This newly formed Raiders team this year has plenty still to prove. A win over the Chiefs would have gone a long way toward that end. But even with the loss, they feel like they still have lost no belief in themselves and their abilities.
“We know what we're capable of," said Maxx Crosby. "I feel like we're figuring out more and more how good we can be. But that's a tough loss. We have to bounce back. We have to figure out how to get better, how to improve from it.”
This team gained a lot of confidence in the first three games of this season, starting out 3-0 and coming into this game against their bitter rival as equals. And the back-and-forth affair bore that out. With the game basically coming down to a late fumble on special teams and still
ending a few yards shy of a shot at a tie.
“We feel like we can win every game that we're in, no matter what the score is," Maxx added.
They gained and gave up the lead four times in this game and came from behind to take the lead inside five minutes left in the game and the Chiefs having scored just 17 points. That is an accomplishment in and of itself. That's not to say that's enough. Obviously it's all about finishing. But just because the cards fell as they did late doesn't mean they couldn't just as easily have fallen in the Raiders favor. They put themselves in position to win. More than once.
They lost the lead late the game on a touchdown run following a 55-yard catch by Tyquan Thornton put them in position for the score to go up 23-19. But there was still plenty of time to get the lead back, perhaps for good. That chance ended before it began, with Dareke Young fumbling away the kick return. That's when RB Kenneth Walker did what he has been doing all season, he ran by the Raiders defense for another TD.
That was a brutal sequence for the Raiders. And still, they drove for a TD and two-point conversion to make it a three point game, made the stop on defense, and began driving to try for the tie.
The Raiders last try to tie it ended with Tre Tucker making a catch near midfield with ten seconds left. They would need about eight more yards to have a realistic shot to bring out Matt Gay for a field goal try. But Kirk Cousins was hit as he threw and the ball was intercepted. And instant longer and who knows what happens. That's how close it was.
"I think this is a building stone for us," said Tucker. "And we learned from something in that moment because in the NFL all the games come down to moments like that.”
Michael Mayer, who led the team with eight catches on the day, was not interested in talking about what positives could come from a game like this.
“I think at the end of the day, we just want to win," said Mayer. "That's what I kind of take from today is we lost the game today, so let's look back at it, and let's figure some things out. You always want to win, no matter what. So, yeah, no victories today.”
And Nakobe Dean was just pissed off.
“This shouldn't be nothing but more motivation, shouldn't do nothing but piss us off more," said Dean. "We already been pissed off. And basically, that's how I'm gonna go about it. and try to work to do better.
“You gotta be pissed off for greatness. I'd be pissed off for greatness just stepping out there. I mean, going toe-to-toe with a team like that, we expect to win. We don't expect to go out there and be like ‘we're going to play good and…’ no, we expect to win every game, every time we step out on the field. So that's how we're gonna go about it.”
The Raiders now sit at 3-1 on the season with the Patriots, Bills, and Rams on tap. If they really are worthy, they have plenty more opportunities to prove it.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders 'pissed off' but still confident after hard-fought loss to Chiefs
