LAS VEGAS — Klint Kubiak apparently didn’t need to see the second half before making his prediction.
With the Raiders leading the Chiefs 13-10 at halftime Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, their first-year coach called his shot during an interview with CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson.
“Gotta be better, but you know what? We’re winning. We’re gonna win the game.”
Well, then.
There is expressing confidence in your team. And then there is telling a national television audience that you’re about to take down Kansas City with another half still to play.
Kubiak went with the latter.
His declaration added some swagger to an afternoon that already carried plenty of significance for the Raiders, who entered the matchup looking to turn an encouraging start into something considerably more substantial.
Beating the Chiefs would certainly qualify.
And Kubiak sounded convinced his team was up to the assignment, even while acknowledging that its first-half performance left room for improvement.
That was the interesting part of his answer. The coach managed to deliver both a challenge and a vote of confidence in the same breath.
The Raiders needed to play better. They also had given him reason to believe they would finish the job.
Against a division rival that has so often frustrated them, that is a meaningful message to send.
Of course, confidence alone doesn’t close out an NFL game. And Kansas City still had an entire half to make Kubiak regret supplying such a definitive forecast.
His players would have to back it up.
But in a moment when he could have settled for the usual halftime assessment about executing better and taking things one possession at a time, Kubiak put his belief on the record.
No hedging. No qualifiers.
The Raiders had the halftime lead.
Their coach expected them to have the final word.
