Not many gave the Raiders a chance to win on Thursday night against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs came into the game on a five game winning streak, most recently defeating the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks 24-20, and were tied with the Denver Broncos for first place in the AFC West at 7-3. The Raiders had lost 16 straight games with their last win occurring in November 2013. The Raiders came out of this game with something to finally celebrate.
It was Raiders second year running back Latavius Murray, who came into the game and provided Oakland with the spark needed to earn its first victory. Murray ran for two touchdowns and 112 yards on just four carries before leaving the game with a concussion. He became the first player in NFL history to rush for 110+ yards with less than five carries in a game.
On if Murray earned more snaps moving forward Coach Tony Sparano had this to say, “Did he earn more snaps? Yeah, that was kind of obvious. We put him in there early and we got him going early. When you run the ball the way he ran the ball today, he earns more snaps, no doubt about it. I think we just have to see how he comes out of this thing here and what happens here with him in the next couple of days. Luckily, we have a few days here right now”.
Oakland outgained the Chiefs 179 to 96 yards on the ground averaging 6 yards a rush compared to Kansas City having just 4. Time of possession was nearly even with Oakland having the ball for 30:05 compared to 29:55 for the Chief’s, but Oakland’s defense only gave up two of 14 third down attempts, while the Raiders offense converted 8/16 of their own. This is a complete turnaround compared to previous weeks and a glaring result of the focus Sparano has emphasised in practice.
Said Sparano of earning his first win and the emotional toll it has taken on him. “It’s been unbelievable. It’s been a heck of a deal. But it’s not a toll on me; it doesn’t have anything to do with it. It’s a toll on those kids in that room seeing them every single week show up into that team meeting or into that locker room and not smile. You walk in there right, it’s a total different feeling. You can never forget that feeling. It’s been a long time since we had that feeling, but we’re going to take our time right now here with a couple days off and get a chance to enjoy it a little bit. It’s the nice thing about playing on a Thursday, get a chance to sit back a little bit, take a deep breath and enjoy it a little bit. We’re going to do that and we’re going to get back to work and we’re going to try to win another one.”
The Raiders did do their best to give this game away though, with a costly turnover and numerous penalties on special teams. The most glaring mistake though was the inexperienced yet talented duo of Sio Moore and Khalil Mack celebrating in the Chief’s backfield after sacking Alex Smith on a key third down play. An angry Justin Tuck managed to call timeout as the Chiefs were running up to the line of scrimmage.
Said safety Charles Woodson of the excessive celebration. “I don’t need any more of that. I couldn’t believe it. I told them that was the first time I had ever seen somebody celebrate for a whole 40-second clock. That was ridiculous, and they know it. I told Sio he’s lucky we got the win because we really probably would’ve had to fight, and I would’ve seen exactly what kind of fighter he was. I’m glad we got that win.”
It’s hard to blame the Raiders for being so excited after their first win of the season. Raider fans just hope they will soon be celebrating playoff wins.
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