Here is who the national experts are predicting will win Chiefs-Raiders game
Last month, I asked Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce for his assessment on how the “Run It Back” tour was progressing.
“Well, we have a division loss, and that’s never what you envision going into the season,” Kelce said. “It’s just taking it one game at a time. That’s all you can really do through the eight years that I’ve played so far, the season is going to be a roller coaster.”
The Chiefs’ ride can get considerably smoother with a victory Sunday night in Las Vegas. The Raiders, 6-3, beat the Chiefs earlier this season (the division loss Kelce spoke of) and can get into the race for the AFC West title with a victory. But if the Chiefs, 8-1, win they will hold a three-game lead with six to play.
Can the Chiefs get their revenge? Here is what 60 national experts are saying about the game, which kicks off at 7:20 p.m. and will be broadcast on NBC (Ch. 41).
All of the eight CBS Sports writers think the Chiefs will win: Jason La Canfora, Pete Prisco, John Breech, Will Brinson, Ryan Wilson, Dave Richard, Jared Dubin and Jamey Eisenberg. Prisco sees a 31-27 score. This is what he wrote: “The Raiders beat the Chiefs earlier this season in a high-scoring game. The Chiefs seemed to have righted things since then, but the Las Vegas defense has made strides as well.”
The Chiefs will win 34-23 says Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com. This is a snippet of what he wrote: “COVID-19 protocols for both teams complicate this pick, but the Chiefs look like the kind of defending champions who play their best when they need to. Kansas City needs to avoid getting swept by Las Vegas.”
A 34-26 Chiefs victory is the prediction from the Sporting News’ Bill Bender. This is an excerpt of what he wrote: “Las Vegas is playing like a playoff team, but the Chiefs learned their lesson. Kansas City won’t forget about the running game this time around.”
The Chiefs will prevail say both Mike Florio and Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. Smith thinks it’ll be a 28-24 final. This is part of what he wrote: “The Raiders could make a huge statement in the AFC playoff race by completing a season sweep of the Chiefs. But I can’t see it happening.” Florio picked a 34-21 score. He wrote: “Andy Reid rarely loses with two weeks to prepare. The Chiefs rarely lose with their full focus and attention directed to their opponent.”
A Chiefs victory is the prediction from Benjamin Hoffman of the New York Times. Here is part of what he wrote: “The Raiders are coming off the most complete win of their season last week against the Broncos, and in an ideal circumstance might have been a real challenger for Kansas City in this one. But with the bulk of Las Vegas’ defense being forced to sit out the week of practice because of Covid-19 close contact protocols, slowing down the Chiefs seems like an impossible task.”
The Chiefs will win 32-28 says Yardbarker’s Jeff Risdon. This is part of what he wrote: “The Chiefs can lock up the AFC West for all intents and purposes with a win here.” Yardbarker’s Chris Mueller sees a 34-28 Chiefs win. Here is an excerpt from his story: “The Raiders can score; no one really denies that. What would make them dangerous is if they can somehow find a way to force turnovers like they did last week against Denver and Drew Lock. Ah, but therein lies the problem; Patrick Mahomes is many things, and one of those things is ‘not Drew Lock.’”
Five of six writers at Sports Illustrated Monday Morning Quarterback see a Chiefs win: Connor Orr, Gary Gramling, Mitch Goldic, Albert Breer and Jenny Vrentas. Only Andrew Brandt went with Las Vegas.
Rich Eisen, the NFL Network host, explained why he thinks the Raiders will win:
All seven experts at USA Today think the Chiefs will be victorious: Jarrett Bell (27-24 final score), Nate Davis (37-27), Jori Epstein (34-24), Mike Jones (34-28), Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz (38-27), Lorenzo Reyes (31-27) and Tom Schad.(37-30).
A 31-20 win for the Chiefs is the pick for Cam Inman of the Mercury News. Here is part of what he wrote: “The Raiders’ latest coronavirus trouble overshadows their AFC West title hunt.”
All 10 experts at ESPN see a Chiefs victory: Matt Bowen, Mike Clay, Dan Graziano, Mina Kimes, Jason Reid, Laura Rutledge, Kevin Seifert, Trey Wingo, Damien Woody and Seth Wickersham.
A Chiefs win is the pick from nine of 10 SB Nation writers: Kyle Posey, James Dator, Pete Sweeney, RJ Ochoa, Jenna Thomas, Ed Valentine, Brandon Lee Gowton, David Fucillo and Ameer Tyree. The pick for the Raiders: Alexis Chassen.
All 10 members of the Dallas Morning-News picked the Chiefs: Tim Cowlishaw, Michael Gehlken, Dana Larson, Damon Marx, Craig Miller, David Moore, John Owing, Newy Scruggs, Kevin Sherrington and Calvin Watkins.
