There’s one stat on the Kansas City Chiefs’ mind defensively as they head to Las Vegas
Start with the obvious: The better the quarterback plays, the better his team’s chance to win. That’s plainly evident.
We get it.
But few quarterbacks are as drastically different in their wins and losses as the one the Chiefs are about to face in Las Vegas.
The Raiders are 5-3 this season, and in all five victories, Carr has topped 300 passing yards. In all three of the Raiders’ losses, he’s been held below that mark.
There’s never a shortage of statistics to analyze when evaluating wins and losses. And quarterbacks usually put up better numbers in their wins.
But that one Carr stat has made its way through the Chiefs’ defensive meeting rooms this week.
“He’s the key. When he’s firing on all cylinders, they tend to win a lot of games,” Chiefs linebacker Anthony Hitchens said. “I think I’ve seen this stat the other day: When he throws over 300 yards, they’re 5-0; under that, I think they’re 3-0.”
Accurate as stated.
The Chiefs rank 21st against the pass this season, allowing 259.7 yards per game through the air. But they’ve been better recently, though their past two games were against inferior competition. They held the Packers to 160 passing yards in last week’s 13-7 victory, the fewest they’ve allowed this season by a wide margin (it didn’t hurt that Green Bay superstar Aaron Rodgers missed the game).
But back to the Chiefs-Raiders showdown on Sunday Night Football: Carr has thrown for 300-plus yards only twice in 14 career games against the Chiefs. And you guessed it, the Raiders won them both, including the upset last year at Arrowhead Stadium that prompted a victory lap.
“We’ve got some things for him,” Hitchens said. “He’s a great quarterback. When he’s playing at that level, he’s one of the best in this league. We got some things for him — a little cat and mouse game between me and him. Just looking forward to it.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 2:33 PM.