Raiders-Chiefs recap: Las Vegas blows early lead

An instant review of Week 12 loss to Kansas City

This was reminiscent of 2022 Las Vegas Raiders’ games. They jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, but then fell apart, losing 31-17 to bitter AFC West rival the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon.

Let’s take a look at the key aspects of the game:

Records: The Las Vegas Raiders are 5-7. The Kansas City Chiefs are 8-3.

What it means:

It looks like the Raiders are pretty cooked in the AFC West. The Chiefs have a big lead on them and now Las Vegas trails 6-5 Denver, winners of five straight games in the division as well. Las Vegas is now 2-2 under interim head coach Antonio Pierce and have lost two straight games to AFC playoff contenders .The Raiders are 3-18 against Chiefs since 2013 when Andy Reid took over. Kansas City is 4-0 at Allegiant Stadium and have outscored the Raiders 138-75 in those games.

Turning point:

The Chiefs outscored the Raiders 31-3 from the second quarter on after the Raiders took a big lead. Kansas City outscored Las Vegas 17-3 in the second half after not scoring in the second half of the past three games.

Injury report:

Safety Marcus Epps suffered a stinger in the second quarter. He was questionable to return, but he did play in the second half. Quarterback Aidan O’Connell went into the medical tent briefly in the fourth quarter, but he remained in the game. Left tackle Kolton Miller hurt his shoulder in the fourth quarter. He returned Sunday after missing two games with a shoulder injury.

Lots of red:

Raiders’ owner Mark Davis reportedly was excited about the fan scene at Allegiant Stadium in their past home game, a 16-12 win over the New York Jets on Nov. 12. He reportedly said it felt like the Raiders’ first home game in a while at Allegiant Stadium, which has become famous for being overtaken by visiting fans. Well, that didn’t last long. Many, many Chiefs fans were in attendance Sunday as has been the case. Interim head coach Antonio Pierce asked fans this week to “show up and show out” at home games. Well, Chiefs fans had other ideas. There are three more home games left on the Raiders’ schedule. Let’s see how they go.

Nice first drive:

The Raiders took a 7-0 lead as they went 75 yards on nine plays to start the game. Quarterback Aidan O’Connell was a perfect four-for-four passing for 57 yards on the drive. It was the first time in four weeks that Kansas City has allowed a first-drive touchdown.

Bad look:

The day started poorly for the Raiders as backup safety Roderic Teamer was arrested for DUI in Las Vegas. Of course, the responsibility and blame falls on Teamer himself. Yet, it is not a good look for the organization and coaching staff that a player was drinking and driving hours before a game. And we all know the Raiders’ history of drunk driving since moving to Las Vegas.

What’s next:

The Raiders are entering their bye week. They next play Dec. 10 against the Minnesota Vikings at Allegiant Stadium in Week 14. Kickoff is at 1:05 p.m.