KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Raiders strong safety Brandian Ross hit Travis Kelce with brute force, dislodging possession at an opportune time. The Kansas City tight end lost the football that defensive end C.J. Wilson picked up, and the big man rumbled down to the Chiefs' 15-yard line.
It was a golden opportunity to tie the game, presented at the offense’s feet.
The Raiders couldn’t move an inch.
“We had to score a touchdown,” quarterback Derek Carr said.
They settled for a field goal, the first thing that went wrong in a horrendous third quarter that led the Raiders’ demise.
The Raiders eventually lost 31-13, but the events of that period changed the course of the game.
“That third quarter was just shocking,” Raiders defensive tackle Ricky Lumpkin said. “…We came out in the second half and didn’t do anything we wanted to do as a team.”
Lumpkin got it right. It was truly shocking how things unraveled.
It started with a blown opportunity to tie it 10-10. It essentially ended with the Chiefs’ 21st unanswered point.
A litany of errors filled in the gaps.
Sebastian Janikowski's consolation-prize field goal made it 10-6. Then the Chiefs marched 70 yards to the end zone on nine plays, a drive extended by an unnecessary roughing the passer penalty by Justin Tuck.
After that, the Raiders completely fell apart.
Then quarterback Derek Carr lost a fumbled snap. The Chiefs scored a few plays later. The Raiders punted on their next series and, a few plays later, Knile Davis took a short pass 70 yards for a touchdown.
The score went from 10-6 to 31-6 in a flash, and the Raiders only have themselves to blame.
“It all started to fall apart,” free safety Charles Woodson said. “We were not able to recover and things got out of hand.”
Despite struggling to move the football offensively, the Raiders were in it at halftime. The defense allowed just three points, and Carr led a late field goal push of his own. A punt returned for touchdown was all that separated the teams heading into the second half. The Raiders believed they had momentum on their side, and lost it quickly in a disastrous third quarter.
“Everybody just did their job in the first half. We limited big plays and stuck to the game plan,” Lumpkin said. “In the second half, if you look at what we did, we got a turnover and didn’t score (a touchdown). Then we came back on defense, had some penalties, dropped the ball down the field. That (70-yard touchdown) to Knile Davis was huge. Big plays in the second half, that’s what killed us.”
