Chiefs keys to victory vs. Raiders: Get Travis Kelce involved, early and often

The Chiefs look to improve to 2-0 for the third straight season and win their fourth straight against the Oakland Raiders. Here are some keys to victory for Sunday’s game.

Keys to victory

1. Ride Travis Kelce

With Tyreek Hill out, the Chiefs lose one of their major targets. But in the Chiefs’ 40-33 victory at Oakland last season, Hill finished with one reception for 13 yards. (His bigger impact was on the ground, where Hill gained 33 yards on two attempts). But Kelce came up huge. His 12 receptions for 168 yards were career bests and his two touchdowns matched a career high. Kelce had three receptions for 88 yards last week at Jacksonville including gains of 42 and 41 yards. With Hill out, and Sammy Watkins attracting plenty of attention after his huge game last weekend, this could be another big spot for Kelce.

2. Disrupt Derek Carr

Derek Carr gets the ball out quickly, which makes its difficult for defenses to muster a pass rush. But Frank Clark, Chris Jones and company must keep the pressure on and the corners can’t provide much cushion. The Raiders lost both games to the Chiefs last season, but Carr was at 72% or better in both and had a three-touchdown game in Oakland.

3. Protect Pat

Patrick Mahomes says his left ankle is fine after last week’s sprain, when he was helped off the field. But his mobility may be limited and he may have to perform more like he did in the second half against Jacksonville — as a pocket-passing game manager. The offensive line needs to form a wall around Mahomes, who was hit four times by the Jaguars.

4. Fill the Black Hole

It’s the Chiefs’ final appearance in Oakland with the Raiders off to Las Vegas next year. The Chiefs have a winning record in Oakland at 21-20-1. An all-time winning record in Oakland would give the Chiefs forever bragging rights.

This story was originally published September 13, 2019 at 5:00 AM.