One streak stayed intact, one streak ended, and one streak never got off the ground.
All of which spelled the usual bad news whenever the Kansas City Chiefs invade Oakland. Make it six straight for one of the Raiders' oldest- and perhaps bitterest- rivals at the comfy confines of the Coliseum. Not since December 28, 2002 have the Silver & Black defeated the Chiefs at home; no team has ever demonstrated such dominance on their turf, regardless of where their turf has been.
The 20-13 loss ended the Raiders two-game winning streak over KC (both at Arrowhead) and came off what they had hoped was a turning point to their season, a 31-10 thumping of the Denver Broncos.
Rather than come out flat in front of a sold-out crowd, the Raiders may have been guilty of being too aggressive. After rushing out to a 3-0 lead- with the key play a hook-and-lateral from Ronald Curry to Darren McFadden- Oakland lined up for another field-goal try with the game knotted at 3-3 early in the second quarter.
Coach Tom Cable called for a fake, but Shane Lechler's pitch never made it into the hands of kicker Sebastian Janikowski and Kansas City rookie Maurice Leggett scooped up the football and ran 67 yards for a stunning touchdown.
Oakland then gave up another three points by going for it- and failing- on 4th-and-3 in their ensuing drive. Instead of leading 9-3 after three fairly impressive drives, two of which started inside their own 20, the Raiders were down 10-3. That's a 13-point swing, folks. From which the Silver & Black never recovered.
Thanks to a 44-yard interception return by cornerback Chris Johnson, the Raiders tied the score at 10 apiece on a 1-yard leap into the end zone by Justin Fargas.
But Kansas City went ahead to stay in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard run by Larry Johnson. The score capped a 91-yard, nine-plus minute drive orchestrated brilliantly by quarterback Tyler Thigpen. Twice on third-and-long, Thigpen found tight end Tony Gonzalez to keep the drive alive.
After a Fargas fumble gave the Chiefs the ball back at Oakland's 39-yard line, KC kicked a field-goal to put the game out of reach (though the Raiders tacked on a field-goal to make the final 20-13).
JaMarcus Russell was a woeful 10-for-28 and 132 yards passing.
The loss drops Oakland to 3-9 heading into their Thursday meeting with the Chargers in San Diego. The Raiders are now guaranteed a record sixth straight losing season as they fall to 44-51-2 lifetime against the hated Chiefs.