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Chiefs vs. Raiders: 10 Observations

The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Oakland Raiders on Thursday night

Here are 10 things that stood out from the Chiefs' loss on Thursday night:

1. Chiefs had a chance late in the game

It wasn't an ideal scenario, but the Chiefs had the ball with less than two minutes remaining and had a chance to win the game as they trailed 24-20.

De'Anthony Thomas gave the offense good field position after a 48-yard kick return to the Chiefs' 39-yard line. 

The Chiefs offense moved the ball just 13 yards before a Smith attempt to receiver Frankie Hammond on fourth-and-13 fell incomplete.

2. Soggy day in Oakland

It was an ugly day in Oakland on a lot of different levels.

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The rain came down steadily for the majority of the day and the grounds crew in Oakland did the best job they could to try and remove the water before the game, but there was no place for it to go.

Players were stretching and warming up in hallways and tunnels inside of the stadium as the crew pushed water off the tarps covering the field.

3. Just one missed tackle away

It seemed anytime the Chiefs were close to breaking a big play on either special teams or in the run game, Larry Asante, Charles Woodson or another Raiders defensive player would make a shoestring tackle and trip up the Chiefs player.

The Chiefs had a few opportunities early in the game to break off some big plays, but were just one missed tackle away.

The Chiefs offense was outgained by the Raiders 351 to 313 on the day.

4. Alex Smith finally got offense going in second half

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After struggling for most of the first three quarters, Smith made two beautiful consecutive passes to Dwayne Bowe and Travis Kelce for 11 and 21 yards, respectively.

That led to the Chiefs' first touchdown of the game.

It was the play call on third-and-short from the 19-yard line that saw Smith fake the run to Jamaal Charles and hit a wide open Anthony Fasano 19 yards down the field for the touchdown.

In the fourth quarter, Smith was 7 of 10 for 120 yards and a touchdown, but wasn't able to get the offense in the end zone in the final drive with less than two minutes remaining.

5. Raiders' muffed punt put Chiefs on the board

Midway through the second quarter and with the Chiefs trailing 14-0, Raiders punt returner Denarius Moore muffed a punt deep in Oakland territory and Frank Zombo recovered it for Kansas City.

Although the Chiefs weren't able to convert the mistake to seven points, they were able to get on the board with a Cairo Santos 24-yard field goal.

6. Jamaal Charles' 30-yard touchdown reception

A few plays following a first-and-20 pass to receiver Dwayne Bowe that went for 24 yards, Smith hit Jamaal Charles on an angle route across the middle for a 30-yard touchdown pass.

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It was second-and-16 and Charles had the ball with a lot of space in front of him, which allowed him to show his elite ability in the open field.

7. First rushing TD given up by defense

For the first time this season, the Kansas City Chiefs defense gave up a rushing touchdown, and it actually gave up two in the first half to the Raiders on Thursday night.

Latavius Murray, the second-year running back for the Raiders, carried the ball four times for 112 yards and two touchdowns in the first half before leaving with a concussion.

It was Murray's 90-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter that really put the Raiders in the driver's seat early in the game.

8. Defensive pass interference called on Ron Parker

On third-and-9 with 2:13 remaining in the game, Carr attempted a back-shoulder throw to receiver Andre Holmes and pass interference was called on Chiefs defensive back Ron Parker.

After review, there looked to be contact by Holmes, but the penalty was called and that set up the Raiders' go-ahead touchdown with just 1:46 remaining in the game.

Photos from the Chiefs Week 12 matchup against the Raiders

9. Penalties

The Chiefs came into Thursday night's game as the second-least penalized offense in the NFL, averaging just 4.5 penalties per game.

On Thursday, the Chiefs were penalized seven times for 59 yards total.

10. Third-down conversions

The two areas that Andy Reid will always point to as determinants of offensive success are third-down conversions and red-zone touchdown efficiency.

The Chiefs went just 2 of 14 on third down and 1 of 3 inside the red zone, which is well below their season average.

Coming into Thursday's game, the Chiefs were converting 48 percent of third downs, which ranked third in the NFL. In the red zone, the Chiefs also ranked third in the NFL with 69.8 percent of drives resulting in touchdowns.

Conversely, the Raiders went 8 of 16 on third down and 2 for 2 inside the red zone.

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