The Las Vegas Raiders fell to the Kansas City Chiefs 30-27 in Week 4 at home in Las Vegas. The Raiders were down 11 late and fought back to make it a one-score game, but the ending was rough. Kirk Cousins was hit as he threw on the final play, and the pass was intercepted. Nobody was set, so the play also drew an illegal shift.

That’s a bad way to lose a football game. Still, Vegas showed it can hang with anybody. The Chiefs are a great team with Super Bowl aspirations, and the Raiders probably had chances to win. Sunday had clear winners and losers. To be fair, “losers” isn’t meant as a shot at anyone. These are players and units that came up short in this game. The winners played well even though Las Vegas lost.

Losers from the Raiders’ Week 4 loss to the Chiefs

Dareke Young, WR

Young finished with one catch for nine yards, but that’s not why he’s here. He fumbled a kick return late in the game, on what could have been the drive that put the Raiders out in front. You can’t have that on special teams, especially that late. The Chiefs scored on the next play after the fumble, and suddenly it was an 11-point game.

Malik Benson, WR

Benson struggled on special teams. He didn’t have much feel for navigating kick returns, and he could have been much better. He was also close to nonexistent in the passing game. He didn’t get many chances to show that side, but he didn’t play well overall.

The wide receiver room

The big one here is the receivers as a whole. Outside of the last drive, when Tre Tucker had two catches, this group was quiet. Cody White, the practice squad player who has since been signed to the active roster, had two catches and, until the final drive, led the WR room. Jalen Nailor didn’t show up much before his concussion, and Tucker did little beyond a screen pass. Tucker also dropped passes on the final drive. This offense ran through the tight ends and running backs, and that can’t happen. It also showed exactly what the Raiders have to address in the offseason.

The run game

This may have been the biggest loser of all. The Raiders rushed 26 times for 72 yards, and their longest run went for 19 yards. Ashton Jeanty: 15 carries, 58 yards, 3.9 yards per carry – Mike Washington: nine carries, 18 yards, 2.0 yards per carry. That falls on both the backs and the offensive line. The O-Line wasn’t good in the run game.

Winners from the Raiders’ Week 4 loss to the Chiefs

Michael Mayer, TE

Mayer led the team with eight catches and finished with 82 receiving yards on nine targets, with a 17-yard long. He was outstanding at moving the chains and made a ton of big-time catches.

Brock Bowers, TE

Bowers played with the flu. He still finished with six catches for 86 yards and a touchdown, including a 21-yarder. He was extremely impressive on the second-to-last drive, which gave the Raiders a chance. Kansas City knew the ball was going to Bowers, and he was still pretty much unguardable.

Kirk Cousins, QB

Yes, the interception is on his record. Outside of that last play, though, Cousins played extremely well. He went 31-of-52 for 365 passing yards and two touchdown passes. He was excellent on the final scoring drive, and his touchdown pass to Bowers looked a little like something Patrick Mahomes would do. The 2-point conversion throw to White was right on the money. The numbers don’t quite show how accurate he was, because the game script forced him to throw a lot.

The pass rush

The Raiders beat up Mahomes all day. The sack total wasn’t high, but Maxx Crosby, Adam Butler, and Quay Walker all got in on the sack column, and the defense finished with eight quarterback hits. They got hands on Mahomes after seemingly every play and made him feel it. Butler added four tackles, and Tonka Hemingway had a pass deflection.

This was one of Crosby’s best games of the year, as he constantly pressured Mahomes. The defensive line’s run defense wasn’t great, but the pass rush delivered. Either way, the Raiders proved they’re a threat in this league. Will they make the playoffs? We will have to see. But they’ll compete in every game they play, and we saw that on Sunday.