Raiders-Chiefs score: Antonio Pierce just can’t lead this team to win

Coaching and player mistakes ruin chance to win at Arrowhead Stadium

Where did interim coach Antonio Pierce go?

Full-time head coach Antonio Pierce doesn’t resemble that guy at all.

The look on Pierce’s face at the end of this game was one of shellshock and bewliderment.

Pierce won the full-tie gig based on the way he led the Raiders to a Christmas Day win at Arrowhead Stadium in 2023.

An otherwise miserable 2024 season could have had a nice highlight win with a second straight win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead, but horrible late decisions by Pierce, who is 7-14 as the Raiders’ head coach, set up a miscommunication between rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson and quarterback Aidan O’Connell that resulted in a stunning game-ending lost fumble just as Las Vegas was readying for a makeable game winning field goal that ended up being a bitter 19-17 loss for the Raiders, who fell to 2-10 and who have lost eight straight games.

With just over two minutes remaining, Pierce called a timeout before deciding to have Carlson attempt a long field goal that he missed. Then, in the final seconds, the Raiders spike the ball quickly on first down only to try to throw away the ball on the fateful last play, but it took too long.

Sure, the Raiders play hard and yes, they are undermanned, but Pierce and his staff keep contributing to the losses and he look nowhere near the head coach the team and fan base that they were getting.

Now, as we hit December football and the final five games of the season, it’s fair to wonder if Pierce is going to be one and done in Las Vegas, which is something that seemed unfathomable when he was hired.

Here are some of their aspects of the Raiders’ 19-17 loss Friday:

Center, quarterback stand up:

Both O’Connell and Powers-Johnson took the blame for the botched snap. It was an ugly way to lose and it will be remembered for a long time, but they will both be better for it.

This is what the Chiefs do:

The Chiefs dropped passes. They dropped interceptions. They couldn’t make key first downs (this game could have been over around the two-minute mark had the Chiefs converted on third and two). They fell down on a long touchdown. Burt in the end they won the game and clinched another playoff berth. That’s what they do.

O’Connell impresses:

O’Connell deserves a lot of credit for playing on a short week on a few days of practice with a new offensive coordinator after missing four games with a broken thumb. He completed 23 of 35 pass attempts for 340 yards with two long touchdown passes and he was good on the final drive. He has five games to make his case for 2025.

Chaisson has big day:

Defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson had 2.5 of the Raider’s five sacks of Patrick Mahomes. He came into the game with 1.5 sacks. He was feeling it Friday.

Abdullah starts again, but McCormick shines:

With Zamir White and Alexander Mattison both out for the second straight game, Ameer Abdullah started again. But In his second game with NFL carries, Sincere McCormick showed he deserves big carries down the stretch. He had 64 yards on 12 carries Friday. and he had 97 yards in the past two games.

More Brock:
Raiders’ rookie tight end Brock Bowers, made a one-handed catch at the Chiefs’ 25-yard line despite being interfered with in the third quarter, surpassed the 800-yard receiving mark. He joined Mike Ditka as the only rookie tight ends to do so in their first 12 games. He had 10 catches for 140 yards and further showed a national audience he is a legitimate rookie of the year candidate. He has 84 receptions and is three way from setting the rookie reception record.

More Maxx:

Raiders’ star defensive wend Maxx Crosby had his 15th tackle for loss of the season. He is the only player in the league to have 15 or more tackles for loss in the past three seasons. He also had two tackles for losses and had multiple such games 27 times in his career.

Crazy streak continues:
The Chiefs led 13-3 in the third quarter. Thus, the Raiders have trailed by double digits in all 12 of their games this season.

Tough time for Carlson:

Carlson has been so good and he has great range. Yet, Friday he missed field goal attempts of 56, 55 and 58 yards. It was the first time in his career that he three field goals in a game. They were long ones, though. Still, it’s Carlson. You expect him to nail them all.

Jackson-Powers at center again:

It seems like Andre James, who signed a three-year, $24 million extension in March, is now a backup and Powers-Johnson is the set starter at center for now and the future. He was playing guard before James was hurt four weeks ago. But James is healthy. Jordan Meredith has taken Powers-Johnson’s spot at guard.

Killer Kelce:

In the first quarter, noted Raider killer, Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce became the yardage leader all time against the Raiders, surpassing former Kansas City tight end Tony Gonzalez. Kelce was already the reception leader against the Raiders. He had seven catches for 68 yards.

Cold game:

It was 34 degrees at kickoff and it was very chilly. It may be the Raiders lone cold game of the season. They have just two more road games — at Tampa Bay on December 8 and at New Orleans (a dome team) on December 29.