Raiders visit Chiefs in Important AFC West Showdown
Two AFC West rivals battling for first place in the division meet at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday of Week 14 when the Oakland Raiders visit the Kansas City Chiefs. Sportsbooks currently have Kansas City favored by 4 points with the over/under point total sitting on 48.5
Entering the game Oakland is 6-6 straight up and 4-7-1 against the spread. On the road, the Raiders are 2-3 SU and 1-3-1 ATS. Kansas City on the season is 6-6 SU and ATS. At home, the Chiefs are 3-2 SU and ATS.
The Raiders and Chiefs are tied with the Los Angeles Chargers atop the AFC West and one of these two teams will remain atop the division while the other will drop back one game. While Oakland has won two consecutive games, the Chiefs have lost six of their last seven.
In the first head to head matchup between the two earlier this season the Raiders won a shootout 31-30. The teams combined to gain 7 yards per offensive play and the two defenses combined to record just 1 quarterback sack and no turnovers in 133 snaps.
In this rematch on Sunday afternoon, expect much of the same meaning very little defensive stops and lots of offense on both sides of the ball. On most statistical sites the Raiders are No. 32 in total defense, while the Chiefs are No. 30.
Entering this game, the Chiefs defense is coming off a poor loss to the New York Jets in which they did not have a quarterback sack and did not cause a turnover. The defense allowed 30 first downs, 488 yards and 38 points. Over the past four games, the Chiefs defense has forced just one turnover
Against the Raiders, the Chiefs will be without their top cornerback Marcus Peters who is suspended, which means Raiders quarterback Derek Carr could have a field day against the poor Chiefs secondary.
Oakland will be without wide receiver Amari Cooper who has an ankle injury, but Michael Crabtree returns from a one-game suspension.
Defensively, the Raiders continue to play poorly. The defense has just one interception all season and that was by Navarro Bowman in the end zone lying on his back when a ball fell into his lap. Do not expect many picks by the Raiders against a usually very accurate Alex Smith the Chiefs veteran signal caller.
With both the Raiders and Chiefs having poor pass rushes, both Carr and Smith should have plenty of time to pick apart the opposing secondary and move the chains down the field in each possession.
This game could come down to what team has the ball last which means it will be close and could be decided by a late turnover, field goal or touchdown.
Prediction: The Raiders will cover, the OVER will pay out and the outright winner is a tossup.
