The Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders are among of the league's most bitter and passionate rivalries, but the two teams couldn't be headed in more opposite directions entering their matchup on Thursday Night Football. While the Chiefs have firmly established themselves as playoff contenders, the Raiders are permanent residents in the NFL's cellar.
‘Thursday Night Football,’ Chiefs vs. Raiders 2014: Kansas City tries to avoid loss in potential trap game at Oakland
The surging Chiefs go for their sixth straight win, while the Raiders are simply looking for their first victory of the season.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Chiefs are one of the league's hottest teams, having won five straight and seven of their last eight games since starting 0-2. They are now 7-3 and tied atop the AFC West with the Denver Broncos, who own the head-to-head tiebreaker after a Week 2 win against Kansas City. The Chiefs need a win tonight to not only keep pace in the division race, but also to stay afloat in a very competitive AFC playoff field.
This matchup with the Raiders is perfectly set up as the dreaded "trap game" for the Chiefs, who host the Broncos in a prime-time game on Nov. 30. Kansas City cannot afford to look past the Raiders, however, especially considering its history against winless teams this late into the season. The Chiefs are 1-3 against teams that enter the game 0-10 or worse: they beat the 0-10 Raiders in 1962, lost to the 0-11 Chargers in 1975, lost to the 0-11 Oilers in 1984, and lost to the 0-11 Chargers in 1976.
It has been more than a year (Nov. 17, 2013) since the Raiders last celebrated a victory, a span of 16 straight losses. How bad is it in Oakland? They have played just three offensive snaps when leading in the second half this season. The New England Patriots have 271. However, they have been competitive against some good teams this season. Five of their 10 losses have been by seven points or fewer, including a 13-6 loss at San Diego last week.
Digits
It could be a mismatch of epic proportions at the line of scrimmage in O.co Coliseum on Thursday night. The Raiders bring a historically bad running game into this matchup, one that is on pace to average the fewest yards per game (63.0) by any team since 1946.
Not only has Oakland run the ball a league-low 184 times this season, but it also has the fourth-fewest yards per carry (3.4) in the NFL and the fewest rushing scores with two. This lack of offensive balance will really hurt them against a Chiefs secondary that has given up the fewest passing yards per game (201.6) of any team.
The Chiefs have emerged as one of the league’s elite squads this season thanks to the dominant play in the trenches on both offense and defense. Kansas City has yet to allow a rushing touchdown through its first 10 games, just the fifth team since the 1970 merger to go this late into a season without giving up a score on the ground.
On the other side of the ball, the team ranks third in yards per rush (4.8) and has a league-leading 16 rushing touchdowns this season. The offensive line has also opened up huge holes for a Kansas City rushing attack that averages the highest yards before contact per rush (3.6) of any team in the league.
The Chiefs are succeeding this season because their run-heavy offense allows them to control the clock and their physical defense keeps them competitive in every game, but there is some concern about the lack of explosiveness in the passing game.
Alex Smith has the lowest rate of "deep" attempts this season, with only 13 of his 291 passes (4.5 percent) traveling at least 20 yards in the air. He has yet to throw a touchdown to one of his wide receivers, and his longest pass this season was a 34-yard strike to tight end Travis Kelce in Week 9. If the Chiefs are going to make some noise in the playoffs, they'll need to find a deep threat that can stretch the defense and make plays when the running game isn't working.
Who to Watch
Jamaal Charles - The veteran running back struggled with an ankle injury in the first three games of the season (nine rushes for 23 yards), but has been a workhorse since his return to game action in Week 4. Over the last seven games Charles has accounted for 34 percent of the team's rushing and receiving yards, the third-highest rate by any player in that span, and scored more than half of the team's total touchdowns.
However, Charles has historically struggled against the Raiders, who have held him to an average of just 4.0 yards per carry in nine matchups, his lowest rate against any team he has faced at least three times.
Khalil Mack - The first-round pick out of Buffalo has been one of the bright spots on a dismal Raiders defense. Mack is the highest-rated 3-4 outside linebacker in the league, according to Pro Football Focus, and has quickly gained a reputation as one of the NFL's best defenders against the run. He has a whopping 31 run stops this season, the third-most among all outside linebackers, and has received a positive run defense grade from Pro Football Focus in every game this season.
He’ll face the stiffest challenge of his young career tonight, though, trying to keep Charles and the rest of the Chiefs potent rushing attack in check.
The Venue
The Raiders played their first game at O.co Coliseum (then named Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum) in 1966, making it one of the oldest stadiums in the league. The stadium has also been home to the Oakland A’s since the 1968 season, as it remains one of the last multi-purpose outdoor stadiums in sports. The Raiders are the only NFL team that shares a facility with an MLB team.
Raider Nation is known for its "Black Hole," a specific section of the stadium (Sections 104, 105, 106, and 107) that is occupied by the rowdiest fans of the team. They certainly take the game-day experience to a whole new level beyond the traditional tailgating and cheering at most NFL stadiums, as evidenced by their outrageous costumes and non-stop heckling.
How to Watch
Where: O.co Coliseum, Oakland
When: 8:25 p.m. ET
TV: NFLN
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Tracy Wolfson
Online streaming: Verizon NFL Mobile
Odds
Kansas City is favored by 8 points on the road over Oakland, with an over/under set at 42.5, per OddsShark.
Preliminary judgment
Almost every expert is picking the Chiefs to win on Thursday night. Each of the eight panelists over at CBS Sports has the Chiefs, and SB Nation's own experts mostly agree with that prediction. Only Stephen White believes that Oakland can pull off the upset.
Further Reading
For more on the Chiefs, check out Arrowhead Pride.
To keep up on the Raiders, head over to Silver And Black Pride.
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