ALAMEDA – Donald Penn plans to play two more years after this one. That's it.
The Raiders left tackle plans to play out a contract extended this fall, which would complete 14 NFL seasons.
Penn wants to make the most of the time he has left. This season hasn't been good use of an opportunity. The Raiders are on life support following Sunday's 26-15 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Raiders entered Kansas City with a chance to control their own destiny, a shocking and possibly undeserved turn following the Chiefs' midseason collapse. They went from 2-4 to sitting atop the division with four games to play. They had a chance to erase a disappointing start, and ultimately coughed it up. They did that last year, too, and had to settle for a wild card spot.
"One of these days we're going to stop giving it away. We we're going to take it," Penn said Tuesday. "Maybe I, being a veteran, need to do a better job of leading these guys and reminding them that chances are rare. I'm only playing two years after this, so my opportunities are getting shorter and shorter. I want to play in and win a Super Bowl before I'm done. My sense of urgency is at an all-time high right now."
Salvaging this season might be tough, and players know it. They were just as frustrated as head coach Jack Del Rio was talking to the press a day before. This Chiefs loss stung. They were given a golden opportunity and squandered it.
The Raiders need to win out and get tons of help to reach the postseason. They can't get eliminated this week, but an eighth loss Sunday to Dallas would be a virtual death sentence.
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"If we don't beat Dallas, there won't be a playoff scenario," Penn said. "All I can focus on is our next game. We have to get that going and do something positive. It has been a frustrating season."
A victory over K.C. would've been huge, but the Raiders never showed up in a terrible offensive effort. The Raiders had three or fewer plays on six of their first eight drives, and were shutout into the fourth quarter.
"We didn't make plays when we had the chance. Kansas City did," Penn said. "They made all the plays at the right time they needed to. They made the plays we didn't make early in the game. We were still fighting. We didn't make progress with the chances we had.
"We had opportunities but didn't capture them. It festered all through the game. We did the same thing last year. We went to Kansas City last year with a chance to control our own destiny and gave it away."
