The Raiders were 1:43 away from an improbable sweep of the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night. Then Patrick Mahomes and the mighty Chiefs’ offense took over.

With the Raiders clinging to a 31-28 lead, Mahomes led Kansas City on a seven-play 75-yard drive that ended with him throwing a 22-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce with 28 seconds left. A last-ditch interception thrown by Derek Carr sealed Kansas City’s 35-31 victory.

The loss dropped the Raiders to 6-4 and probably ended their hopes of preventing Kansas City (9-1) from clinching its sixth AFC West division title.

Here’s what the Raiders were saying following the gut-wrenching defeat:

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 22: Head coach Jon Gruden of the Las Vegas Raiders reacts to losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 35-31 as he leaves the field after an NFL game at Allegiant Stadium on November 22, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) 

Raiders coach Jon Gruden:

(On winning play):

“We didn’t have a rush. We had a stunt and they wadded the stunt up and Mahomes bought some time and he got us on a second reaction play, he and Kelce. It was a combination of him buying time and our stunt not getting home.”

(On correcting mistakes):

“It helps if we practice. You know, guys show up on the day of the game. It’s hard to enforce these things but it goes back on me. We gotta get these men out on the field and correct these problems. I couldn’t be more proud of our football team and I wouldn’t trade any of our players for anybody. The effort they’ve given us is tremendous. We gotta eliminate the penalties and that starts with me.”

(On Derek Carr):

“It’s as good as you can play. I mean he had four or five balls that were magnificent throws that we could have caught that we didn’t make the play on. He played tremendous tonight. Played almost flawless.”

(On closing gap between themselves and elite teams):

“I don’t know, it’s hard to swallow right now. I don’t have anything to say about that. I don’t know where we rank but we’re giving great effort. We gotta get some people back out on the field playing. Hopefully we can. We got six or seven more weeks guaranteed to us that we can hopefully take advantage of.”

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr #4 leaves the field after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Jeff Bottari) 

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr:

(On loss):

“It was a good game. I’m sure everyone at home enjoyed watching it. Two good football teams and division rivals going at it. We scored late on a two-minute drive to take the lead and then you’re really excited, obviously. Then they go down the field and they score then just the range of emotion. You try your best to stay even keel. You try your best not to get frustrated. But then you gotta go out there and try and get a chunk play, try to throw (Nelson Agholor) a jump ball and … just a “last situation” kind of thing. It sucks that it came down to something like that.”

(On offense):

“I’ve felt like we’ve been in a good rhythm all year, especially today. I felt we were in a really good rhythm. The stats may not show it, but when we ran the ball there was some efficient runs. We were hitting some big plays again in the pass game. But, man, it just wasn’t enough. This is the best offense I’ve ever been a part of. This group is awesome. I know I say it every week but we can win in different ways. We can smash ’em with the run game or we can do a shootout. We can do it that way. We’re proving that over time. The exciting part is everyone’s young. We’ve got a lot of young guys. I’m the old guy, I guess. We’re getting healthier. We’re on our way. Today it just wasn’t enough. It’s so unfortunate.”

(On getting over loss):

“We’ve got Atlanta, right? If you can’t get excited for Matt Ryan, Julie Jones, Calvin Ridley, Grady Jarrett, Deion Jones, this ain’t the game for you. There’s film to be watched. It sounds repetitive but if you just do your job — do you job on game day, do your job during the week, things take care of themselves on game day.”

(On dropped passes):

“I’ve missed a lot of passes in my life and I try to react in the same way I’d like them to react to me. If it’s challenge them, then challenge them. If it’s pick ’em up, pick ’em up. You try to read their demeanor. That’s why you have relationships with the guys and you understand what makes them click, what they like the hear in certain situations. When drops happen, if it’s a guy that’s not trying to do everything right during the week, I’m gonna get a little frustrated and probably use my dad voice. All of our guys try to do everything right all week. They try to catch extra balls. They’re always asking me to work with them. So when it happens during a game, I can’t get on ’em. I can’t get too mad at ’em. I’m not gonna sit there and rip a guy that does everything right. That doesn’t make sense. Things happen, man. I’ve missed plenty of balls in some crucial situations.”

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller #83 leaves the field after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Jeff Bottari) AP Photo

Raiders tight end Darren Waller:

(On the loss):

“It’s tough. Losing in any form or fashion, it is not fun whatsoever, especially like that. There were a lot of positives to take from it. There were a lot of negatives, like any game. We have to just look at it as a process. The process results do not always go the way that we want them to, but we get ready to have another chance to go back out there and get back on the winning side.”

(On Derek Carr):”

“I thought Derek played great. He was making a lot of great throws. Throws that if you are teaching a young quarterback to make, his confidence is on another level. I love that he is taking chances, taking risks and standing in there and making tough throws. I love Derek, and thought that he played great tonight.”

(On the offense):

“We felt great about our performance, the way that we moved the ball most of the game. Credit the Chiefs offense for that long drive to start the third (quarter). I felt like throughout the game, we felt like we had our foot on the gas and we were able to do what we wanted to do. There is a lot of good that we can take out of this offensively.”

(On dueling with Travis Kelce):

“Knowing that there is a guy of that caliber at my position over there, it naturally raises your level of play. You want to go out there and represent the position because it is a position that is loaded with talent throughout the league. It was just awesome to share the field with him. I felt that both offenses were firing and moving the ball. It came down to getting a stop and the defense did a good job of getting their stop in the third quarter. It was just a lot of good offensive football both ways tonight.”

(On emotions):

“It’s hard to stay centered. Great teams and great players are able to stay centered. When you do score it is like of course there is jubilation because you have worked hard on that drive, but at the same time you know that anything is still possible in the game. Like when Kansas City scored that touchdown, anything is still possible. You can still win this game; you saw footage of that last weekend. So just not letting those ups and downs of the roller coaster get you to out of wack and try to find some equanimity.”

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Jason Witten (82) scores a touchdown around Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon (92) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker) 

Raiders tight end Jason Witten:

(On rollercoaster game):

Raiders TE Jason Witten

“Yeah, it was a back-and-forth game. I mean Coach Gruden talked about it during the week, we knew we were going to get their best shot. There was a lot of talk during the week after our win up there at their place, and they’re the world champs. They are really good. We knew we was going to be in a fight. I thought offensively we were able to move the ball early, came out with good energy and we’re able to hit some things. I thought Derek Carr was in control and command the entire game and just came up short. They’re a really good football team and we knew we were going to get a great shot from them. You got to tip your hat to them.”

(On positives from loss):

“I don’t believe in moral victories, I really don’t. I mean I think this team, where it’s at, it’s the third year of this program. We really feel like we can play with anybody. That’s the type of team we expect to have. At the same time, it is a young team and you just remind them, ‘Hey, listen, 60 minutes with the world champs.’ They are a really good football team. The only lost they had coming into tonight was us and we got a lot of respect for them. Great players, great coaching staff and took them all the way down the wire. So, again, these are the types of games you want to play coming into November and early December. We got a lot of football ahead of us. Disappointing loss. We got to watch the tape with a critical eye and get better. And it’s not, ‘Ah man, we were close.’ That’s not the mentality in there. It’s a disappointment, but it’s a group that believes in each other and as a veteran presence that’s the reminder. As this season unfolds, these are the games that you earned to play in and now you got to find ways to win them.”

(On emotions following your penalty, then TD catch):

“Yeah, they shifted down there late and it’s a mistake on me. Just got antsy there trying to make that block. We were going to run it in there and they got me on the shift call. It’s a disappointing play. I’m a veteran player. Can’t make that mistake down in that situation. We were able to get it back and that’s a play that coach put in early in the week. And for him to call that play, that’s what I am here for, those type of moments. At this point in my career, it’s for plays like that. So, it was a great feeling but ultimately when you come up short that goes away. But I was excited to be able to make that play in that moment and for the teammates and coaching staff to call my number in that situation. I think that’s what I’ve done my whole career, take a lot of pride in critical moments making the plays that make a difference in a game.”