Smith Picks Apart Oakland Defense As Raiders Fall To Chiefs
OAKLAND (CBS/AP) -- Spencer Ware ran for a career-high 131 yards and a touchdown and Alex Smith picked apart Oakland's struggling defense in the Kansas City Chiefs' 26-10 win over the Raiders on Sunday.
In their first game since getting blown out by 29 points in Pittsburgh two weeks ago, the Chiefs (3-2) efficiently handled a Raiders team that had overcome defensive shortcomings with a big-play offense to lead the AFC West.
Smith completed 19 of 22 passes for 224 yards, Jamaal Charles and big defensive lineman Dontari Poe each ran for scores and the Chiefs forced two turnovers by Derek Carr to dampen a fast start to the season by the Raiders (4-2), who are trying to end a 13-year playoff drought.
Marcus Peters set up Ware's TD run with an early interception of Carr and Dee Ford forced a fumble from Carr in the fourth quarter to end any hopes of a late comeback.
After allowing a touchdown on the opening drive, the Chiefs held the Raiders to one field goal the rest of the way in a thorough victory that improved coach Andy Reid to 16-2 following a bye.
BIG MAN TD: The 346-pound Poe showed off some versatility. With the Chiefs facing 3rd-and-goal from the 1 in the third quarter, Poe came in as an eligible receiver. He initially lined up in the backfield before shifting out wide right. He then took a lateral from Smith and bulled with way into the end zone for the TD . It was the first TD run by a defensive player since Poe had won last year against San Diego.
WELCOME BACK: After getting only two carries in his first game back from a torn ACL in Week 5 last year, Charles played a slightly bigger role this week. He came in on Kansas City's second drive and scored his first TD since Sept. 28, 2015, with a 4-yard run midway through the second quarter. Charles finished with nine carries for 33 yards and two catches for 14 yards.
QUICK TURNAROUND: Just when it looked like the Chiefs would add on to a 13-7 lead late in the first half, there was a major momentum shift. Spencer Ware was stopped for a 2-yard loss on third-and-1 by Stacy McGee and Cairo Santos missed a 38-yard field goal. The Raiders took over with 25 seconds left and one timeout. But Carr quickly completed three passes for 44 yards and then spiked the ball with 1 second left, setting up a 46-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski that cut Kansas City's lead to 13-10 at the half.
FAST START: The Raiders jumped out early, thanks to a 50-yard return of the opening kick by Jalen Richard. Carr completed four of five passes on the ensuing drive, including a 3-yarder to Andre Holmes that made it 7-0 with Oakland's second first-drive TD of the season. That was about it for highlights for the Raiders as Carr struggled in the rain and wasn't helped by dropped third-down passes from Seth Roberts and Richard.
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