A nightmare season for both the Kansas City Chiefs and the host Las Vegas Raiders will conclude on Sunday, offering reprieve to two franchises that had seasons marked by disappointment after entering with high expectations.
When the Raiders (2-14) hired Pete Carroll in January, the expectation was that the Super Bowl-winning head coach would help return the franchise to relevance, with the support of minority owner and decision-maker Tom Brady and general manager John Spytek. At the very least, the belief was that Carroll would be a steadying force for a team that had used four different coaches since 2021.
The reality hasn't matched the expectations, to say the least. The Raiders are even worse under Carroll than they were under the much-maligned Antonio Pierce regime a year ago.
The team traded away a star receiver for the second straight season in Jakobi Meyers, and even stalwart defensive end Maxx Crosby had a highly publicized spat with the team after being shut down for the season ahead of their Week 17 loss to the New York Giants.
Carroll, 74, has been adamant throughout the season that the decisions he's made since taking over the Raiders were made with the intention of meaningfully competing in Year 1. The word "rebuild" was essentially forbidden in the facility.
"Looking back, I thought we would make more progress earlier and we would be farther along than we are in terms of getting the wins. So, you're always rebuilding. You're constantly building. I fight the thought of it. We would make decisions that would go in advance of winning, so when you talk (about rebuilding), I just can't handle that. But this process is ongoing, building, rebuilding."
As for the Chiefs (6-10), it was reasonable to believe this season would have been somewhat of a trip back to earth after three straight Super Bowl appearances. It turned out to be far more humbling.
An 0-2 start put the Chiefs on their back foot immediately, but they won five of their next six games to reach 5-3 and climb out of murky water, if only for a moment. Four losses in their next five games put the Chiefs all but out of the postseason picture before Patrick Mahomes suffered a torn ACL just minutes before the Los Angeles Chargers officially eliminated them in Week 15.
For head coach Andy Reid, it's an unwanted change of pace to be ending the season in Week 18 as opposed to after the Super Bowl in February.
"Yeah, (it's a strange feeling)," Reid said. "I want to keep that a strange feeling. You don't like ending right now, obviously, but that's what it is. You've got to go back and fix things and make sure they're right."
Backup Gardner Minshew took over for Mahomes in Week 16 against the Titans, but Minshew suffered a torn ACL himself in the first half of that game. South Dakota State product Chris Oladokun has since taken over, but he was held to just 66 passing yards in a 20-13 loss to the Denver Broncos on Christmas Day.
The Raiders will rely on second- and third-stringers at quarterback for this game as well. Geno Smith (ankle) was ruled out and Carroll said he will rotate between backups Kenny Pickett and Aidan O'Connell during the game. Guard Dylan Parham (illness) and defensive tackle Adam Butler (biceps) are also out and running back Raheem Mostert (knee/ankle) is questionable.
The Chiefs ruled out guard Trey Smith (ankle) and reserve tight end Jake Briningstool (hamstring) for the Las Vegas game. Wideout Xavier Worthy (illness) is doubtful, while running back Isiah Pacheco (NIR-rest), defensive end George Karlaftis (NIR-rest), defensive tackle Jerry Tillery (NIR-personal) and tackle Jaylon Moore (knee) are questionable.
--Field Level Media
