Raiders: Previewing Week 13 from a Kansas City Chiefs perspective

The Oakland Raiders are set for a huge divisional matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. We sat down with KC Kingdom’s Cullen Jekel to gain some insight from the enemy’s perspective.

The Oakland Raiders are prepared for the most crucial matchup of their season this week when they travel to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs.

It’s do or die time for the Raiders who are coming off the most embarrassing loss of their season. The Raiders stumbled out of the starting gate last week and were obliterated by the New York Jets by a final score of 34-3.

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It was a disappointing, humiliating performance for a Raiders team that had won three straight in the weeks leading up to that fateful week. But they have no time to lick their wounds as they must get their minds right and prepare for a fight this week.

The Chiefs will play host to the Raiders in a critical matchup that could very well determine the fate of the AFC West. Kansas City is fresh and rested coming off a bye week — something that has historically favored their head coach.

Andy Reid is a marvelous 17-3 in his career when coming off a bye week and he will look to continue that fortune this week as the Chiefs look to improve to 8-4 and secure their position atop the division.

The Chiefs will also have history on their side when it comes to recent history in Arrowhead Stadium. The Raiders haven’t won on the road in Kansas City in six years with quarterback Derek Carr having never won in Arrowhead.

In fact, Carr’s struggles in Arrowhead have been well-documented and he will be tasked with putting his demons behind him without his slot receiver Hunter Renfrow who suffered a broken rib and a punctured lung in the team’s loss last week.

The Raiders are beat up while the Chiefs are rested. The Chiefs have history on their side while the Raiders have historically failed in these circumstances. The conclusion seems foregone, but anything can happen when it comes to divisional football.

We teamed up with Cullen Jekel of KC Kingdom to gain some insight as to how Chiefs fans are feeling ahead of this week’s matchup. Special thanks to Cullen for taking his time to answer some questions about his team.

Here are the results of our discussion.

1. Who are some Chiefs players who are playing well, but don’t necessarily receive the media attention they deserve? Basically, who should Raiders fans do some research on before Sunday night’s game?

"“On offense, I’ll go with left tackle Eric Fisher. He returned last game from a long absence due to injury and immediately helped stabilize the offensive line, which in turned helped get the offense going against the Chargers. He’s so incredibly better than his back-up, Cam Erving, who should never be a starter in the NFL. On the defensive side, watch out for linebacker Damien Wilson, one of the team’s lesser-known signings in the offseason as part of the team’s overhaul on that side of the ball. He leads the team in tackles with 65 while he’s also added two tackles for loss and four quarterback hits. There’s a good chance Raiders fans will see him making a bunch of tackles on Sunday.”"

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

"“Defensive end Frank Clark. Up until the game against the Chargers, Clark had struggled in his first season with the Chiefs. But in Mexico City, he came alive, collecting a sack and hitting the QB three times. He seemed to pressure Philip Rivers all night long. The Chiefs defense has lost a couple of pass rushers recently, so Clark needs to continue playing that way.”"

3. What positional matchup worries you the most in this game?

"“Though I talked up Damien Wilson in my first answer, I’m always concerned about any of the Chiefs linebackers covering anyone in the passing game. The Raiders should be able to exploit that particular weakness by utilizing tight end Darren Waller and running backs Jalen Richard and Josh Jacobs in short to intermediate routes.”"

4. The Raiders’ defense is fresh off one of their worst performances of the season. How do you expect the Chiefs’ high-powered offense to capitalize on this?

"“Tough to say. At this point in the season, the one main constant for the Chiefs offense has been tight end Travis Kelce. He’s played well with both Patrick Mahomes and Matt Moore under center. The wild card is wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who missed a bunch of time at the start of the season and then went out early against the Chargers. If both Kelce and Hill are available to Mahomes, the Chiefs offense should click early and roll. However, if either of those targets goes down, then I’m not sure what the Chiefs will do, as the team’s group of running backs and wide receivers (outside of Hill) have been frustratingly inconsistent.”"

5. The Chiefs will return from their bye week with the healthiest roster they’ve had all season. Do you expect that to impact the outcome of this game or is the “extra rest” overblown?

"“I think it helps, and I’m specifically thinking about Tyreek Hill. He went down early against the Chargers, and I’m not sure that he would’ve played last week had the Chiefs been on the schedule. The extra rest afforded this team will be nice.”"

6. With Derek Carr’s career struggles in Arrowhead Stadium well documented, how can the now fully-healthy Chiefs defense prevent Carr from amending his prior mistakes and succeeding on the road in Kansas City?

"“Recently, I found a stat from Pro Football Focus that stated that Carr having a great year when under pressure. Still, that’s what the Chiefs need to do, especially with a poor secondary. Aside from Frank Clark, Chris Jones also needs to wreak some havoc while others like Derrick Nnadi and Mike Pennel clog the middle.”"

7. Which Raiders player or players are of most concern for Chiefs fans?

"“Josh Jacobs has looked great so far this season, and if anything can scare a Chiefs fan, it’s a competent running back. The Chiefs tend to make those guys look like Hall-of-Famers. If Jacobs can get it going a little more in the passing game, then he’s going to be in for a heck of an afternoon.”"

8. What are some final predictions for this game? Who wins and what’s the score?

"“The final score of this one won’t be very indicative of how closely these teams played. I expect the Chiefs to win, but the Raiders aren’t going to roll over. Oakland has its back against the wall, which makes the Raiders all the more dangerous. Still, I’m predicting the Chiefs control things from the start while allowing some late points. Kansas City wins, 31-23.”"

With their backs against the wall and not only a division title but a playoff spot on the line, can the Raiders shock the world and win in the unlikeliest of scenarios? We’ll have to wait until Sunday to see.

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Thanks again for Cullen for giving his thoughts on the game and be sure to check out all of his amazing work over at KCKingdom.com!

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