The Chiefs and Raiders Continue Their Heated Rivalry
Primetime. Monday Night. Rivalry Game. The Chiefs and Raiders are ready to throw down in Week Five’s big matchup.
Raider Week. That is all that needs to be said. The Chiefs and Raiders have been in the same division since the American Football League was founded back in 1960. This week’s Monday Night matchup with be the 127th time they have played each other. This rivalry has been boiling ever since the late 60s when the Chiefs and the Raiders were constantly battling each other in the playoffs during the first four years of the Super Bowl Era.
The Chiefs were able to make it past the Raiders to two of the first four Super Bowls and won Super Bowl IV whereas the Raiders only appeared in Super Bowl II. They did not win their first ring until Super Bowl XI in 1976 behind the late, great John Madden. Those early years of fierce postseason competition are the foundation of the one of most bitter rivalries in all of football. It rarely seems to matter what the standings look like when these two teams play as most every matchup feels like playing a game of old-school NFL Blitz.
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That’s the good stuff
Most recently, Kansas City has gotten the better of their inter-divisional rivals, winning 15 of their last 18 total meetings and eight of their last nine at Arrowhead dating back to 2013. Last year was perhaps the most dominant the Chiefs have ever looked against the Raiders, winning at home 48-9 and 41-14 at the Death Star in Las Vegas. The Raiders at 1-3 have looked to take a significant step back even though they added one of the best wide receivers in the game the last offseason in Davante Adams.
Vegas Odds For The Chiefs And Raiders For Week Five
Vegas has been able to score, putting up 24.0 points per game, good for tenth in the league. The defense has not been able to keep up, however, hanging out in the bottom ten in total yards, passing yards, and points were given up. The lone bright spot on defense is currently Maxx Crosby, fresh off of a four-year $98.98 million extension. Crosby has four of the Raiders’ five sacks this year and the leftover sack belongs to a cornerback.
That is not what you are wanting to see if you root for silver and black. Chandler Jones was brought in this past offseason to help shore up the defensive front and that has not worked out this far. Jones has had his share of quarterback hits, but he has not made his mark in the sack column since coming to Vegas.
The Raiders offensive line has not fared well, either, having used ten different linemen already. Third-round rookie Dylan Parham has been a nice find, but he is really the only one who has stood out along their patchwork line. Quarterback Derek Carr has been his usual middle-of-the-road self, completing 61% of his passes for 260 yards per game, six touchdowns, and four picks. The aforementioned Davante Adams has caught three of those touchdowns and has averaged 72.5 yards a game. When owner Mark Davis and his haircut brought Adams in from Green Bay and signed him to a monster five-year $141 million extension, I would bet they were looking for more.
They did secure their first win of the campaign against the even more hapless Denver Broncos, who have also taken a step back after splashy offseason moves, but that is not going to be enough to convince anyone that Josh McDaniels and company are starting to turn it around.
The oddsmakers handicapping Monday night’s game have the Chiefs by seven or 7.5, depending on where one places bets. The over/under is the highest of the weekend slate as well, hovering around 51. This would make it seem like we are in for another high-scoring affair in prime time. The Chiefs are clearly the better team, both on paper and by the eye test. Kansas City is beating Vegas in nearly every offensive and defensive statistic worth mentioning. That is not to say that this game with another one of those dreaded “trap games”, however.
This Week Offers Trap Game Potential For The Chiefs
Next Sunday, the Chiefs will play fellow AFC contender Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead so one could argue that the Chiefs may be overlooking these Raiders the same way that they clearly overlooked the Colts in Week Three. I do not believe that will be the case. Even though head coach Andy Reid made it incredibly plain that he did not get his guys ready enough for Indianapolis, the players are all professionals and it falls to each individual to get up for the challenge. The Chiefs already have first-hand experience as to what happens when you think you can just roll your helmets out and believe you will take home a win.
Combine that with the fact that they are going up against their most hated rival, the Las Vegas Raiders, I expect the Chiefs to come out firing from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. There should be no reason to let this Raider bunch be competitive at any point in this game. KC has a better offense, better defense, better quarterback, and better coach than Vegas. So long as Patrick Mahomes and company keep their collective foot on the gas, they should put on a show for Monday Night Football.
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