Darren McFadden caps last-minute drive as Raiders beat Chiefs 13-10

McFadden’s late TD lifts Raiders past Chiefs 13-10

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Darren McFadden answered Kansas City’s go-ahead touchdown with just over a minute left, lifting the Oakland Raiders past the Chiefs 13-10 on Sunday in a game that was as dull as the overcast skies until the closing minutes.

Matt Cassel, making his long-awaited Kansas City debut, hit Dwayne Bowe with a 29-yard scoring strike for a 10-6 lead with 2:38 left. But the Raiders, with barely 100 yards of offense to that point, drove 69 yards to hand the Chiefs their second straight loss under first-year head coach Todd Haley.

Russell, misfiring all day, hit Louis Murphy for 19 yards and connected with Todd Watkins for 28 on the nine-play drive. McFadden took a pitch and sped untouched around the right side of the Chiefs defense to score from 5 yards out with 1:07 left.

Cassel, who missed the opener with a left knee injury, hit a key third-down pass in the nine-play, 72-yard drive that gave the Chiefs their only lead of the second half.

The Raiders wound up with just 166 yards of offense to the Chiefs’ 409.

The Chiefs crowded the line of scrimmage and dared Russell to beat them with his arm, and until the final drive the unreliable second-year pro seemed bent on making the strategy work. At the end of the third quarter, he had 35 yards passing and the Raiders had only 77 yards of offense to 313 for the Chiefs.

But a host of Chiefs mistakes, including nine penalties for 70 yards and atrocious clock management — and Sebastian Janikowski’s two field goals — provided a 6-3 Oakland lead.

Also key to Oakland’s winning drive was a roughing call on Wallace Gilberry, who fell onto Russell while he was on the ground.

Russell wound up 7 of 24 for 109 yards. Cassel, who had seen no extensive action in almost a month, was 24 of 39 for 241 yards. But he also was intercepted twice by Michael Huff, the second time ruining a scoring threat and giving the Raiders the ball on their own 6.

Brandon Flowers, the Chiefs’ top quarterback, also came back after being out with a shoulder injury and made his presence known on the first series, breaking up a pass on third down to force a punt. But he was also guilty of one of the many mistakes by Kansas City when later in the first half he let an interception sail right through his hands.

With nothing but open field in front of him, Flowers would probably have waltzed into the end zone.

The first half ended in a fitful 3-all tie with the Chiefs getting booed for failing to seize a last-second field goal opportunity and the Raiders having only four first downs and 61 net yards.

Darrius Heyward-Bey, the first-round draft choice who was shut out in the season-opening loss to San Diego, made his first catch for 18 yards as Janikowski got set up for a 48-yarder.

The blunder of the day probably belonged to Kansas City’s punting unit. Monty Beisel and Jackie Battle were in position to stop the ball inside the 2 but stood there and let it bounce into the end zone. A furious Haley, pointing his finger at Battle, was yelling as they returned to the sideline.

The Chiefs were driving early in the fourth period, with Cassel hitting a wide open Wade streaking over the middle for 20 yards and Bowe getting a 7-yard reception on third down on a tipped pass. But Huff’s second interception gave the Raiders the ball back.

Ryan Succop kicked a 23-yard field goal for the Chiefs in the first quarter, and Janikowski answered with his 48-yarder. He added a 54-yard boot in the third.

Grievous clock management cost the Chiefs a shot at a field goal at the end of the half and sent them into the locker room with boos echoing through Arrowhead Stadium.

With 19 seconds left, Cassel hit Bowe over the middle for 10 yards to the Oakland 9. With 14 seconds to play, he threw a short pass to Dantrell Savage near the sideline, but time expired before the field goal unit could get ready.