Chiefs v Raiders: Definition Game Takes on More Meaning
On Thursday evening the San Diego Chargers beat the Denver Broncos to put the AFC West division lead in question. With the Kansas City Chiefs facing the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, in Oakland, the loss by the Broncos has given the Chiefs upcoming game one of increased meaning.
The Division Race
Anytime K.C. plays an AFC West foe, the game is critical to the outcome of who wins the division and of course, whoever wins the division gets a huge boost going into the playoffs because of home field advantage. No team made that clearer than last year’s Super Bowl champion Broncos. However, the Chiefs went 5-1 last year in the division and if they hope to make headway in the AFC West this year they’ll need to etch out a victory in Oakland. With the Broncos loss, they drop to 4-2 while the Raiders sit in first place alone at the moment at 4-1. If the Chiefs win and go to 3-2 they’ll be tied in the all important loss column and they’ll then be able to keep up with the Joneses (the Raiders and the Broncos). The AFC West Division rankings currently look like this:
Standings:
4-1 – Raiders
4-2 – Broncos
2-2 – Chiefs
2-4 – Chargers
The Chargers are Improved
San Diego has looked like a very good team this year and if the ball had bounced their way a couple times they could be sitting in first place. That’s only to say that the AFC West has become one of the best divisions in the NFL and I can only speculate that no one wants to tangle with the Chargers right now, even with all their injuries.
The Definition of Definition
This was already a “definition” game for the Chiefs because they have played with such inconsistency this season that most who follow them are waiting to see just “who” this team really is? We were already going to find out plenty about the Chiefs this Sunday without the added pressure of keeping pace with the division leaders in the loss column but now this game becomes a biggy in it’s ability to help show the world what this team is really capable of.
Defining Features of Sunday’s Game
+ How well will the defensive backfield cope with Derek Carr’s hot hand. He already had 1,338 yards passing this year with a 102.3 passer rating.
+ With the return of Jamaal Charles to full speed, will we see the “O” of old? This year’s version of the “Reid” option has looked more like Andy’s namby-pamby bucket of nuts.
+ Will the real WR’s please stand up. Jeremy Maclin, where are you? Is this your year Mr. Conley?
+ Will DC Bob Sutton make the necessary changes to create enough pressure on opposing QBs that it will clarify that he still knows how to spell the word: “s-a-c-k.”
The Kansas City Chiefs have plenty that needs “defining” in this game. Let’s hope it includes enough synonyms for “winning.”
And that’s a Lateral Pass!
