Raiders quarterback Derek Carr looks to stay warm Sunday afternoon against the Chiefs
The Raiders bring the AFC West’s second-place team to Kansas City to face the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium Sunday. Here’s how Oakland built a better-than-expected season.
Coach
Things have gone better this year than last for the Raiders, starting with their season opener. They defeated the Broncos in Week 1 a year after losing their first three and eight of nine to start Jon Gruden’s first season. Yes, the Raiders are coming off a dispiriting loss at the New York Jets and sit just 6-5. But this is an easy sell for Gruden: beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead and get back to even in the standings and the tie-breaker, with Kansas City facing the more difficult schedule in the final month of the regular season.
Offense
Oakland QB Derek Carr is having his best season in passer rating (101.0); he’s also completing 70.9 percent of his pass attempts. The Chiefs held Carr to 198 passing yards in their Week 2 victory in Oakland. Carr was pulled in the third quarter of last week’s lopsided loss to the Jets to avert injury.
The cold-weather factor is a narrative for Carr this week. He’s 0-4 with a 51 percent completion percentage and four interceptions when temperatures dip below 40 degrees. That was the case in New Jersey last weekend. The forecast for Sunday in Kansas City calls for highs in the mid-30s.
Rookie Raiders wide receiver Hunter Renfrow suffered a rib injury last week and has been ruled out for this weekend. The Raiders will lean on tight end Darren Waller, whose 59 receptions trail only the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce among all AFC tight ends. Running back Josh Jacobs should get plenty of attempts, too.
Defense
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will look to take advantage of a defense that has trouble stopping the pass. The Raiders rank 28th in passing yards allowed (266.8), 24th in total yards (371.1) and 24th in points (25.8).
The Raiders are getting a good season from rookie Maxx Crosby, the fourth-round pick who had four sacks two weeks ago against the Bengals. The Chiefs had big success over the top against the Raiders in their first meeting this year, with DeMarcus Robinson and Mecole Hardman coming up big. Mahomes passed for 443 yards, and his four touchdown passes came in the second quarter.
This story was originally published November 29, 2019 at 1:41 PM.