Chiefs at Raiders, Week 8 preview
Chiefs at Raiders, Week 8 preview
Raider week!
It’s Raider week! The Kansas City Chiefs (6-0) take on the Las Vegas Raiders (2-5) for the first time this season in Week 8. The Chiefs are hoping to keep their undefeated streak alive in this one, while a banged-up Vegas is just trying to stay alive in the AFC race.
Key game details
Location: Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nev.
Date: Sunday, Oct. 27
Time: 3:25 p.m. CT / 1:25 p.m. PT
Network/streaming: CBS
Radio: 96.5 The Fan, Chiefs mobile app
Broadcasters: Kevin Harlan, Trent Green
Referee: Adrian Hill
Spread: Chiefs 9- to 9.5-point favorites
Weather: (Dome) Approx. 86°, cloudy, up to 8 mph winds, chance of rain 2%
Injury reports from Thursday
Report from Chiefs reporter Matt McMullen.
It looks like defensive end Mike Danna will continue to miss games as he’s dealing with a nagging pec issue. It doesn’t look like receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster will play either after aggravating a hamstring injury during Week 7. Everyone else appears to be a full go, with running back Kareem Hunt getting upgraded to a full practice participant on Thursday.
DE Maxx Crosby missing Thursday is a huge issue for the Raiders, whose defense already looks rough after three-straight losses. It’s not ideal for Vegas to be missing WR Jakobi Meyers, either, especially since the team just traded WR Davante Adams and will be missing starting quarterback Aidan O'Connell for this game.
Notable storylines for Week 8
Chiefs-Raiders rivalry
Remember when a Raiders player brought a Kermit the Frog puppet to training camp to make fun of Patrick Mahomes? Yeah, I don’t think the Chiefs have forgotten about that. They’ve also not forgotten about the whooping that the Raiders put on them on Christmas last year. The Raiders always tend to play the Chiefs like it’s their Super Bowl, so the Chiefs probably aren’t taking them lightly heading into this game.
Debut of DeAndre Hopkins
Mahomes has a new toy in the form of former Tennessee Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins. Coach Andy Reid says he expects Hopkins to play despite the fact that he just joined the team this week. The biggest question is how much usage he’ll get. It seems like a guarantee that the Chiefs will draw up some plays specifically to get him the ball, but it’s unclear what percentage of snaps he’ll play. Either way, it’ll be fun to see him in a Chiefs uniform.
Are the Chiefs a running team now?
Don’t look now, but the Chiefs might be a running team. They’re top 10 in rushing yards per game and have rushed for over 100 yards in five of their six games this season. Hunt has been great, averaging four yards per carry and earning three touchdowns in three games.
The Chiefs have been running the ball more often since Hunt has come aboard — Isiah Pacheco and Carson Steele never earned more than 19 carries in a game as lead backs this season, but Hunt had 27 and 22 carries in his last two games. It seems the Chiefs have realized that leaning on the run is the best way to grind out wins as long as the defense continues to play at a high level.
Cornerback situation with J-Wat out
Losing cornerback Jaylen Watson for the season hurts more than many may realize — he was earning the team’s second-best coverage grade per PFF. Luckily, the Chiefs are relatively deep at defensive back. I’m interested to see how Joshua Williams and Nazeeh Johnson can fare in increased roles. Those guys have proven to be solid in spurts, but it remains to be seen whether they can shut down high quality opponents at a consistent rate.
Benny & The ‘Buy-Ins’: Higher/Lower Picks for Chiefs at Raiders on Underdog Fantasy, by Ben Heisler
LAST WEEK’S RECORD: 0-3
OVERALL RECORD: 6-11
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Gardner Minshew: 0.5 interceptions - HIGHER
Minshew took over for the injured O’Connell last week and struggled, throwing three interceptions in a 20-15 loss to the Rams. Now, as a near double-digit home underdog against the Chiefs, he faces a daunting challenge. The Raiders have the worst run success rate in the NFL (28.7%) and also lead the league in turnovers per possession (19%).
Patrick Mahomes: 18.5 rushing yards - LOWER
Mahomes averaged 23.8 rushing yards over the first six games, but this matchup suggests fewer opportunities to scramble. Kansas City excels in rushing play success rate, so there's less need to risk Mahomes running. Meanwhile, the Raiders, despite being middle of the pack in QB rush yards allowed, only give up 3.68 yards per rush attempt.
Unless another sideline O.K.-doke is coming, I’ll take the “lower” play here.
Kareem Hunt: 0.5 rush + rec TDs - HIGHER
With a 20% boost for touchdowns on Underdog, Kareem Hunt is a solid pick in a game script favoring heavy usage. Despite a limited sample size, Hunt has been elite in breaking tackles and has three rushing touchdowns in his last two games. Take the boost and let’s go hunting for a score.
Chiefs-Raiders matchup history
The Chiefs lead the all-time series over the Raiders 73-55-2 dating back to 1960. That includes a 2-1 playoff record.
The last time the Chiefs and Raiders played…
The Raiders upset the Chiefs 20-14 on Christmas Day 2023. Funny enough, that’s actually the last time the Chiefs lost a game. It was a terrible outing for K.C. which turned the ball over twice and couldn’t get anything going on offense until it was too late. Prior to that game, the Chiefs had a six-game winning streak against Vegas.
The best Chiefs-Raiders game ever was…
Like I always say, there are way too many games to answer this question objectively. So I’ll go back to one that I talked about in last year’s Raiders preview:
On Oct. 10, 2022, the Chiefs went down 17-0 in the second quarter. It was looking like a rough game for K.C. until Kelce went god mode and took over the game. Kelce caught four touchdowns, which is hilarious considering he ended up with only 25 yards. After the Chiefs took a 30-23 lead in the fourth, the Raiders scored a TD and attempted a two-point conversion to take the lead. Unfortunately for them, running back Josh Jacobs was stuffed at the line.
Chiefs-Raiders prediction, picks
The Raiders are banged up and downright bad right now. I don’t see this one being competitive, though I thought the same last year before the Chiefs were beaten on Christmas.
Will the Chiefs beat the Raiders?
The Chiefs should win. I don’t see the Raiders’ offense scoring many points — the Chiefs’ defense looked amazing against a much more talented 49ers squad last week. Vegas’ defense isn’t great either, so I see K.C. running the ball a lot to tire the Raiders out and eat the clock.
Will the Chiefs cover the spread?
It’s a big spread at 9/9.5 points, but I expect the Chiefs to cover for the sole fact that I don’t see the Raiders scoring more than 13. With a struggling Minshew back there, I’d be surprised if the Raiders even get a touchdown in this one.
Wes’ pick: Chiefs 27, Raiders 9