Week 13 Chiefs at Raiders: OPEN THREAD

Week 13 Chiefs at Raiders: OPEN THREAD

by Laddie Morse | December 2, 2018

If there ever was a trap game hiding out on the Chiefs schedule… this is it. However, (and this is the biggest HOWEVER you have seen in years) these Oakland Raiders stink… badly… and unless the Chiefs lay a real milk dud on the field today, they should come out of this with another W. 

This Matchup is a Mashup of Contradictions

When you look over the individual matchups between the Chiefs and these Raiders, it’s hard to find one where the Raiders come out on top. Gary McKenzie does a good job of pointing out the matchup embarrassment this game is for the Raiders beginning with Patrick Mahomes vs the Raiders defensive backfield:

McKenzie goes on from there to lay it all out for us:

While the Oakland Raiders do have some young players who may one day be excellent players, this collection of “talent” should not give the 2018 Kansas City Chiefs much resistance at all.

Pepto Bismol Games

Let’s not get “upset” if the Chiefs get upset today. Afterall, Jon Gruden does have a winning record over Andy Reid so it is a possibility. Any time any NFL teams takes the field… they can win… or they can lose and while we hope the Chiefs are not going to come out on the losing end of this one, we should know about the possibility. Other big upsets include:

• 1981 – The Packers 48, the Redskins 47: that particular season, the Pack finished 8-and-8 while the Redskins went on to post a 14-2 record. Because the Packers finished 26th out of 28 teams in points allowed, their only hope was to outscore the Washington which is exactly what they did. Washington, completed the 1983 season with a then record 13.1 points margin of victory and the pack went into the game with a 3-and-3 record so no one thought they had a chance. Chances changed.
•  1979 – The Cincinnati Bengals 47, the Pittsburgh Steelers 10: I probably don’t need to remind anyone here that the Steelers of the late 1970’s were as good as any team that has ever played the game… and probably better.  The Steelers were 5-and-1 at the time and the Bengals were 0-and-6. That’s right, they hadn’t won a game but took down perhaps the best team ever.
• 1969 – The Kansas City Chiefs 23, the Minnesota Vikings 7: we love to celebrate the fact that our Chiefs were in Super Bowl I and then won Super Bowl IV. However, the Chiefs were huge underdogs the second time around and the Vikings were believed to be a team of destiny. In baseball they have the Triple Crown but in football they should have the same award because the Vikings would have won it that season: they led the NFL in 1) points scored, 2) points allowed and 3) point differential. Consequently, everyone outside of K.C. was picking them to win but stranger things have happened.

Let’s hope the Chiefs don’t come out flat because of the events of this past week. I do know how unusual events can have a negative effect on a team so there is that possibility. If the Raiders score first… then hold the Chiefs one time… then turn around and score again… and… NAAAHH… it ain’t gonna happen. Not today anyways.

Six Stats to Know with BJ Kissel

If you didn’t get a chance to see BJ Kissel in Six Stats to Know, here it is. In this week’s installment, he takes a special look at Patrick Mahomes:

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My Prediction: Chiefs 52, Raiders 17.

What’s your prediction for today?

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