Oakland Raiders v. Kansas City Chiefs: Five Things That Must Happen
By Kevin Saito
Win The Turnover Battle
The Raiders have the dubious distinction of being the only team in the NFL that has not snagged a single interception. Let that sink in for just a minute – through six games, the Raiders have not logged a single interception.
It’s a unit that hauled in sixteen interceptions last season, but so far, they haven’t hauled in a single one this year.
And now, they’re squaring off with a quarterback in Alex Smith who hasn’t thrown a single pick in 2017 – which, obviously, doesn’t seem to bode too well.
More from Golden Gate Sports
- Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
- 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
- Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
- 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
- 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve
The struggles in Oakland’s secondary have been detailed ad nauseam. Sean Smith has been a free agent bust, David Amerson isn’t playing anywhere nearly as effectively as he has in seasons past, and Gareon Conley has been MIA for all but a handful of snaps this year.
T.J. Carrie is the only corner on Oakland’s roster who’s managed to acquit himself halfway decently to this point in the season.
Oakland has racked up five fumble recoveries so far this year, but on the whole, the Raiders are a negative two on the year in turnover ratio. This, after a 2016 season in which they got themselves on the plus side of the ledger for the first time in a dog’s age, by posting a plus sixteen on the year – which tied them with Kansas City for the league lead, in case you wondered.
Obviously, if you give the ball away more than you take it away, you’re not putting yourself in a good position to win ballgames. Which, is why this team desperately needs to get some takeaways against a Kansas City team that doesn’t give it up very often.
It’s a tall order, for sure, but if the Raiders can win the turnover battle with the Chiefs, they’ll be putting themselves in a better position to win. They need to be opportunistic and take advantage of any and all mistakes Kansas City makes.