Kansas City Chiefs Vs Oakland Raiders 2: Chiefs Report Card

Kansas City Chiefs strong safety Eric Berry  (29) Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

DEFENSE

RUN DEFENSE: The defense was not near as impressive as the offense. For one thing, Kansas City gave up 130 yards on the ground, including 91 to Rashad Jennings. The Raiders ran almost at will against the Chiefs front 7, who did little to stop them. The Chiefs need to find a way to rediscover their effectiveness on the defensive side of the ball.

GRADE: D

PASS DEFENSE: You thought 130 rushing yards was bad, how about 331 yards through the air by the Raiders? Matt McGloin, yes, the immortal Matt McGloin, put up 297 yards on Kansas City, while Terrell Pryor added 12 more, and fullback Marcel Reese added 22 more on a pass during a fake punt. The Raiders did only complete 49% of their pass attempts but they averaged 16.5 yards per completion.

The only thing that saved the Chiefs passing defense was 5 interceptions – and that was so big! The Chiefs did not record a sack or a hit on the quarterback, and that just isn’t acceptable from this defense.

GRADE: C-

This defensive grade is going to look better than it should because the Chiefs’ defense did come up with 6 huge turnovers, including 5 interceptions. Eric Berry picked off two passes and he ran one back 34 yards for a touchdown. So, in summary, Kansas City gave up 26 first downs, 130 yards rushing, 331 passing yards, 461 total yards, and 31 points, yet the turnovers they forced led to 35 points. The defense did not play well but they did make several big plays, so that bumps this grade up overall.

OVERALL DEFENSIVE GRADE: B-