Why the Bye Week is the Key to Stopping Raiders' Slide

"You don’t just bury this game tape. You first burn it with fire, and then douse it with sulfuric acid. The Raiders ran 30 offensive plays and allowed 31 points. Defensively, they let the Chiefs do pretty much what they wanted, even if the score wasn’t outrageously bad. It could have been much worse," Edholm said.

"Whatever good vibes still wafted around the team Sunday morning were blown away pretty quickly. There was only so much to hope for from the offense withandout -- and withmired in a season-long slump -- but the Raiders not leaning onwas so bizarre. He touched it only seven times -- and just once in the game’s first 20 minutes. I don’t get any of it. Oh, Maxx Crosby and, Adam Butler got hurt.

During the Raiders' Bye Week, Carroll explained the mental and emotional state of Raiders quarterback Geno Smith, who has had a rough go of it this season. Carroll believes Smith is close to playing significantly better than he has up until this point in the season.

“I think he has been that way [frustrated]. I think he's coming out of it. I think he's turning the corner. He was clean yesterday with the ball in his opportunities. He didn't get many chances. We just didn't have any plays. There just were no plays. And so, stacking games and pushing the history of this early part of the season farther away from us, it helps. He's as competitive as ever. He's raring to go,” Carroll said.

“He's frustrated because we want to win, and we want to play big and all that. That's going to always hold him connected to that thought. But he's ready to go and we need to build it up around him. He can't do all of it by himself. He needs the help, he needs the guys to go to and the guys to come through for him, the protection to be there for him, so that he can play his position, and hopefully we can get going. Kansas City was really, really good against us in all phases of their game."