Chiefs at Raiders - Week 9 - Record: 5-3

I could say all kinds of things about the awful officiating crew covering today's game. We had some rotten calls against us, such as the completely meaningless holding call against Andy Studebaker that cost us three points. But the fact is we got some of those rotten calls to help us out. (We weren't even hurt by their total brainlock about what Chiefs down it was before our first touchdown.) This is what is really saddest: that the only reason we were actually in this game is that we benefitted from them.

Add to that this Raiders team was hopelessly abysmal in the first half, and still there is truly no reason we deserve to win this game. Both sides of their line were better than ours, and that alone made up for the fact that most of their play was completely inept. But they were a spirited team that got the job done when they had to. All I can think about is that third and long play from midfield just before the end of regulation with us up 20-17. We had a sure sack that we overran, then Brandon Flowers set up for an easy pick but he got bumped out of the way (very legally) by a more acquisitive receiver who snatched it from him. Next play, game-tying FG.

We'd beaten the Raiders seven straight in Oakland, and I just knew we couldn't keep that streak alive. This was as much the sports gods just making everything work for the Raiders when it had to as it was the Chiefs just not finishing -- yet again.

Yes, the Chiefs did finish last week against Buffalo, but we shouldn't have had either of these games be as close as they were.

Today Dwayne Bowe dropped another pass. Even Tony Moeaki dropped a pass. We had two or three dropped interceptions. Two long Javier Arenas runbacks -- one of them a touchdown -- were brought back by penalties. Our running game only got untracked in the second half. We still had far too many 3rd-and-1's that we just couldn't convert. We didn't have a single good, solid, significant drive that we could proudly say the mix of our playcalling and execution got the job done. Not a one.

And probably the most important factor in this mix is Matt Cassel. Is there a single Chiefs fan who isn't driven absolutely crazy by this guy? I'm in a complete schizophrenic state in trying to figure him out. He is a true gamer, a vicious competitor who you want leading the charge. But then he does things like float an idiotic duck into the end zone that gets easily picked off at the most inopportune time, with less than a minute left in the first half and a chance to get at least a field goal and go up 13-0.

Yes, there were a lot of stupid things that happened in the Raiders favor today, but you know? There were just as many for the Chiefs that kept us in the game.

We have a talented team. If we want a contending team our in-game minds had better be much more focused.
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