LAS VEGAS (AP) — Klint Kubiak didn’t sound like a coach searching for a moral victory Sunday.
He sounded like one who expected a real one.
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Even after the Raiders suffered their first loss of the season, 30-27 to the Kansas City Chiefs, Kubiak’s message revealed something about where he hopes to take his team.
The first-year coach isn’t trying to convince his players they belong in big games. He’s coaching them as if they already know they do.
That became evident at halftime, when Kubiak — normally reluctant to make bold proclamations — told a CBS sideline interviewer, “We’re going to win the game.”
Asked what prompted him to say it, Kubiak offered a simple explanation.
“That’s how I felt,” he said. “So I just said what I felt.”
His in-game decisions showed conviction, too. Early in the third quarter, Matthew Gay made a 41-yard field goal, but Kansas City was flagged for illegal formation. Kubiak had a choice: Decline the penalty and keep the three points, or accept it, erase the field goal and give the offense another chance on fourth-and-2 from the Chiefs 18.
Kubiak chose aggression. The Raiders accepted the penalty, but Kirk Cousins’ pass to Ashton Jeanty fell incomplete.
“I don’t regret it,” Kubiak said. “I regret not getting it.”
That distinction says plenty about the mentality Kubiak is attempting to establish. He wants the Raiders to enter games against teams like Kansas City knowing they can win.
“That’s why you play the game, that’s why you suit up, that’s what we expect every week,” Kubiak said. “We have really good players, we have talented coaches, and that’s our expectation every week.”
Las Vegas rode that confidence to a 13-10 lead entering the fourth quarter.
“When your head coach believes in you, that goes a long way,” said Cousins, who passed for 365 yards and two touchdowns. “You feel that. You play with that confidence.”
With his team now at 3-1, Kubiak hopes to make the most of the defeat.
“You find out way more about yourself through adversity,” he said, “and so we have some adversity right here.”
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