Kansas City Chiefs 26, Oakland Raiders 10
Here are the top-graded players and biggest takeaways from Kansas City’s 26-10 win over the Raiders.
Smith nearly mistake-free in road win
Quarterback grade: Alex Smith, 76.2
Quarterback Alex Smith had one of the most efficient games you will ever see. While you need to take into account that his average depth of target was just 6.8 yards, Smith completed 19 of his 22 passes with one of those three attempts being a dropped pass. On the downside, on one of the incompletions he nearly turned the ball over as he did not see safety Reggie Nelson who undercut the wide receiver’s route and dropped a would-be interception. However, Smith did have success downfield too as he completed three of his five attempts that travelled more than 10 yards in the air, including a beautiful 38-yard strike to Jeremy Maclin.
Top offensive Grades:
HB Spencer Ware 76.2
OT Eric Fisher 73.5
TE Travis Kelce 72.5
C Mitch Morse 70.1
WR Jeremy Maclin 68.7
Ware steals the show in Charles’ return
Although running back Jamaal Charles returned from injury and even scored a touchdown, it was Spencer Ware who carried the load for the Chiefs offense. Ware averaged 5.4 yards on 24 carries as he ran for 130 yards including a touchdown. In addition, he forced four tackles and gained an average of 2.9 yards after contact. Also, while Kansas City also schemed to protect Alex Smith with several rollout passes and play actions, the Chiefs offensive line also did its best when it came to keeping Oakland pass rushers away Smith. The unit allowed only three total pressures on 25 pass plays.
Top defensive Grades:
OLB Dee Ford, 83.3
CB Marcus Peters, 81.7
ILB Derrick Johnson, 80.4
S Ron Parker, 73.2
S Daniel Sorensen, 73.0
Dee Ford has a career day
Chiefs OLB Dee Ford was dominant throughout the game, especially as a pass rusher. Ford repeatedly beat Raiders RT Austin Howard, finishing with two sacks, five hurries and a pair of run stops. Rookie DE Chris Jones, Kansas City’s second-round pick in this year’s draft, played well after an injury to starter Allen Bailey forced Jones into a larger role. Jones finished with four hurries, earning a 79.8 grade in his 22 snaps. CB Marcus Peters also missed some snaps due to injuries, but allowed just 32 receiving yards on six targets, and added an interception. ILB Derrick Johnson was targeted four times, allowing three catches for just five yards, and blew up a screen pass to rookie HB Jalen Richard late in the fourth quarter with one of the biggest hits of the 2016 season.
Carr struggles under pressure
Quarterback grade: Derek Carr, 34.9
Carr was our highest-graded quarterback though Week 5, but has lost his position at the top of the rankings after his first negatively-graded performance of the 2016 season. While the pouring rain may have been a factor, Carr fumbled twice, threw an ugly interception to Chiefs CB Marcus Peters and had another interception dropped by Chiefs LB Justin March-Lillard. Carr earned a positive grade with a clean pocket, but really struggled under pressure; his QB rating dropped from 100.1 to 35.6 when pressured.
Top offensive Grades:
WR Amari Cooper, 88.0
C Rodney Hudson, 82.9
RG Gabe Jackson, 78.4
LT Donald Penn, 77.3
LG Kelechi Osemele, 73.2
Chiefs have no answer for Cooper
Raiders WR Amari Cooper was unguardable, especially in the first half. The Alabama product had a slow start to the 2016 season, but has 16 catches for 267 yards in the past two weeks, and has just two drops through the first six weeks of the season after dropping a league-worst 18 passes last year. C Rodney Hudson’s 82.9 overall grade was his best of the year; Hudson was perfect in pass protection and also graded well in the run game. Oakland probably would have been better off with a bigger commitment to the run game in the first half, especially given the poor weather conditions. The Raiders rank fifth in team run-blocking grade this season, but top HB DeAndre Washington finished with just 11 carries before the Chiefs took a two-score lead to force them to abandon a balanced offensive game plan.
Top defensive grades:
LB Perry Riley 82.4
S Reggie Nelson 82.3
DI Dan Williams 79.6
DI Stacy McGee 79.5
DI Justin Ellis 76.1
Defensive line impresses as Kansas City picks on rookie
Despite the result and the Chiefs’ success on the ground, the Oakland defensive line held up relatively well against the Kansas City offensive line and had a good game overall. However, while they were opening room for other defenders, linebackers missed tackles in crucial situations and could not take advantage of the line’s work. On the other hand, rookie safety Karl Joseph had a long day as Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith kept looking his way on key plays. Overall, Joseph gave up four receptions and 43 yards on four targets and was unable to prevent Kansas City moving the chains.
PFF Game-Ball winner: OLB Dee Ford, 83.3
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