With AFC West on the line, Chiefs not taking Raiders lightly despite recent 34-3 loss
The Oakland Raiders blew an opportunity to take a 7-4 record into Sunday’s divisional showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
And it wasn’t just the fact that the Raiders didn’t win last week. It was how bad they looked in a 34-3 defeat against the Jets.
Still, the Chiefs aren’t putting too much stock into Oakland’s dud in New York because they believe they’re about to host a quality opponent.
“You can’t pay attention to what happened the week before,” Chiefs wide receiver Sammy Watkins said. “I know they’re going to come out prepared because they just lost 34-3. Maybe they were just saving it all for us, so you never know. We’ve got to come out there prepared.”
Chiefs running back LeSean McCoy agreed.
“They’re a better team than that,” McCoy said of the Raiders. “They just had an off game. It was one of those games where everything is just not working, everything going wrong on both sides of the ball. They’re a good team.”
McCoy raises a valid point. The Raiders entered Week 12 on a three-game winning streak before Murphy’s Law struck against the Jets.
After taking a 3-0 lead last Sunday, the Raiders watched helplessly as the Jets reeled off 34 consecutive points.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr passed for a season-low 127 yards and tossed an interception in the loss. And rookie running back Josh Jacobs, one of the league’s top rushers, gained just 34 yards on 10 carries.
Oakland totaled a meager 208 yards of offense, well below their current average of 356.8 per game.
The Chiefs aren’t concerning themselves with what happened to the Raiders last weekend.
“This is the NFL,” Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu said. “One team could show up and click on all cylinders, so we never underestimate any opponent no matter who they played or what might be going on. I think they have a good football team. Obviously, they played well in some stretches this season.”
The Chiefs defeated the Raiders in Week 2 behind Patrick Mahomes’ four touchdown passes and hold a 64-52-2 edge in the all-time series. But they won’t take the Raiders lightly because more than simple bragging rights is on the line.
With a win, the Chiefs would sweep the Raiders this season and open a two-game lead in the AFC West with four games left. The Raiders could join the Chiefs atop the AFC West with a win. In that scenario, both would be 7-5.
Postseason implications have the Chiefs on high alert.
“It’s a division game, so they always play us well,” Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward said. “We’ve just got to come out and be on our A-game because they’re trying to make the playoffs and we’re trying to get a better seed in the playoffs. They’re going to be on their A-game, and we have to be on ours.”
Watkins agreed emphatically.
“They play hard, and I think that’s what makes them dangerous,” Watkins said.
This story was originally published November 29, 2019 at 5:44 PM.
