Oakland Raiders Underdogs In Crucial AFC West Battle With Kansas City Chiefs

USA Today

After more than a decade of struggling to get back to form as a legitimate playoff contender, the Oakland Raiders seem to have finally turned the corner during the 2015 NFL season. Jack Del Rio has transformed the Raiders from arguably one of the worst teams in the NFL to potentially the squad with the brightest future in the AFC.

Although the future looks bright for the Raiders, the team still hopes to make a push for the NFL playoffs this season. Losing three straight games to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions were costly, but Oakland is still in the hunt to clinch one of the two AFC Wild Card spots.

In Week 13, the Raiders will host the division rival Kansas City Chiefs at O.co Coliseum. The Chiefs are in the same position as the Raiders with the team needing to win as many games as possible from here on out to be in contention for a Wild Card spot. The Denver Broncos continue to dominate the competition on a weekly basis with or without Peyton Manning. It appears the Broncos run away with the AFC West division title leaving the Raiders and Chiefs fighting for the Wild Card.

According to Sportsbook.ag, the Raiders will be underdogs on their home field in Oakland this weekend. The Chiefs will be sporting a -3 point spread. Kansas City got off to a rough start of the 2015 campaign losing five of their first six games. The schedule was brutal for Alex Smith and company with the team facing the Broncos, Green Bay Packers, and Cincinnati Bengals in consecutive weeks.

Despite the rough start, the Chiefs have rebounded nicely winning five straight games heading into this matchup with the Raiders. Two of those wins came against the Steelers and Broncos.

Oakland may be a team on the rise with a bright future, but they’ll likely struggle against Kansas City on Sunday. Taking the Chiefs to cover the -3 point spread seems like the smart move for this Week 13 matchup.