Kansas City Chiefs: Four negatively bold predictions for AFC West
By Cullen Jekel
It’s time to take a look at some negatively bold predictions for the Kansas City Chiefs and all other AFC West members.
Last month, I checked in with some positively bold predictions for the AFC West, one for each team, from the Kansas City Chiefs to the newly re-located Las Vegas Raiders. Now, it’s time to flip that upside down and go negatively bold.
Or boldly negative.
In the last article, I started with the Denver Broncos and went alphabetically by team nickname. Since this is anti-positive, we’re going in the reverse order–but still saving the Chiefs for last.
That means we begin this article in Sin City, where things may (well, will) go very awry regarding an utmost important position…
Las Vegas Raiders: Mariota Replaces Carr as Starter in Week 10
Recently, Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback Derek Carr stated his displeasure over being “disrespected,” which is funny, considering the Raiders are an abysmal 39-55 since he took over in 2014 with just one winning season, which came in 2016. Since that year, the Raiders have gone 17-30.
Derek Carr: 'Did I think about opting out? I did not. I have a lot to prove to myself. I'm going to be completely honest with you. I'm tired of being disrespected. There was no question I was going to play this year.' #Raiders
— Jerry McDonald (@Jerrymcd) August 4, 2020
What Carr, and the Raiders, should worry more about than being disrespected is Carr getting benched. And that certainly could happen this year as the team signed former No. 2 overall pick and ex-Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota to back-up Carr in 2020.
Mariota, of course, lost his own job in Tennessee last season when Ryan Tannehill came out of nowhere to lead the Titans to the playoffs.
Could Mariota do the same for the Raiders?
Well, first, let’s take a look at the second part of my prediction: that coach Jon Gruden goes with Mariota in Week 10. By that time, the Raiders will have played eight games before a home game versus the Denver Broncos. The Raiders’ first eight games are tough with home matches against the Saints, Bills, and Buccaneers with away games at the Panthers, Patriots, Chiefs, Browns, and Chargers.
Going into Week 10, I’ve got the Raiders are 1-7 with a victory in Cleveland, at best 2-6 with another possible win in Carolina.
That doesn’t bode well for Las Vegas. Lightning won’t strike the Raiders like it did the Titans last year with Tannehill taking over. Perhaps the best bet for the Raiders, if they indeed start so poorly, would be to bottom out in efforts to select Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields in the 2021 NFL Draft. Not a bad consolation prize.