The Oakland Raiders won for the sixth straight time on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, their home away from home, taking advantage of four turnovers to beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 26-16.
The Raiders, who had 114 rushing yards from Darren McFadden, improved to 3-4, while the Chiefs dropped to 1-6. Oakland has won back-to-back games for the first time since last November when it won three straight, beating San Diego, Minnesota and Chicago before losing four of its final five games and missing the playoffs.
The Raiders had three sacks -- one each from Philip Wheeler, Richard Seymour and Rolando McClain -- and didn't allow a single Chiefs sack.
Chiefs starting quarterback Brady Quinn left the game shortly after McClain's sack late in the first quarter with a head injury and didn't return. Matt Cassel took over to start the second quarter.
When the game turned: Kansas City cut the Raiders' lead to 16-9 on Ryan Succop's 52-yard field goal with 8:40 left in the third quarter, but the Raiders answered immediately. They marched 80 yards for a touchdown with QB Carson Palmer hitting WR Darrius Heyward-Bey on a 32-yard scoring pass that put Oakland ahead 23-9 with 5:40 left in the third quarter. McFadden sparked the TD drive with a 19-yard run on the first play. He had 17 rushing yards before that burst. On second-and-8 from the Chiefs' 32, Heyward-Bey caught a short pass along the left sideline, broke ex-Raider CB Stanford Routt's tackle and raced to the end zone.
Highlight moments: Late in the first half, Raiders long snapper Jon Condo hustled downfield and recovered a muffed punt by Kansas City's Javier Arenas. The Raiders took over at the 11. Three plays later, Palmer hit WR Denarius Moore on a 9-yard touchdown pass. ... In the first quarter, Moore turned a bubble screen into a 58-yard gain, setting up a Sebastian Janikowski field goal. ... Routt picked off a Palmer pass on Oakland's first play from scrimmage, a deep shot to Heyward-Bey.
Top-shelf performances:
- Raiders RB Darren McFadden -- 29 carries for 114 yards
- Raiders WR Denarius Moore -- 5 catches for 96 yards and a touchdown
- Raiders LB Philip Wheeler -- team-high 11 tackles and a sack
- Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson -- team-high 10 tackles and a pass defensed
- Chiefs WR Dexter McCluster -- 6 catches for 54 yards and a touchdown
What they said about the Raiders' victory over the mistake-prone Chiefs:
- Raiders coach Dennis Allen -- “We were able to get a few takeaways in the game and that was critical."
- Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel -- “We get penalties at inopportune times, we turn the ball over, then we allow teams to score."
What they said about ex-Raider CB Stanford Routt, who had an interception and gave up a TD in his first game against his former team:
- Raiders QB Carson Palmer -- "We were going to come in and attack him. They did a good job clouding his side and double covering with the safety on some plays. We had a specific game plan and we stuck to it."
- Chiefs CB Stanford Routt -- "I figured they'd try me. But you think about that with every quarterback and every team you against as a corner. It wasn't anything deeper."
Numbers you should know: The Chiefs turned the ball over four times -- two interceptions and two fumbles -- and lead the NFL with 25 turnovers. ... Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles, who entered the game averaging a league-best 98.5 yards rushing per game, carried only five times for four yards.
Injury update: Raiders -- The Raiders appear to have escaped Sunday's game without a serious injury. That's good news for a team that had 20 players listed on its injury report Friday. TE Richard Gordon (hamstring) returned to action after missing three games, but RB Taiwan Jones (knee) was out for the second straight week. Back spasms forced LB Travis Goethel to miss Sunday's game. Chiefs -- Starting QB Brady Quinn suffered a head injury late in the first quarter, apparently on a McClain sack. He stayed in for one just one more snap, and was intercepted by Raiders S Matt Giordano. Backup QB Matt Cassel, who suffered a concussion Oct. 7 vs. Baltimore, was shaken up on a hit by Raiders DT Richard Seymour late in the game that drew a roughing-the-passer penalty. Crennel said Quinn and Cassel will be evaluated as to their availability for Thursday night's game at San Diego.
Going forward: Raiders -- After beating the lowly Jags and Chiefs, Oakland will face some tougher competition the next three weeks, starting with a home game against the surging Tampa Bay Bucs. After that, the Raiders travel to play Baltimore, then return home to face Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. Chiefs -- Kansas City won't have much time to recover from its latest loss. The Chiefs travel to San Diego for a Thursday night game. After that, they travel to Pittsburgh for another road game before returning home to face Cincinnati.
Follow Raiders reporter Eric Gilmore on Twitter @CBSRaiders