Raiders rewind: Game-changing fumble comes after unusual play call

The losses continue to mount for the Raiders.

They dropped their fourth consecutive game Sunday, this time to the rival Chiefs (7-0).

The Raiders (2-6) weren’t terrible. They were in the game against the two-time defending Super Bowl champions until the fourth quarter. But red-zone failures and a pivotal turnover proved to be too much to overcome.

Here’s a closer look at what went wrong in the Raiders’ latest setback:

Putting it into perspective

The Raiders’ locker room was more upbeat than one would expect Sunday.

A few players said after the game they felt the team had positives to build on moving forward.

The tape showed that. The Raiders played hard and had some good moments. They just aren’t good enough at some things to be a winning football team.

It’s admirable that the Raiders haven’t given up. That also doesn’t mean they’re going to turn their season around.

Star of the game

There weren’t a whole lot of standout performers Sunday.

Quarterback Gardner Minshew was efficient for the most part, but his fourth-quarter fumble was costly. It was his 12th turnover of the season.

So this honor goes to safety Tre’von Moehrig instead. He returned a third-quarter interception to the 3-yard line and was solid throughout.

Moehrig was credited with a team-high three defensive stops, a metric that tracks tackles that result in a failed play for the offense.

Play of the game

Minshew’s fumble killed all hope Sunday.

It came on a second-and-3 from the Raiders’ 37-yard line with 8:06 to play and the team trailing 20-13. He was in the shotgun with an empty backfield, as running back Ameer Abdullah motioned out wide to give the offense two receivers on the left and three on the right.

Minshew took off after the third step of his drop. It looked like a designed run, and he appeared to have a bit of a lane. That’s when defensive tackle Mike Pennel separated from left tackle Kolton Miller and jarred the ball loose with a hit on Minshew. It was an excellent defensive play.

One interesting note from the Raiders’ perspective is that one of the players they had lined up out wide to the right was offensive tackle Thayer Munford Jr.

He was likely there to confuse the defense a bit, or to potentially set up another play down the road based on how the defense reacted.

But his presence made the whole situation seem sillier than it otherwise would have looked.

Drive of the game

The Raiders got off to another good start Sunday, scoring an opening-drive touchdown for the third time in four games.

Their opening scripts are clearly working. Then there tends to be a drop-off.

“I think you’ve just always got to go back to the plays that are working, and there’s nothing wrong with repeating plays,” coach Antonio Pierce said. “You see that from other teams. And again, I’m not saying we don’t do that. Comes down to execution, right? And there’s a lot of things that go into it, from protection to route-running, to getting the ball off on time, all that stuff goes into play. We need all 11 (players) on the same page.”

The Raiders committed a false start their first play from scrimmage against the Chiefs. Minshew then led them 70 yards down the field in 12 plays.

He completed all five of his passes on the possession for 53 yards. He finished things off with a 7-yard throw to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers for a touchdown. Running back Alexander Mattison added 16 yards on five touches, while Meyers and rookie tight end Brock Bowers had catches to convert the two third downs the Raiders faced on the drive.

What were they thinking?

Pierce left himself open for criticism again Sunday.

This time his handling of the end of the first half was perplexing. The Raiders used a defensive timeout coming out of the two-minute warning with the Chiefs facing a third-and-goal from the 5-yard line. It didn’t help. Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce scored the next play.

That left the Raiders with a decision when they got the ball back on their own 30-yard line with 1:57 left until the break. They could try to push the ball up the field and cut into their 14-10 deficit. Or they could try to run as much clock as possible to try to give their opponent no time to work with if they were forced to punt the ball.

The Raiders got caught in the middle instead. They threw a quick pass to Meyers on first down, but he was stopped for no gain. They then huddled and handed the ball off to Abdullah for a 2-yard gain, causing the Chiefs to take their second timeout.

The Raiders could have run the ball again and forced Kansas City to take its final timeout. Instead, they threw and Minshew’s pass fell incomplete. The Chiefs, after a punt, took over at their own 20-yard line with 58 seconds remaining and one timeout still in their pocket.

That was enough time for Kansas City to drive into field-goal range and take a 17-10 lead at the half. It was a three-point swing the Raiders couldn’t afford if they wanted to pull off the upset.

Observations

■ Defensive end Charles Snowden was effective against the run and pass, which could lead to him earning more playing time. Defensive end Tyree Wilson also had one of his more consistent games and finished with a sack.

■ Rookie left guard Jackson Powers-Johnson struggled with consistency Sunday and was called for two false starts. One positive, however, is that he at least tends to be aggressive. He may not block the right guy or get to the right spot, but he’ll at least try to hit someone.

Powers-Johnson did spend some time at center late in the game after Andre James was injured and looked comfortable there. That could end up being his more natural spot long term.

■ Rookie right tackle DJ Glaze, who had his best game of the season Oct. 20 against the Rams, had his worst performance against the Chiefs. Kansas City’s stout defensive front got to him.

■ The Chiefs did a good job of neutralizing defensive end Maxx Crosby, keeping him off balance with chips and double teams. Right tackle Jawaan Taylor was also able to block Crosby one-on-one on several occasions.

■ The Raiders’ red-zone offense has a lot of problems. They’re predictable and their play-calling leaves plenty to be desired. But the offensive line also needs to win some battles when called upon. The team had a first-and-goal from the 3-yard line in the third quarter and gained zero yards on three rushes.

Looking ahead

The Raiders have one tough test remaining before their bye week. They head to Cincinnati in Week 9 to face the Bengals (3-5), a team that is far better than its record would indicate.