Late in the third quarter of Sunday’s matchup between the Chiefs and Raiders, quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw an interception to Tre’von Moehrig that the safety returned to Kansas City’s 3-yard line.
Down 17-13 at that point, it looked like the Raiders were about to take a 20-17 lead over a division rival that was struggling offensively.
Alexander Mattison rushed for 2 yards to Kansas City’s 1 on first down. But then he was stuffed for no gain on second down. He was stuffed for a 2-yard loss on third down. And Garnder Minshew was sacked for a 5-yard loss on the next play for a turnover on downs.
It was the turning point of the game. The Chiefs went on a 19-play, 87-yard drive in response that ended in a field goal to go up 20-13. The next time Las Vegas had the ball, Minshew fumbled when trying to escape the pocket on the second play of the possession, with Kansas City recovering.
After the game, both head coach Antonio Pierce and Minshew lamented not being able to score from inside the 5 after the takeaway.
“You’ve got to punch it in, right?” Pierce said. “Last week, we had the same opportunity, and we threw it four straight times., Trying to get it. We just got knocked back. They won the line of scrimmage on those plays.
“I’m trying to establish some physicality with our guys up front,” Pierce later added. “Right there at the 3-yard line, you have to pound it in. Turnover, sudden change — you should be able to punch that ball in.”
Minshew called it “really frustrating” to get stuffed at that point on the field.
“That’s obviously something we have to be better at,” Minshew said. “We’ve been getting down there a few times. The defense put us down there a few times.
“We have to be able to get it in the end zone, point-blank, period, if we want to be the team we have to be. I think we’ll have to look at it, figure out what we’ve done well over the last little bit, and figure out what’s not working and go from there.”
The Raiders are now 2-6, with the club scorn 20 points or fewer in each of its last five games and in six of eight games overall. The club will go to Cincinnati next Sunday before a Week 10 bye.