The Las Vegas Raiders found themselves with multiple opportunities to pull off a second straight upset against the Kansas City Chiefs, but the offensive woes once again held the team back.
The Raiders produced just 33 rushing yards on the day, and red-zone efficiency continued to limit Las Vegas' scoring, which became the ultimate determiner in the team's 27-20 loss on Sunday.
It looked as though the Raiders were in for a long day when the Chiefs' offense came out marching with a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 1-yard run by Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt that would give the visitors an early lead.
The Raiders would respond with a scoring drive of their own, however, as quarterback Gardner Minshew II went 5-for-5 in the air, finding running back Alexander Mattison, wide receiver Tre Tucker, tight end Brock Bowers, and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, who found the end zone on a 7-yard reception, announcing his return after what had been a two-game absence.
That would even the contest following the Daniel Carlson extra point.
The scoring trend would finally slow down, as the Raiders completed their next objective and stopped the Chiefs on their next possession, thanks to a sack by second-year defensive end Tyree Wilson on third-and-long.
Kansas City punted the ball, and Las Vegas had an opportunity to take the lead.
That it did, though only with a field goal, as a promising Raiders drive would end shortly after the offense crossed midfield. Las Vegas would rely on the foot of Carlson, who drilled the 54-yarder, giving his team the edge with a bit over 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
As expected from the defending champs, the Chiefs wouldn't go away, though the Raiders certainly had opportunities to get the opposing offense on the field. Las Vegas held Kansas City to third down three times on the Chiefs' next possession, but they converted each time, including a third-and-goal conversion when quarterback Patrick Mahomes found tight end Travis Kelce for the touchdown, his first of the season.
The Chiefs would lead, 14-10, with less than 2 minutes to go in the half, as the previous 13-play drive took up more than 8 minutes of clock.
That scoring drive fueled Kansas City's defense, which went on to force a quick three-and-out, allowing its offense to have nearly a minute to add to its lead before the break.
The Chiefs' offense picked up right where it left off. A nine-play, 56-yard drive wasn't enough to get in the end zone again, but it did put Kansas City well in field-goal range. Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker made the 42-yard field goal with 4 seconds left on the clock, ultimately making it a 7-point game at halftime.
Penalties would become the story of the second half.
Las Vegas was again unable to respond coming out of the locker room, but its defense made sure the Chiefs' offense couldn't capitalize, holding it to a three-and-out after an illegal-block-in-the-back penalty against Kansas City on the Raiders' punt had put it back inside its own 10-yard line. The stop led to a huge Chiefs punt that would change the momentum of the game as an unnecessary roughness penalty against Kansas City would give the Raiders an extra 15 yards, setting them up inside the Chiefs' 30-yard line.
The costly penalties then began to benefit Kansas City as rookie guard Jackson Powers-Johnson was hit with two false start penalties. But Las Vegas caught a break when the Chiefs committed another penalty of their own, a holding call on third-and-7, setting the Raiders up in the red zone with a fresh set of downs.
Las Vegas got all the way down to Kansas City's 4-yard line, thanks in large part to an 11-yard reception by Meyers along the sideline.
Meyers finished the day with 52 yards on six receptions. The only Raider who had more receiving yards was Bowers with 58.
But the Raiders couldn't cross the plane, nor would they make any further gains on the drive. They settled for the 32-yard field goal, which Carlson made, trimming the Chiefs' advantage to just 4 points.
Yet another penalty would cost the Chiefs on the Raiders' punt as an illegal block put Mahomes and co. within the 10-yard line again.
The Raiders rattled the restricted Chiefs, ultimately forcing Mahomes to throw an interception to safety Tre'von Moehrig, who returned it to Kansas City's 3-yard line.
But the Chiefs stood strong, keeping the Raiders out of the end zone and forcing a turnover on downs as Las Vegas failed to convert the fourth-and-goal attempt.
Kansas City responded with a whopping 19-play drive that ultimately concluded with a field goal, another win for the Raiders' defense. Las Vegas was still within a score, 20-13, with a bit under 9 minutes still to play.
It would all go downhill from there though.
Facing second-and-3 on the next drive, Minshew fumbled as he was sacked, turning the ball back over to the Chiefs in Las Vegas territory.
Kansas City capitalized, scoring a touchdown to cap off an eight-play drive, all but sealing the victory for the Raiders' greatest foe.
But the Raiders still had some fight left.
Minshew would lead a 12-play, 59-yard drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown catch by Raiders wide receiver DJ Turner. Following the extra point, Las Vegas was back within a possession with just over 2 minutes left in regulation.
That drive ended a 209-yard, two-touchdown passing outing for Minshew.
The Raiders, with no timeouts left, attempted an onside kick. It was an exciting one, as the ball bounced out of the hands of Chiefs tight end Matt Bushman, but Kansas City would come away with the ball as the game went to the 2-minute warning.
The Chiefs ran down the clock and would advance to 7-0 with the victory. The Raiders, meanwhile, fall to 2-6.
Las Vegas will head back on the road to face the Cincinnati Bengals next weekend.
