Giants team. Meanwhile, Good was never unemployed and is starting for a 6-3 Raiders team. So, there is at least some justice in the world.

 
Schwartz and Fisher both off the Chief's COVID list -- looks like Fisher will play (FP today) but Schwartz looks doubtful and likely to sit with back injury.

Richard is DNP in practice. Harris, Hurst, Ingold, Miller, and Sam Young all LPs today. Nixon went from LP to FP.

Would be good to have Miller back in strength for this game; I don't expect Ingold to be anything else but LP until his ribs heal -- guy is a warrior.

Hoping the rest of our D comes of COVID list soon.

 
Watching replays of the game. Brandon Parker was...really, really good. 

Multiple plays he not only handled Chubb one on one, but had really solid hand and foot technique, handled Chubb's really strong rips and swats, pancaking him on a play in the first quarter, throwing him to the ground in another, and clearly standing him up on multiple plays with strong initial punches.

One of the best tackles in the league, and Parker limited him to just 1 pressure and no sacks.

Guy was a liability last two seasons -- but looks like a completely different player out there in technique and ability.

 
Rewatched last weeks game too.

what was up with Wallers cleats in 1st half? Noticed they changed at the half

we sucked at tackling Gordon. Phillip not so much

hunter still killing it at PR

denvers starting field position was terrible. We ST doing great there

Great pass to Edwards and if Waller puts more into his Downfield block on a Jacobs run right after there would have been another TD

booker awesome 

surprised the 1st half we didn’t score more points 

bring on KC!!

 
Rewatched last weeks game too.

what was up with Wallers cleats in 1st half? Noticed they changed at the half

Great pass to Edwards and if Waller puts more into his Downfield block on a Jacobs run right after there would have been another TD
Great catch on Waller's cleats! Super interesting as we were at home on natural grass. Not like there are a ton of changing conditions going on in the Plunder Dome.

Was the Edwards catch the one with about 4 mins to go in the second quarter (2nd and 10)? If so, I noticed that too and I think that play is a perfect illustration of 1) what Ruggs does for our offense just being on the field and 2) Gruden's brilliance in disguising plays and Carr's absolute unheralded ability in adjusting and getting the ball where it needs to be.

Raiders were facing a Cover 3 Skinny -- a match formation that did not have a CB come over to help shadow Ruggs as he moved across from right to left in the formation. This left their LB on the other side of the formation the responsibility of covering Edwards underneath, assuming he would run a crossing route. Edwards ran a sail that left the LB flat-footed and with tons of ground to make up.

But the throw that Carr made was masterful -- had to throw it over Jewell and outside corner, as well as the nickel back who broke away from covering Renfrow to go to the ball. That was a perfect pass with just the right loft and pitch and speed to thread between three defenders. Just a great pitch and catch.

 
Hurst and Richard questionable for game.

For KC, OL Remmers flipped from full to limited and listed as questionable. Watkins also flipped from full to limited and is questionable. Schwartz officially out.

 
Great catch on Waller's cleats! Super interesting as we were at home on natural grass. Not like there are a ton of changing conditions going on in the Plunder Dome.

Was the Edwards catch the one with about 4 mins to go in the second quarter (2nd and 10)? If so, I noticed that too and I think that play is a perfect illustration of 1) what Ruggs does for our offense just being on the field and 2) Gruden's brilliance in disguising plays and Carr's absolute unheralded ability in adjusting and getting the ball where it needs to be.

Raiders were facing a Cover 3 Skinny -- a match formation that did not have a CB come over to help shadow Ruggs as he moved across from right to left in the formation. This left their LB on the other side of the formation the responsibility of covering Edwards underneath, assuming he would run a crossing route. Edwards ran a sail that left the LB flat-footed and with tons of ground to make up.

But the throw that Carr made was masterful -- had to throw it over Jewell and outside corner, as well as the nickel back who broke away from covering Renfrow to go to the ball. That was a perfect pass with just the right loft and pitch and speed to thread between three defenders. Just a great pitch and catch.
More that they were bright blue rather than a performance issue. Stood out like dog nuts when everything else on the team was silver black or white

 
Good news... 

Safety Johnathan Abram, defensive tackles Maliek Collins, Johnathan Hankins and Kendal Vickers, defensive end Arden Key and cornerback Isaiah Johnson were considered high-risk close contacts to defensive end Clelin Ferrell, who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. But since the six players tested negative throughout the week, they are back to the 53-man active roster. Defensive end David Irving, meanwhile, will come off the practice squad/COVID-19 list, revert to the practice squad and then be elevated to the 53-man active roster.

Defensive back Lamarcus Joyner, who went on the list Tuesday, was activated from it on Friday.

Las Vegas also activated defensive end Chris Smith and linebacker Javin White from practice squad, but placed running back Theo Riddick on the reserve/COVID-19 list, where right tackle Trent Brown, linebacker Cory Littleton and Ferrell remain.

The Raiders (6-3) handed the Chiefs (8-1) a 40-32 defeat at Arrowhead Stadium on Oct. 11, but Las Vegas defensive coordinator Paul Guenther lamented having so many players miss practice this week in advance of facing Kansas City again.

"I don't know how we can beat these guys with a full lineup at practice, let alone three-fourths of your lineup not here all week," Guenther said Thursday. "What don't they have? We're playing the world champs. What don't they have? They have a great quarterback, great receivers, great tight ends, line is physical. And they're coming off a bye, so it's a daunting task.

"I know one thing, we're going to show up at 5:20 and we're going to give 100%, because that's what we do. We'll get these guys ready to play. Whoever is out there at 5:20, they'll be ready to go."

 
Congrats to the Chiefs. Proud of the Raiders effort tonight.  We have to do something about that defense. I know Ferrell was missed tonight.

 
Felt like the Raiders wasted the series of prior to their last TD. It was a key point in the game. A TD would have put them up by 10. Two runs into the middle of the line and a throwaway. Yeesh.

 
Felt like the Raiders wasted the series of prior to their last TD. It was a key point in the game. A TD would have put them up by 10. Two runs into the middle of the line and a throwaway. Yeesh.
Exactly, if they scored on that drive it would have been a different story, but we had the big drop.

 
They played really well against one of the very best teams in the league. I’m feeling like we have a playoff win or two in us this year. 
 

(Yes, I know we have to make the playoffs first. Would be SUPER disappointed if we don’t make the playoffs)

 
Chiefs fan here — fun to see this rivalry actually mean something again. Can’t count on two easy wins like we could in the past. Wouldn’t surprise me if there’s another rematch in January.

...Also, Abram abandoning his zone to try and get a big hit on Mahomes, leaving Kelce wide open in the endzone, is a very satisfying way for the game to end. Dude had been running his mouth all night.  :coffee:

 
Tough loss being such a tight game the whole time.

But you gotta be 98% perfect to beat KC and Raiders were only 85-90% after a few big missed opportunities (the first FG that should have been an opportunity to punch it in from the 1 and then the tough, but makeable Agholor drop)

It did feel like KC O was just toying around at points today. They knew they could dink and dunk their way down the field, but didn't feel like they ever really went for the home run. Not sure if that was by design or the Raiders D game plan.

 
Tough loss being such a tight game the whole time.

But you gotta be 98% perfect to beat KC and Raiders were only 85-90% after a few big missed opportunities (the first FG that should have been an opportunity to punch it in from the 1 and then the tough, but makeable Agholor drop)

It did feel like KC O was just toying around at points today. They knew they could dink and dunk their way down the field, but didn't feel like they ever really went for the home run. Not sure if that was by design or the Raiders D game plan.
I think KC adapted to the game plan.  Reid is a great coach with skill players all over.   Last game they tried to force deeper passes which caused Mahomes to be harassed.   This game, it was obvious that the plan was to stay underneath and move the chains to protect Mahomes and keep moving the chains. 

 
Chiefs run game attacked the edges of the defense last night, they missed Ferrell big time. 

It did look like the Chiefs offense could do whatever they wanted, which was expected since the D couldn't practice. I'm sure the defense's plan was to keep everything in front of them, no big plays. Which they did, unfortunately the result was about 7-9 yards per play. Seemed like death by 1000 paper cuts last night. The key was the long drives by both teams to keep the scoring at reasonable levels. 

The good, Carr has grown up in Gruden's offense and they can run and score on anyone in a multitude of ways. The team as a whole played well and fought hard, for a stalled drive and a drop late, the outcome could have been much different. 

FWiW, watching Ruggs last night, IMO its feels like he doesn't have Carr's trust yet. The only time Ruggs saw any action was on plays specifically designed for him to get the ball. Renfrow and Waller on 3rd down or when they need a clutch play and Nellie deep lately. Nice to see Edwards get a shot in the endzone and he would have caught the ball if it weren't for the blatant PI that wasn't called. 

 
I am not a big 'moral victory' guy. A win is a win and a loss is a loss. We lost. Our record fell to 6-4. 

What I am big on is learning from everything and learning from a loss is the most important thing you can do. 

What did I learn? That our win earlier this year was not a fluke. It was not 'the Chefs had a bad day' or whatever other crap the Chef homer came in to give a back handed compliment to us last go around. No one can say the Raiders really aren't good enough. No one can say that the Chefs are automatic to dominate us. Even as good as the Chefs are, I don't think that anyone can say that this is undoubtedly their division moving forward in seasons to come as it has been proclaimed by those who worship at the House of Kermit (and even those who are within Raider Nation). The Chefs should be scared of us. In two tries this year we beat them and almost beat them. We are younger, we have more flexibility in the cap and we are hungry. And don't forget that we did this with pretty much our entire D not practicing this week while the Chefs came in after their bye week and still not having our star RT. 

I think Morrow has earned starting time over Littleton when he is available again. Morrow has played measurably better these last two weeks than Littleton has in any game all season. I was so jacked up when we signed him because he was the best cover LB in the league. So far this year he has no INT and no PDs. Meanwhile, Morrow has 3 PD's over the last 2 games and a sack to go along with that (an INT earlier in the season too). 

A few drops hurt us. I remember two from Agholor and one from Ingold. Ingold earns a pass from me with that dude coming out and playing with 2 broken ribs. Agholor has been great for us this year and if it wasn't for his history in Philly with drops it likely would not be talked about that much but the reality is that after being clutch solid for the first 7 or 8 games, the drops have snuck in and have hurt us. 

Arnette going toe to toe on one play with Hill and coming out denying Hill the play was nice to see. I believe the big knock on him was speed coming out of the draft... if he has enough speed to keep on Hill on a go route then I think he has enough speed. 

Mullen played very well. The drive that he got the INT he was all over. Broke up a catch with a perfectly timed monster hit to jar it loose and then capped it off with an INT later. 

So much talk will be of the Mahomes being so great (and yes, he is great) but the game was one by the Chefs not on that last TD drive but the set of downs right before that when they D came up and stopped the Raiders. That was where the game was won and not lost. If we kept on the offensive mo that we had most of the game and ate up time and getting more points on the board, Mahomes would have been powerless. We allowed him the chance and he took it. We can't let that happen again if we see them in the playoffs. 

Next up Falcons. Then the Jets. We should win both. Then we play the Colts which will be our next big tough game. 

 

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