A few thoughts on the Oakland Raiders' 31-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs:
What it means: The Raiders fell flat after a victory for the second time this season. After beating Kansas City on Nov. 20, the Raiders answered with a 52-0 loss at St. Louis. Last week, the Raiders enjoyed their season highlight -- a convincing win over Bay Area rivals San Francisco. The focus going into this game was consistency. Oakland couldn’t do it, though, and the host Chiefs pulled away in the third quarter. The Raiders are now 0-7 on the road and 2-12 overall. The best the Raiders can finish is 4-12, matching the first two miserable seasons of the Reggie McKenzie era. This poor performance is likely another indication that interim coach Tony Sparano will not be kept. The Raiders fell to 2-8 under him.
Stock watch: Offense is pointing down. The Raiders' offense was timely and sharp in the win over the 49ers, but on Sunday, it was meager and ineffective. This has been the case for much of the season. Rookie quarterback Derek Carr, who was so good last week, was under siege and rendered ineffective.
Coverage unit breakdown: The Raiders' coverage units have been porous all season. Oakland entered the game ranked 31st in kick coverage and 26th in punt coverage. Kansas City scored the first touchdown of the game on an 81-yard punt return by De'Anthony Thomas.
Game ball: Sebastian Janikowski. He had field goals of 53 and 33 yards to keep the Raiders in the game early. Janikowski has quietly had a solid season. He has made 15 of 17 field goal attempts. He missed nine field goals last season.
What's next: The Raiders host Buffalo in their last home game of the season and potentially their final game in Oakland. The Raiders, who have been heavily rumored to be a candidate to move to Los Angeles, do not have a lease to play in Oakland next season.
