OAKLAND, Calif. -- For the second consecutive game, an ailing opponent found the Kansas City Chiefs to be the perfect medicine.
The Oakland Raiders had lost four straight games, scoring just 53 points in the process, entering Thursday night’s game against the Chiefs.
But the Raiders drove 85 yards in the game’s final 2½ minutes, scoring on quarterback Derek Carr’s 2-yard pass to receiver Michael Crabtree with no time left for a 31-30 victory that dropped the Chiefs to 5-2. The Chiefs have lost consecutive games for the first time since early in the 2015 season.
The Chiefs struggled on defense most of the night. Carr wound up with 417 yards and three touchdowns. The Raiders had 505 yards of offense.
But that final drive was most frustrating to the Chiefs. They allowed the Raiders to convert on fourth-and-11 at one point. The game appeared over two different times when the Chiefs stopped the Raiders twice after time had expired.
But defensive penalties allowed the Raiders two snaps after the clock was at all zeros. Oakland (3-4) finally took advantage.
"Just make a play," linebacker Derrick Johnson said when asked what the Chiefs were thinking on the final drive. "They needed everything to go [right] for them to get that last score. They had everything happen in their favor, including penalties.
"We still had a chance to win. We just had to make a play, one play."
The Chiefs would frequently make those defensive plays in previous seasons. But they allowed 34 points to the Houston Texans two weeks ago, though the Chiefs won that game. The Pittsburgh Steelers gained over 400 yards against the Chiefs in Week 6.
"I don’t know what’s missing," Johnson said. "It’s about making it happen. It’s about having the confidence we are a good defense and we can lean on that when the game is on the line on the last drive. Just make one play, one of us. We couldn’t make it."
The Chiefs would seem to be underachieving given their defensive talent level, even after losing safety Eric Berry in the season opener with a torn Achilles tendon. But they still have some of the NFL’s better defensive players in linebacker Justin Houston and cornerback Marcus Peters.
The results haven’t been there, though. They certainly weren’t against Carr and the Raiders.