Oakland Raiders: Previewing Week 2 from a Kansas City Chiefs perspective

We sat down with KC Kingdom’s Leigh Oleszczak to gather a perspective on the Oakland Raiders/Kansas City Chiefs Week 2 meeting from the enemy’s perspective.

The Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs have a rich history of enthralling rivalry games with each other dating back to their days together in the AFL. However, it’s safe to say that the two franchises have gone in different directions in recent years.

This Sunday will mark the 121st meeting between the two teams and it’s pretty clear who the favorites are. But that doesn’t mean that upsets can’t happen.

And after an incredibly impressive Week 1 victory over the Denver Broncos, the new-look Raiders seem invigorated and have a ton of momentum on their sides. And sometimes momentum could be enough to trump talent.

Still, it’s fair to say that most Raiders fans aren’t exactly expecting a win, but that doesn’t mean it’s been ruled out. It appears that Raider Nation is cautiously optimistic that they will see a competitive game come Sunday.

But how are Chiefs fans feeling? How do Chiefs fans feel about their upcoming Week 2 trip to Oakland?

We sat down with KC Kingdom’s Leigh Oleszczak to get an idea of what exactly is going through Chiefs fans minds ahead of their Week 2 meeting with the Raiders.

Leigh offered her take on the game with analysis and an opposing perspective that helps give us a feel for just how confident Chiefs fans are going into this game.

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Here are the results of our discussion.

1. Who steps up in Tyreek Hill’s absence? And building off of that, can Sammy Watkins have a repeat performance in Week 2?

"“The Chiefs proved they can still be an explosive offense without Tyreek Hill, hanging 40 on the Jags without having Hill for most of the game. That being said, not having him in the lineup will immediately make defenses fixate more on covering Travis Kelce and Sammy Watkins. The player to watch for this week is rookie Mecole Hardman out of Georgia. He was drafted during the Hill investigation stuff because no one was really sure what was going to happen with that situation. Hardman is another speed guy who if he gets the ball, can flat out fly down the field. “"

2. The Raiders offensive line looked much-improved against a stout Broncos defensive front in Week 1? Do you see the likes of Frank Clark and Chris Jones having more pass-rush success than Von Miller and Bradley Chubb?

"“I was impressed with the Raiders offensive line on Monday night. They kept a really good Denver defensive front in check and protected Derek Carr the entire game, not allowing a single sack. I’m not 100% sold on Frank Clark quite yet, but he was double teamed a lot last week in Jacksonville while Chris Jones didn’t come close to sniffing the quarterback. If the Raiders offensive line plays like they did last week, they might be able to keep Clark and Jones away from Carr. I do think the Chiefs will get through AT LEAST one time, but can’t promise it’ll be one of those two guys, as Emmanuel Ogbah had the lone sack in week one.”"

3. Can the Chiefs cornerbacks keep up with the speed of Tyrell Williams?

"“Simply put — No. This Chiefs cornerback situation isn’t ideal and is one of the biggest reasons why Oakland could pull off the upset this week.”"

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4. Who is the biggest X-factor for the Chiefs in this game?

"“I mentioned Mecole Hardman earlier and he’d be my X-Factor here. He’s fast and will be forced to step up with Hill out for the time being. With how offensive minded Andy Reid is, expect him to get Hardman involved early and often against the Raiders.”"

5. Last and most important question, do the Raiders actually have a shot at winning this game?

"“Even though I have the Chiefs winning this game, it wouldn’t be shocking to me at all if Oakland pulled out a victory here. The Chiefs secondary is questionable, the pass rush didn’t do much last week, and that guy Josh Jacobs is pretty good. The only reason the Jaguars didn’t run the ball down KC’s throats last week was because it was a pretty big Chiefs lead in the fourth quarter so they were forced to air it out more. That might not be the case in Week 2. This will be Oakland’s last time hosting the Chiefs in the Black Hole, which has to add some sort of element to this week. Like I said, I have the Chiefs winning, but the Raiders surprised me last week against Denver. Plus you can always count on a hard fought battle from the Raiders any time they face Kansas City. I expect them to put up points right alongside KC this week, but the Chiefs will pull away late.”"

It should be a classic Oakland Raiders/Kansas City Chiefs thriller when these two teams clash this Sunday. With both teams looking to improve to 2-0, the stakes should be high for this early-season divisional matchup.

Thanks again to Leigh for joining us and be sure to check out all of her amazing work over at KCKingdom.com!