Five things to know about slumping Raiders ahead of Sunday’s game against Chiefs

After starting the season with a 5-2 record, the Las Vegas Raiders fell to .500 with Sunday’s 17-15 loss to Washington.

A fast start followed by a stumbling finish has been a recent trend for the Raiders.

Last season, Las Vegas had a 6-3 record, then lost five of six games. The Raiders were 6-4 in 2019 but finished with a 7-9 record.

If the Raiders (6-6) want to change their fortunes, they’ll need to start Sunday in Kansas City.

Each week, I take an early look at the Chiefs’ next opponent, and here are five things to know about the Raiders before Sunday’s game at Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff is at noon, and the game will air on KCTV (Ch. 5).

1. Nuts and bolts

The Chiefs lead the all-time series 67-55, including a 41-14 blowout win last month in Las Vegas.

The Raiders are averaging 22.8 points per game, which is 17th in the NFL while allowing 26.0 points per game, which ranks 26th.

Las Vegas is tied for 12th in the NFL in turnover margin (plus-1). They have 13 takeaways (eight fumble recoveries and five interceptions, which is tied for the second-fewest in the NFL) and 12 giveaways. The Raiders have lost only three fumbles, which is tied with Arizona for the fewest in the league.

2. Slow starts

The Raiders have won just one of their past five games. In each of those four losses, Las Vegas has scored seven or fewer points in the first quarter, and it has not had more than 10 points at halftime. Against Washington, the Raiders trailed 7-3 at the half.

“It’s definitely very frustrating. Really annoying, really, to start slow every week,” running back Josh Jacobs told reporters after Sunday’s game. “I feel like it’s taking too long to be who we are. It’s definitely frustrating and I kind of voiced that a little bit today. ...

“We’ve got to have some juice, and some energy, and some type of swag to us. I feel like we come in just stiff and dull sometimes.”

3. Red zone issues

The Las Vegas defense ranks last, by quite a large margin, in red-zone defense.

On Sunday, Washington scored a touchdown on both of its trips inside the Raiders’ 20-yard line. Las Vegas’ opponents now have scored a touchdown on 77.4% of its trips to the red zone, according to TeamRankings.com.

The Packers are ranked 31st, allowing a touchdown on 71.88% of opponent drives into the red zone.

4. Tentative Carr?

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr leads the NFL with 60 passes that have gained 20 or more yards. Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady is second with 51.

Carr had just two such plays against Washington, and NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger said the Raiders appeared to play tentatively. Carr, in particular, missed a chance at some big plays.

One stat to note: CBS said during Sunday’s broadcast that the Raiders are 6-0 when Carr has 300 or more passing yards and 0-6 when he has fewer than 300 passing yards.

5. Injuries

One possible reason for Carr’s lack of big plays was the absence of tight end Darren Waller, who was out because of knee and back injuries. The Raiders hoped Waller might play against WFT, so that could be a sign that he’ll be back to face the Chiefs.

Defensive end Carl Nassib (knee) and linebacker Patrick Onwuasor (hamstring) both missed Sunday’s game, too.

Raiders running back Kenyan Drake suffered a season-ending ankle injury against Washington. Drake had 254 rushing yards and 291 receiving yards.