Let it be known (if it wasn’t already) that on this past Thursday. The twenty-first of November, 2014. The Kansas City Chiefs have lost to the Oakland Raiders with a final score of 24-20. On that note, let it also be known that there’s no use crying over spilled milk. Yes, the Chiefs lost to the Raiders. However, it’s not the end of the world.
Also, the final score to the Broncos game was 22-7, if you think about it, the Chiefs didn’t lose as bad as the Broncos did this week and in my book that would still be a win of sorts ladies and gentlemen.
Now, here’s a few things to take away form this week twelve loss:
The first thing which we can take away from this game is that Jamaal Charles really wanted to make sure that the reporter interviewing him after the game knew what he was saying.
Please follow the link above and watch Jamaal Charles post-game interview to get in on that joke.
November 20, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles (25) runs the football against Oakland Raiders strong safety Brandian Ross (29, left) for a touchdown during the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Chiefs 24-20. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Second, the Chiefs still have a shot at a playoff spot and have control over their right to not only that playoff spot but also a shot at winning the division. The Chiefs and the Broncos both had an off week. The Broncos lost to the Rams this week in what must have been an agonizing game to watch if you were my Grandpa Ragle.
The best news about this is that the Chiefs are still only a game back on the Broncos for the spot as the number one team in the AFC West as well as a spot in the playoffs this year. Currently, the Broncos are a half game up on the Chiefs in the division. If the Broncos win this week, they will be up a full game, and if they lose, they will be tied with the Chiefs for first.
The Chiefs still have a home game against the Broncos next week, if they can win that game then best case scenario is that they will be a game up on the Broncos because the Broncos end up losing to the dolphins on Sunday.
This is pretty unlikely though because I doubt that the Broncos will lose two games in a row. If I were putting money on it I would say that the Broncos win this week and the Chiefs beat the Broncos next week at Arrowhead which would put them at a tie for the division lead.
The next thing to take away from this loss to the Raiders is something that I am a very firm believer in. This is the fact that nobody is safe in the AFC West. No matter who is playing, it has the potential to be a good game.
This has been seen in Thursday night’s game as well as the game between the Chiefs and Broncos a couple of years ago when Kyle Orton was the Chiefs quarterback and Romeo Crennel was the head coach in which the Chiefs stunned the Broncos late in the season. There is just something about the rivalries between the teams in the AFC West which more often than not makes for some amazing games.
November 20, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) passes the football against the Oakland Raiders during the first quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The final thing we can take away from the Chiefs loss to the Raiders is that they didn’t lose because they are a bad team. They lost because they didn’t play like the same Chiefs we have seen beat or have a competitive loss to many of the best teams in the league this year.
The defense allowed two rushing touchdowns, along with 179 yards on the ground to a team that heading into Thursday night was the worst team in the entire NFL at running the football. That doesn’t sound at all like the Chiefs defense I know and love.
After the game, Andy Reid and Alex Smith both admitted that the offense was pretty closed up in the first half of the game and that they could have done more to open it up by incorporating some better play calling on Reid’s part and some better decision making on Smith’s part. You can’t really place the blame of the loss on any lone player or coach though. In a game like this you just have to sit back and accept that the the Raiders player better football than the Chiefs did this week but like I said, there’s no sense crying over spilled milk.