And just like that, Week 17 is here.
The Chiefs took a road loss against the Seahawks last week, but thanks to losses by the Texans and Chargers, they didn’t drop in the playoff standings.
The Chiefs are in control of their destiny once again as a win against the Raiders will secure the number one overall spot in the playoffs for the AFC.
Now, let’s move on to the predictions!
Shawn Barber, Chiefs 35-34
Keys to the Game
1. The Chiefs need to control their destiny. #RaidersWeek
2. Play smart football and win the turnover battle. #RaidersWeek
3. Be ready for gadget and trick plays in all situations. #RaidersWeek
4. Did I mention, it’s #RaidersWeek?
Timing is everything. This is the Chiefs season to win it all. #RaidersWeek
Aaron Borgmann, Chiefs 28-24
Many milestones to break in this game. They will all fall, as will the Raiders. It’s a semi-compelling story, but if they can’t beat the Chiefs at home, they won’t do it at Arrowhead.
John Dixon, Chiefs 38-21
The Raiders made it interesting in Week 13 when the Chiefs defense played a poor game. I’m not expecting a miracle, but the Chiefs defense should be better against the Raiders this time, and the Chiefs finally have their backs against the wall. It’s a division game — and there’s every reason to believe the Raiders will leave it all on the field for this one — but it’s still 11-4 vs. 4-11.
Matt Lane, Chiefs 38-27
The Chiefs need this game, the players know it, the coaches know it, and I expect them to pull out all the stops. It sounds like Oakland wants to be up for this game but they aren’t playing for much of anything so it’s hard to tell how they’ll respond when punched in the mouth. The Raiders have been playing better ball lately but the Chiefs are a superior talent by a long shot.
When the Raiders have possession they are doing a good job getting the football out of Derek Carr’s hands quickly to avoid sacks. Their OL play has been pretty rough on the edges and no IOL is safe from the wrath of Chris Jones this year, so they’ll continue their quick-strike game to save face. Jared Cook and the Oakland running game are the main concerns and nothing the Chiefs have shown against RBs or TEs should make one think we’ll stop them. The Chiefs need a non-pass rusher to step up at some point this year and it’d be nice to see that start to come to fruition now leading into the playoffs.
When the Chiefs have the ball, there really isn’t much the Raiders can do to stop them other than hope for more mistakes like the first meeting (fumble and a few missed deep shots). The Chiefs should be able to exploit the middle of the field of Oakland’s defense as they have lackluster play at both LB and S. Kelce should be in line for another big game and Damien Williams should continue his hot streak out in space vs a less athletic defense. Gut feeling that Demarcus Robinson has another nice showing leading to more and more snaps going forward.
Pat breaks 50 touchdowns, Kelce gets the yards record, and Chiefs win 38-27 while some starters get pulled starting the fouth quarter with the game in hand.
Gary McKenzie, Chiefs 28-21
With the weather getting colder and Andy Reid likely keeping his cards close to his chest, I believe this will be a tighter game than anticipated. I think the Raiders will cover the 14-point spread, but still come away with a loss.
This game will feel like a top playoff team preparing itself for a playoff run. I look for the Chiefs to potentially rest some starters, and come away with a somewhat close — but stress free — win.
Matt Stagner, Chiefs 45-31
There’s every reason to believe, like many pundits have been saying, that the Chiefs are trending downward at this point. They’ve just lost two in a row, and missed out on golden opportunities to close out games and the No. 1 seed. Berry may be sidelined again, Watkins can’t get back on the field and the defense can’t get off of it. The Chiefs aren’t getting good play out of their receivers, safeties, corners or inside linebackers. We all agree something has to change on defense, the coaches acknowledged as much by leaving the rookies (Ward, Smith) in the line of fire last week.
So, it’s not surprising that fans and media have bailed on this Chiefs season. The team has one more opportunity to prove them wrong.
Look
If you had
One shot
Or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted
In one moment
Would you capture it
Or just let it slip?
They need the bye week to get healthier. They need a convincing win for confidence. They need home field advantage for the pass rush and crowd noise.
Mahomes is going to come out firing and drag this team to victory against the Raiders, and it might just be emphatic. The Raiders may not have a response for him.
Craig Stout, Chiefs 35-17
Oakland is bad. Kansas City is good (on offense).
Please, please, please give me something good to write about on defense this week, Chiefs.
Kent Swanson, Chiefs 35-17
Third times a charm? Another hat and t-shirt game for the Chiefs. This time against a bad football team at home. Are they the team that ran out so far ahead to afford these recent lapses or are they the team we’ve seen the last two weeks?
I think they respond positively. Mahomes breaks 50 TD passes, Chris Jones and Dee Ford add to their sack total and the Chiefs get a bye week to rest up for a playoff stretch that runs through Arrowhead.
Pete Sweeney, Chiefs 38-17
I believe the Oakland Raiders coming to town with Jon Gruden running his mouth will be just what the doctor ordered to get the Kansas City Chiefs offense back on track, while the defense performs just well enough to give fans a dose of false confidence heading into the AFC playoffs. Upsets happen every day, but Patrick Mahomes is flat out better than Derek Carr, and he beats him to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC and solidify his MVP award on Sunday.
Joel Thorman, Chiefs 35-14
The Chiefs are still playing for something and the Raiders aren’t. I smell a blowout. Chiefs win.
Aly Trost, Chiefs 42-27
Going into their last game of the season after not making the playoffs, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said at practice this past week that they still plan to bring their best game to Arrowhead on Sunday. He said guys will be out there playing for their spots next year and what better way for Oakland to end a lackluster season than with a statement win over the Chiefs? However, on the Chiefs side, they’re coming off of two back-to-back losses, have records to break and a crucial bye week to clinch...aka every reason to come out motivated to put the nail in the coffin fast and early. They will and Mahomes will surpass 50 TD passes in the process.
Dane Van Why, Chiefs 31-21
The Raiders have had a pretty decent December, beating a good team in the Steelers and an OK team in the Broncos. But they’ll be no match for a fired up Chiefs team looking to take the AFC West and a first-round bye at home in front of a chilly Arrowhead crowd. Mahomes will get to that 50-touchdown mark and become the third player ever to do it.
Pete Sweeney deserves a pat on the back after last week since he was the only contributor to correctly pick the Seahawks in last week’s matchup.
As the season rounds out there are a large number of contributors at the top of the list, and everyone picked the Chiefs over the Raiders this week — so there should be no movement heading into next week.
Congrats to the contributors at the top!
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