The Las Vegas Raiders fell short of making a massive statement in Sunday's 30-27 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Colin Cowherd still feels the game showed the franchise is trending upward. Kansas City improved to 4-0 by handing Las Vegas its first loss of the season.
Cowherd left the AFC West clash impressed by the Raiders. "It's very rare when the dynasty -- or near dynasty -- Kansas City wins on the road, and we want to talk about the losing team," Cowherd said on Monday's "The Herd." "But the Raiders had their best loss in a decade ... They lost yesterday, and I was blown away by them.
That is as good as they have looked in a long time." The Raiders' 19-17 lead quickly evaporated in the fourth quarter when the Chiefs followed a Kenneth Walker III touchdown by recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and scoring another Walker touchdown on the next play. Cowherd expected the Raiders to fold, but they instead answered with a touchdown and two-point conversion on a 65-yard drive that lasted just 76 seconds. Las Vegas then forced a three-and-out to regain the ball with a chance to tie or win.
Kirk Cousins led his offense 50 yards downfield before throwing a game-ending interception with 10 seconds remaining. "Game over, right? 30-19, down 11, game over," Cowherd said. "That wasn't this Raiders team.
They didn't quit, and this is Klint Kubiak and the new Raiders and the new Raiders culture." Cowherd wasn't surprised to see Patrick Mahomes lead the Chiefs to a late victory, but he thought he was seeing the same old Raiders when they fumbled the kick return. Instead, the pundit left the game encouraged by their perseverance. "I know they lost, but their fight and how everybody feels like they're playing about a half grade above who they are was, to me, really, really impressive," Cowherd said.
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