Division hopes for Raiders rest with winning at KC
Jon Gruden won’t call the Coliseum home after the 2019 season, but he’ll have a yearly visit to Arrowhead Stadium as long as he coaches the Raiders.
While the home stadium of the Kansas City Chiefs has been inhospitable at times for Gruden and a Raiders house of horrors for the last decade, it remains a venue close to his heart. He calls it a must-see facility for any football fan.
“I like the old school stadiums, personally,” Gruden said. “Nothing against the new ones, they are fantastic. A lot of history there, a lot of memories I have there ... I just love passionate football people and that place is full of them.”
The Raiders (6-5) get a chance to make some new memories Sunday afternoon against the divisionleading Chiefs (7-4) with a chance to move into a tie for first place in the AFC West as the season hits the threequarter mark.
Gruden’s first game as a head coach was a 28-8 loss to the Chiefs, courtesy of six sacks by Derrick Thomas. His favorite win outside of Super Bowl XXXVII against the Raiders was a 41-38 comeback victory in Kansas City to close out the 1999 season at 8-8 and knock the Chiefs out of the playoffs.
The Chiefs have won the last six games at Arrowhead and nine of the last 10 overall. That’s been enough for a 29-19 advantage at Arrowhead against the Raiders since it opened in 1972.
Coach Andy Reid is not only 6-0 against the Raiders in Kansas City, but 17-3 coming off a bye week, and the Chiefs didn’t play last week. Nobody on the Raiders has ever won in Arrowhead in silver and black, and that includes quarterback Derek Carr, who is 0-5.
Keys to get the Raiders back on the winning track: RUN THE BALL. THEN RUN IT AGAIN >> The clearest way to take the heart out of the Chiefs is a lot of Josh Jacobs, early and often.
Jacobs should be fresh, limited to 11 carries and 34 yards before taking a seat when a 34-3 loss to the Jets got out of hand in the third quarter. Ideally, Jacobs, with 953 yards rushing, will approach 1,000 yards by the end of the first quarter, break it by halftime and end up somewhere at or near 1,100 yards by the end of the game.
Kansas City is ranked 30th in the NFL against the run. And if the Raiders fall
When: Sunday, 1:25 p.m. TV/Radio: CBS/740 AM
behind early, that doesn’t mean Carr should be throwing on every down. The Baltimore Ravens were down 30-13 in the third quarter, kept running the ball and got within 33-28. Tennessee, led by Derrick Henry’s 188 yards rushing, trailed 29-20 early in the fourth quarter and came back to win 35-32.
With a strong running game, it puts Carr in position to be efficient, lead the offense and erase his Arrowhead misery.
PLAY TOP-DOWN COVERAGE >> Defensive coordinators use the term “top-down coverage” all the time and basically what it means is “don’t get beat deep.”
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes can complete passes from anywhere on the field at any angle, but it’s a lot less damaging when those throws amount to first downs instead of touchdowns.
“Against this team, you can’t give up explosive plays. If you do that, hopefully you’ll be in good shape,” defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said.
The Chiefs didn’t even have to reach the red zone in their Week 2 win over the Raiders, with Mahomes throwing touchdown passes of 44 yards to Demarcus Robinson, 42 yards to Mecole Hardman, 27 yards to Travis Kelce and 39 yards to Robinson — all in an other-worldly second quarter.
Only one of those drives exceeded five plays. The only time the Chiefs got into the red zone they lost the ball on a fumble early in the fourth quarter. The good news for the Raiders is slot corner Lamarcus Joyner is back after missing two games with a hamstring strain.
KELCE VS. WALLER >> The Chiefs believe they have the NFL’s best tight end in Travis Kelce, who has 44 receptions for 599 yards and five touchdowns against the Raiders in their last 11 meetings. Gruden, of course, is partial to his own Darren
Waller, a breakout star this season.
You can find either player lined up tight, flexed outside, in the slot or in motion.
The advantage for Kelce is that the Chiefs are more explosive in terms of outside receivers, making it difficult for defenses to shade their coverages toward him the way opponents have been doing of late for Waller. Over the last five games, Waller has caught more than three passes just once.
WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE >> It’s an every week thing in the NFL. But it’s always been a big deal with the Chiefs in Kansas City.
The Chiefs are currently plus-5 in turnover margin, the Raiders plus-1. Whether it’s intercepting Mahomes, stripping LeSean McCoy or forcing a fumble on special teams, the Raiders need a short-field drive or two to go along with some longer marches orchestrated by Carr with the proper runpass balance.
WIN ON SPECIAL TEAMS >> Trevor Davis has been solid as the Raiders primary return specialist on punts and kickoffs. Against the Chiefs, he needs to break a kick or two to swing field position. Even better, break one for a touchdown. Getting a special teams score and/or a defensive score would go a long way toward winning on the road.
Place kicker Daniel Carlson said he believes he learned a valuable lesson when a 43-yard kick took a sudden left turn in the wind against the Jets last week. The conditions could be similar against the Chiefs. Sebastian Janikowski used to love to kick in Arrowhead and some of that mindset would be valuable.