Kansas City Chiefs: Thursday Night Football vs Oakland Raiders
By Ben Almquist
Kansas City Chiefs vs Oakland Raiders
Three Things To Watch
Apart from our big lead, there are plenty of other story lines for the Kansas City Chiefs this week. That will happen following a loss, especially a frustrating one. The Chiefs have plenty of ways to improve this week, but not a lot of time to do it. Here’s the top story lines for this week.
Can Chiefs run game rebound? I’m talking on both sides of the ball. Yes, Kareem Hunt needs to get more yards on the ground this week, but the defense can’t be let off the hook. The Chiefs invested heavily in upgrading the run defense, and so far it hasn’t paid off. Reggie Ragland, Bennie Logan, and Roy Miller must start making a difference.
The secondary must step up. You would not be wrong to say that the Antonio Brown touchdown was the big deciding factor in last week’s game. That is especially painful because there is no reason why Phillip Gaines shouldn’t have knocked that ball down. He and Terrance Mitchell have struggled this year, and they have to step up.
Can Alex Smith and Demarcus Robinson link up? If there was anything that frustrated Chiefs fans more than missed opportunities last week, I can’t think of it. Those missed opportunities were largely when Alex Smith targeted Demarcus Robinson. If KC can clean that up, there is potential there for a big payoff.