Raiders Crushed by Chiefs | Breaking Down the 31-0 Disaster

The Raiders hit rock bottom in Kansas City — here’s how the Chiefs picked them apart and what must change after the bye.

Author

Jesse Merrick
October 20, 2025

In partnership with

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I’ve lost before in my life, but I definitely don’t like losing. I don’t work as hard as I do, I don’t think anybody else in this building does, to lose like that. So, if we’re being honest, it’s been a losing culture around here for a long time, and we have to continue to work to fix that and bring winning back here.”

— Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty following the 31-0 loss to the Chiefs

Photo Courtesy: Arnie Bazemore

In today’s newsletter, we’re breaking down the Raiders’ ugly 31-0 loss to the Chiefs — from the jaw-dropping stats that tell the story, to exactly where things went off the rails on both sides of the ball. We’ll dig into how Kansas City dissected Vegas’ defense, why the offense never found a rhythm, and what this all means heading into the bye week.

RAIDERS LOSE 31-0 TO KC - POSTGAME BREAKDOWN

Check out our latest episode of the Silver & Black Sports Network Podcast, where I dive into the Raiders’ 31-0 loss to the Chiefs. I break down how Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense dissected the Raiders defense, why Vegas couldn’t get anything going on offense, and whether this version of the Raiders is actually worse than last year’s team. Plus, with the bye week coming up, I explain what needs to change before the Silver & Black retake the field. Hit play above for the full postgame reaction and analysis.

QUICK ANALYSIS

Photo Courtesy: Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs became the first team since at least 2000 to start a game with three touchdown drives of at least 80 yards. On those drives alone, they racked up 270 yards and held the ball for 20:48. Long story short, the Chiefs dominated time of possession by sustaining long drives because the Raiders couldn’t slow down their short passing attack, which mixed in a ton of screens and to keep the defense and the pass rush off balance. On the flip side, the Raiders couldn’t get anything going on offense and didn’t have a single drive of over five plays in the game. Add that up and you’ve got yourself a lopsided 31-0 loss, their eighth straight within the division dating back to last season.

CRAZY STATS

The Chiefs had 30 first downs on Sunday, and the Raiders ran just 30 total plays on offense.

That’s an unreal discrepancy, and the Raiders are now just the second team since 1950 to run 30 or fewer offensive plays in a game.

Even crazier? The Raiders managed that feat with the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the game. Let that sink in…

Keep scrolling for a deeper dive into the Raiders’ struggles on both sides of the ball.

MISS ANYTHING?

Catch up on some of our recent stories:

Mahomes’ Hot Zones, Raiders’ Counterpunch & Meyers Injury Update

— Mahomes is heating up — here’s how the Raiders can keep pace, plus the latest on Jakobi Meyers ahead of Sunday.


Raiders Bounce Back Behind Relentless Defense & Ground Game

— Dominant defense, a clutch strip sack, and two game balls — here’s what the Raiders’ win over the Titans really means.


CHIEFS DOMINATE ON OFFENSE

Photo Courtesy: Kansas City Chiefs

We dove into it a bit up top but the Chiefs really tore the Raiders up on offense, not only did they amass 434 yards of total offense, but they also ran 77 plays, converted 30 first downs, went 9-for-15 on third downs, created nine explosive plays (run of 10+ yards or catch of 15+ yards), and dominated time of possession 42:08 to 17:52, and it could have been worse but they pulled Mahomes at the end of the third quarter.

“They executed really well with a short passing game and were able to get catches and fall forward. Make the first, and they weren't very long. We didn't have them in long situations, so that allows you to throw the quick rhythm passing stuff and get five and six yards, and it's a conversion. They were able to do that, and you saw us. We jumped up after we saw what was happening, and we made a couple of adjustments. Patrick (Graham) made a couple calls. They had the balls that hit our guys, and they threw right at us, and we banged them off us. Those were the same concepts that were working earlier. So we found some ways to get a stop, but we didn't capitalize on them like we needed to do in a game like this.”

— Pete Carroll, Raiders Head Coach

Leading up to the game, we also stressed that the Raiders’ linebackers needed to be good in coverage, especially after the way Patrick Mahomes ripped the Lions’ linebackers apart the previous week. Looking at the stats above, it should come as no surprise to you that the Raiders didn’t fare well there either. Here’s a look at the numbers for Vegas’ linebackers in coverage vs. the Chiefs:

Looking for unbiased, fact-based news? Join 1440 today.

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

NOTHING GOING FOR RAIDERS OFFENSE

Photo Courtesy: Kansas City Chiefs

The Raiders offense had eight real drives (taking out the last one of the game and the final drive before the first half, both lasted one play and were essentially throw aways), but not a single one lasted more than five plays. On top of that, they gained nine or less yards on six of those eight drives. On the day, they finished with just 95 yards of total offense, three first downs, and were 0-for-7 on third downs. We usually harp on them for not running the ball, and they could have stuck with it a bit more earlier in the game, on their 14 offensive snaps Jeanty only ran it four times, but overall, there was just nothing going for them on offense. They weren’t all on offense, but they did have eight penalties on the day. One of those penalties, a holding call on Jackson Powers-Johnson negated a third down conversion on a pass to Dont’e Thornton. On top of that, three of the other penalties were on offense and they occurred on first or second down, putting a struggling offense behind the sticks early. Long story short, when you’re missing your top two receiving options (Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers), and you’re having trouble moving the ball as it is, you’re not going to be able to overcome stuff like that.

To be honest, at first, they did a great job with clock management. Time of possession was kind of unheard of for them, but I think just having, what, I think we had only three first downs? You’re not gonna win. On top of that, we had what, less than one hundred yards total offense? Which is I think too, a statistic that is brutal. We just gotta find ways, get more people involved, get all the right cylinders to go, and be able to come back, especially from the bye week, and learn from this mistake too, the errors that we caused against a good team.”

— Raheem Mostert, Raiders running back

WHAT’S NEXT?

Are you guys ready for the bye week? Yeah, I think it’s coming at the perfect time for all involved.

Having said that, Pete will still be talking today at 11:00 a.m. (PST) like usual, so stay tapped into us on Twitter (X) for coverage of his press conference from Raiders HQ today.

Even though the Raiders are on a bye week, we’ll still crank out our weekly installments of the Silver & Black Sports Network Podcast so keep an eye out for those dropping on Wednesday and Friday morning. On Wednesday we’ll break down what we’ve seen from the Raiders through the first seven weeks and on Friday we’ll put on our football fan caps and take a look at the entire slate of NFL games with our homie Matt Perrault.

Catch ya next time,

Silver & Black Sports Network is an independent media outlet. We are not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by the Las Vegas Raiders or the NFL.

Reply

or to participate.