The Chiefs head out west to try to get back in the winning column against the Raiders.
As a Chiefs fan, I hate the bye week.
As a ridiculously busy person with three jobs and a family to raise, the bye week was a nice way to spend some much-needed time with the wife and kids. But now we’re back to business as usual and the Chiefs will face off against the Raiders on Sunday.
Let’s see what FanPulse has to say about the Chiefs contest this week:
FanPulse is a survey of fans across the NFL powered by SurveyMonkey. Each week, we send 32 polls to 100-plus plugged-in fans from each team.
Arrowhead Pride FanPulse predicts the Chiefs to win by 16
You can sign up for AP FanPulse here to take the weekly survey.
Now that we’ve gotten through all of that, let’s head to the predictions!
Shawn Barber, Chiefs 54-24
This week’s prediction for #RaidersWeek:
Keys to the Game
1. Keep losing teams losing. #RaidersWeek
2. Play smart football and win the turnover battle. #RaidersWeek
3. Be aware for gadget and trick plays in all situations. #RaidersWeek
4. Did I mention it’s #RaidersWeek?
Timing is everything. This is the first game of the fourth quarter of the regular season. End the season on a hot streak to send a statement. This is the Chiefs’ season to win it all. The seven-game win streak begins Sunday.
#RaidersWeek
Aaron Borgmann, Chiefs 42-13
In 12 years in the NFL, I found no away game trip to be worse than going to Oakland. I didn’t have to do it much as an intern with the Eagles, but every year with the Chiefs, I dreaded it. Unless you stayed in downtown SF, the hotels were terrible, there was nothing to walk to see or eat, the stadium is a cesspool, the locker room is built for baseball, the training room is the size of a pea, the showers always ran out of hot water and the fans are awful. The only amusing thing about the trip is when the Raiders score and a mysterious cloud and odor overcome the sidelines. I won’t ever miss that place.
That being said, we generally always had good success there and feel like this will be the same. People want to call this a trap game and I find that laughable. Great teams don’t get trapped, if they lose, it’s to another great team.
Some want to make this out to be a Gruden/Reid thing, but that can only go so far when one team is so far ahead of the other. I may be in the minority, but I actually like what the Raiders are doing to build the thing back up, but that being said, they are a LONG LONG LONG way away right now.
This game won’t be close, probably done by half. Hopefully, it is injury-free as the home team preps for the stretch run.
Oh, by the way, check Andy Reid’s record after a bye also.
John Dixon, Chiefs 31-20
After decades of watching AFC West games, I can’t bring myself to predict a blowout in this game. Year-in and year-out — regardless of how they do against the rest of the league — when AFC West teams face each other, they tend to be tough outs. On paper, there’s no reason for the Raiders to be anything but a pushover for the Chiefs. But Jon Gruden and Andy Reid know each other well. They were assistants together at Green Bay in the early 1990s, and Gruden is 4-1 in games they’ve coached against each other. I think Reid picks up his second win against Gruden on Sunday, but I think it’s going to be closer than many believe.
Matt Lane, Chiefs 48-18
On the AP Laboratory podcast, I jokingly said that the Raiders really don’t have a chance to beat the Chiefs. Basing it essentially around the fact that the Chiefs put up 50 points on the Rams in a game they turned the ball over five times and turnovers being the only real chance for Oakland to hang in the game. Now with the Kareem Hunt news/distraction, nothing changes. The Chiefs can still play a game that would completely destroy other offenses and still score 40-plus points, it’s happened twice now against better defenses than Oakland. Essentially, this game is a full-contact practice but being a rivalry game the Chiefs need to take it seriously.
When the Raiders have the ball, very simply pressure Carr and he falls apart. Their offensive line used to be golden, but now they have as many issues as anyone else. Both OTs are rookies and neither are ready for the hurricane of a pass rush that is Dee Ford and Justin Houston. Chris Jones has oddly had his way with Gabe Jackson and Kelechi Osemele more than just about anyone else and that was when both were playing better. Oakland will likely try to establish the run with Doug Martin but the Chiefs have slowly been playing the run better each week and this isn’t a vaunted rushing attack.
When the Chiefs have the ball, expect a good dose of Mahomes spreading the Raiders out early on and getting the ball into space to his playmakers. The Raiders defense isn’t particularly fast and struggles in the open field so screens, slants and crossing routes over the middle create problems. Hill should be able to get behind a defense prone to giving up the vertical route while Kelce takes advantage of questionable LBs in coverage. The biggest thing to watch, not necessarily key to the game is the Chiefs use of RBs. Spencer Ware likely is the bell cow but is it going to be more of a committee now. Will Darrel Williams finally see more than a single offensive snap? And will the Chiefs begin using Damien Williams to his contract’s expectations?
This game shouldn’t be close and you are always worried about a team coming out flat in a game like this which can spell trouble in divisional games. The good news for the Chiefs is they are coming off of the bye week and should get a little tune up after a big change in the offensive hierarchy before the home stretch.
Gary McKenzie, Chiefs 42-10
Remember how badly Bob Sutton used to beat up on Derek Carr when the Raiders were actually good? Well, I think this game is going to be terrible for the Raiders. Their offensive line can’t block, and Carr is going to have a nightmare of a time in the pocket.
Mahomes will shoulder the load on Sunday, carrying the Chiefs to yet another impressive victory.
Matt Stagner, Chiefs 49-28
I’ve been trying to think of a reason the Raiders could win this game. Chiefs again have the QB advantage, HC advantage, pass rush advantage, better special teams, much better offensive skill players, and are getting healthier. Short of catastrophic injuries or side effects from smoke inhalation, the Chiefs should roll. The only reason it could be close is that division games are usually close. I think Kelce puts on a show, and this ends up being a comfortable win.
Craig Stout, Chiefs 45-10
What do the Chiefs do better than Oakland outside of eating dinner at 4:30? Oakland is devoid of talent, their schemes are poor and they’re old. This Raiders team isn’t even remotely in the same realm as the Chiefs. Chad Henne will play on Sunday. Don’t overthink this.
Kent Swanson, Chiefs 40-13
If I set the O/U on the number of times Chad Henne will see the field against the Raiders this year at 1.5, I would take the over. Henne is going to play in garbage time this week, and then will start against the Raiders in Week 17 with the one seed locked up.
The Chiefs are 15-point favorites in a road game. This is going to be a boring drubbing in Oakland. Jon Gruden will make $625,000 to coach this game. He has nine delightful (for Chiefs fans) years remaining on his contract.
Pete Sweeney, Chiefs 49-21
Never has it felt like the Kansas City Chiefs-Oakland Raiders rivalry has mattered so little, and it’s because the disparity between the two organizations has never been so high. When it comes to these two teams, the Chiefs appear to be the better team in every aspect, though I did find this little nugget interesting: Based upon yards per game, the Chiefs are the worst in the league at defending the pass (297.2 yards per game), while the Raiders are the worst in the league at defending the run (151.4). In my opinion, the only possible thing the Raiders can do to make this a game is to keep the ball out of the hands of Patrick Mahomes and company, which will be hard to do without Marshawn Lynch. The key for the Chiefs is solid run defense, curbing Doug Martin early, then taking advantage of a poor offensive line flanked at the tackle positions by rookie offensive linemen. Expect sacks for Dee Ford and Justin Houston, as well as Chris Jones, who has a chance to make it eight games in a row with at least one sack. Give me the Chiefs in dominant fashion, the Raiders scoring a couple touchdowns in garbage time by game’s end.
Joel Thorman, Chiefs 42-14
Joel’s on vacation this week and hasn’t been able to respond to my attempts to reach him, but I’ve worked with him for five or so years now, so this is what I believe he’d pick.
Aly Trost, Chiefs 45-17
Rivalry aside, this is a nine-win team (Chiefs) playing a nine-loss team (Raiders) — the outcome should be pretty obvious here. Mahomes and the offense will have a day/see TD’s from (at least) five different Chiefs players. This game will also be another opportunity for the Chiefs defense to continue tending up. Derek Carr has been sacked a whopping 35 times this season (hello Chris Jones and Dee Ford). Raiders will come out strong, but Chiefs will shut them down before half and win it
Dane Van Why, Chiefs 38-13
The Raiders are not a good team. The Chiefs are a good team. The Raiders give up a lot of points. The Chiefs score a lot of points. This one’s easy. I think the Chiefs head into the dump that is the Oakland Coliseum and hand the Raiders their 10th loss of the season.
After the Rams game, we saw a little shuffling in the standings:
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