Oakland Raiders: Keys To Victory Over Kansas City Chiefs

November 20, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders fullback Marcel Reece (45) runs with the football during the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at O.co Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Chiefs 24-20. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland Raiders are hosting the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend in a game that carries major implications for both teams – here are Oakland’s keys to victory.

It’s Chiefs week, Raider Nation.

The Kansas City Chiefs – Oakland’s ancient, hated rival – are in the midst of a remarkable turnaround. After starting the season 1-5, the Chiefs have won five in a row and are now sitting at 6-5 and are in control of one of the conference’s two wild card spots.

Of course, it wasn’t all that long ago that the Raiders were sitting at 4-3 and were in control of one of the wild card spots – which illustrates just how quickly things can turn around in the NFL.

In getting out of their three game skid that dropped them two games below .500, the Raiders saw a big resurgence from Derek Carr, Amari Cooper, and the passing game. After two less than stellar performances against the Vikings and the Lions, Carr came roaring back, throwing for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns against the Titans last week – a Titans defense that had been inside the top five in NFL passing defenses coming into that game.

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The Raiders, despite their three game losing streak are still in the thick of the playoff hunt. With five wins, the Raiders are a game behind four teams with six wins – Kansas City being one of those teams – and are tied with Buffalo.

The wild card race is a logjam of teams right now and the Raiders are still right there. They own the head to head tie breaker against the Jets, and if they can handle their business against Kansas City, they can potentially win that tiebreaker as well. Not only that, but being able to handle the Chiefs will give them a very important win inside their division.

Every game from here on out is important and the Raiders absolutely have to treat each and every game like it was a playoff game. Having beaten Tennessee last week in a must have game, the Raiders still need to run the table. At the very least, they have to go 4-1 over the last five. But they will still need some help along the way.

But Oakland can’t afford to look too far ahead at this point. They have to focus on what’s currently on their plate – which is the Kansas City Chiefs, the hottest team in football right now. As well as the Chiefs have been playing, they’re not unbeatable. And they have some serious injury concerns coming into the game. Oakland is going to have to exploit those and muster the effort they had last week against the Titans.

The Raiders will have to play very well, but they can win. Here are some keys to a victory over the Chiefs…

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