RAIDERS VS. CHIEFS
Site: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo. Kickoff: 10a.m.
TV: CBS, Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon, Jenny Dell
THREE KEYS
1. Raiders must establish
their ground game: The Chiefs have the third-worst run defense in football in terms of rushing yards allowed per game (129.4). Marshawn Lynch is coming off his best game of the season, in which he ran 17 times for 101yards and a touchdown against an even worse Giants run defense. His previous single-game high this season was 76 yards on 18carries in Week 1. Now that Lynch and the Raiders’ offensive line seem to be in synch, an opportunity to dominate on the ground awaits in Kansas City at a time the Raiders certainly wouldn’t mind it. Last time these two teams played, Lynch ran twice for nine yards before getting tossed for shoving a referee amid a scrum involving Chiefs’ cornerback and fellow Oakland native Marcus Peters. The Raiders didn’t have a running back tally over 33 yards in that Thursday night game, but Lynch is likely to surpass that with ease given how he’s running recently. Since returning from his one-game suspension, Lynch has found the end zone four times in four games after only two rushing scores in his first seven. He’s gone from 57 rushing yards against Miami to 67, 67and then 101last Sunday against the Giants. Though Lynch has only topped 76 yards once this year, don’t be surprised if he does so again this weekend. It
certainly would boost the Raiders’ chances to seize the division lead.
2. Oakland needs to hold Travis Kelce in check
again: For as many points (30) as the Chiefs scored in Oakland in Week 7, Kelce wasn’t nearly as effective as he’s been against other teams this year. Arguably the game’s best tight end, Kelce only caught four balls for 33yards despite scoring a touchdown early on. With Cory James doubtful due to a knee injury, rookie Nicholas Morrow will start in his place. Can Morrow help contain Kelce? We’ll see. In Week 7, Bruce Irvin was instrumental in bumping Kelce off his routes to limit his effectiveness. Granted, Tyreek Hill and others still did their fair share of damage, but Irvin disrupting Kelce’s routes helped take away one lethal threat. With advertised tight-end stopper Obi Melifonwu seeing only one defensive snap over the past two games, it’s hard envisioning the rookie jumping in and being effective against Kelce. Like last time, it’ll probably be a combination of Raiders tasked with slowing him down. If they’re successful in doing so, an Oakland win becomes that much more likely.
3. Khalil Mack and Co. need another dominant performance: While the Raiders’ pass rush has improved under John Pagano the last two weeks, the success has arrived with one caveat. Eight combined sacks are nice for the Raiders in those two games, but they came against two of the worst teams in football. Now Oakland gets to prove its pass rush truly is cranking up for crunch time. Chiefs starting center Mitch Morse won’t play, so there’s a chance for Denico Autry to continue wreaking havoc in the middle of that defensive line. He’s tallied three sacks and one pass deflected in the past two weeks. Mack and Irvin both forced fumbles against Geno Smith last weekend. Mario Edwards Jr. hasn’t been as effective as in the season’s first couple of weeks, but Autry and Irvin have filled that void in recent weeks. The Raiders sacked Alex Smith only once in the first matchup, albeit at a crucial time to force a Kansas City punt before the Raiders’ gamewinning drive. Oakland wouldn’t mind getting to Smith earlier and more often this time around.