Kansas City Chiefs: Raiders game not quite as daunting

The Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders have one of the best rivalries throughout the NFL. The two always play each other tough, but the hype for this game isn’t as big as many had thought it’d be.

Thursday night will pit the Kansas City Chiefs against the Oakland Raiders in an AFC West showdown in the Black Hole. Heading into the season, people were gushing over the Raiders and how this team was “Super Bowl ready”. Meanwhile, the Chiefs were being counted out pretty much because they’re not a nationally appealing team.

Six weeks into the season, however, and things haven’t quite shaken out the way national pundits hoped they would. The Raiders jumped out to a 2-0 start, but have lost four straight games to put them at 2-4. Ever since running back Marshawn Lynch danced on the sideline in week two against the Jets, Oakland has faltered. Is it karma? Who knows?

While the Raiders have struggled through the first six games, the Kansas City Chiefs have not. They’re sitting at 5-1 and look to be the best team in the entire league.

I rolled my eyes throughout all of that “Oakland is going to the Super Bowl!” talk this offseason because it got pretty annoying. Yes, the Chiefs and Raiders had the same record in 2016, but the Chiefs ultimately won the division. They swept the Raiders and did so handily. Neither of the games were particularly close.

Heading into this season, I thought the Raiders would regress a bit, but didn’t see them getting off to a 2-4 start.

While the Raiders have been “on the rise” the last few years, they haven’t been a big threat to the Chiefs during that span. In fact, most Chiefs fans would tell you that they consider the Broncos to be a bigger threat. The Broncos have been able to beat Kansas City. The Raiders have not.

Heading into this season, I thought the Raiders would regress a bit, but didn’t see them getting off to a 2-4 start. Things are starting to break the way I thought they might for the Raiders, however, and that’s the fact that their defense is shaky and Derek Carr isn’t as good as many hyped him up to be.

Carr had a nice year in 2016, but he did so behind the best offensive line in football and two of the best receivers in the game. This year, the offensive line has suffered a setback, allowing Carr to be sacked nine times through just five games. For comparison, Carr was sacked 16 times TOTAL in 15 games in 2016. Wowzers.

That proves that Carr benefitted GREATLY from a tremendous offensive line in 2016. This year, the fear of being sacked shows with the recently paid quarterback, as he’s trying to dump the football off as quickly as possible. If the Chiefs can bust through that offensive line on Thursday and rattle Carr, they’ll have a great chance to win this game.

Amari Cooper has also regressed this year and it’s showing big time. The former first round pick for the Raiders has only amassed 18 receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown. Cooper hasn’t found the end zone since week one. The only weapon that Oakland has that is scary is Michael Crabtree, who has stepped up as the best offensive weapon.

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When the schedule was released, I had this game penciled in as a loss. I figured the Raiders were due for a win against the Chiefs and it’s a road game on Thursday night. The road team has a huge disadvantage having to travel and then play another game just days after a Sunday afternoon game.

The last time the Chiefs traveled to the Black Hole for Thursday Night Football, the Raiders were 0-10, but managed to beat Kansas City for their first win of the season. That was Derek Carr’s first career win and his only victory against the Chiefs to this point in his career.

With the way the season has gone for both teams so far, I have faith that the Chiefs can win this one. Andy Reid obviously knows how to beat the Raiders and the AFC West in general, and this Chiefs team is just so much better than Oakland is this year. That doesn’t mean it won’t be close though, as the Oakland Raiders have given the Chiefs all they can handle even in years when it shouldn’t have been a close game.

Still though… Look for Kansas City to redeem themselves in this one after a tough loss to the Steelers over the weekend.

Chiefs fans, is this a game that you’re worried about or are the 2-4 Raiders not a big threat to you?

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