Killing a comeback; How the Chiefs broke down the Raiders last chance to make it a game

Examining how Sunday's 4th quarter four-and-out shows the variety and quality of this year's defense.

With 7:28 remaining on Sunday, the Las Vegas Raiders had what was their last realistic chance to make something happen.

Trailing by two scores (28-17) and having been largely shut down on offense in the second half, the Raiders needed to get points if they wanted to have a shot at beating the Chiefs. And they needed them in a relative hurry, with the clock having become a factor given the need for a touchdown, 2-point conversion, and field goal to even tie the game.

Four plays later, the game was essentially over as Vegas’s offense trudged off the field unsuccessfully. The Chiefs would hand them the ball back following a field goal, but by then (3:11 left in the game and now trailing by 14) there was nothing left to do but attempt to pad stats. Kansas City’s defense had yet again held up.

The Raiders’ second-to-last drive was interesting to me in that it demonstrated how this year’s Chiefs defense has answers on multiple levels in a way previous years did not. And so I’m dusting off the old “anatomy of a play” format, but expanding it to take a look at this entire drive to make a larger point about Steve Spagnuolo’s crew, which had another (after a rough start) strong performance Sunday.

Let’s start with 1st and 10, where newcomer Charles Omenihu showed his worth and helped blow up a play.