OAKLAND, Calif. -- Seventeen plays are but a fraction of the snaps in the Kansas City Chiefs' season. But if the Chiefs remember nothing else from the 2014 season, they’ll remember the 17 that defined Thursday night's 24-20 loss to the previously winless Oakland Raiders.

The Chiefs had owned the fourth quarter this season and they had owned this fourth quarter, too, scoring the first 10 points of the period to overcome a dismal start and take a 20-17 lead.

Then came the 17-play Oakland touchdown drive that threatens the Chiefs’ quest for the AFC West championship or even a wild-card berth.

The Chiefs might have been the ones to make the fourth-quarter defensive plays to beat the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks in their previous two games. But they couldn’t manage that against an opponent that was bidding to become the second NFL team to finish 0-16.

Cornerback Ron Parker might have been the hero against the Bills, forcing a second-half fumble and breaking up three passes on Buffalo’s final drive.

But he was penalized Thursday night on the winning drive for pass interference on a third-down play and then was beat cleanly for the winning touchdown by Oakland receiver James Jones.

Safety Husain Abdullah might have put the exclamation point on a lopsided early-season win over New England with a fourth-quarter pick-six, but he couldn’t rein in a pass that would have ended Oakland’s scoring drive with an interception instead of a touchdown.

“That’s one I’m going to think about a lot," Abdullah said.

The Chiefs will all think about those 17 plays. They threaten to ruin their aspirations of an AFC West championship. Those hopes seemed so real before the game, with the Chiefs at 7-3 and tied for first place in the division with the Denver Broncos.

Now, even a wild card seems iffy for the Chiefs. It was just understood that given an upcoming schedule that includes games with the Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers that the Chiefs had to sweep their two-game season series against the Raiders.

The Chiefs can still salvage a split by beating Oakland in a Dec. 14 rematch at Arrowhead Stadium. But that might not be enough to get them into the postseason.

The Chiefs were dealt a tough stretch of schedule. They had to fly to the West Coast on a short week and face an 0-10 opponent four days after earning an emotional win over the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks. In 10 days they’ll be facing the Broncos at Arrowhead.

But they couldn’t find the energy to handle the Raiders.

“You can sit here and make excuses," linebacker Tamba Hali said. “But they played better than us and wanted it more than we wanted it.

“Yes, it was draining, but this is the type of business we’re in. You have to turn it around and muster the same type of energy."

The Chiefs will now take the weekend off, but it will no doubt be a restless time. They could have spent the time kicking back and watching the Broncos play against the Miami Dolphins, comfortable their fate was in their own hands no matter that outcome.

Instead the Chiefs are depending on the kindness of strangers, in this case the Dolphins, to help save their season.