Game day: Raiders will have their hands full at Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) scambles under pressure from Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) during the first half of an NFL football game at Allegiant Stadium Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. Photo by: Steve Marcus

The weekly routine and focusing on the task at hand is so drilled into NFL players that it’s not uncommon for some of them to forget the next opponent beyond the current game. But that wasn’t the case for the Raiders as they stifled the Tennessee Titans 20-10 to break a four-game losing streak in Week 6.

Veteran linebacker Devin White had one of his best games in years with nine tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception but took little to no time to celebrate. “We already know who’s on the schedule (next) and we’re ready to go get after them,” White said immediately after the game. That would be the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Raiders and the Chiefs are always on each other’s minds despite the rivalry having been one-sided in recent years with the latter winning eight of 10 matchups since the former moved to Las Vegas. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes responded similarly to White after putting the finishing touches on a bounce-back 30-17 Sunday Night Football win over Detroit, saying he couldn’t enjoy the win too much with “a tough divisional opponent” on deck. Raiders vs. Chiefs has long been one of the NFL’s best rivalries, and there’s no end in sight.

Favorable matchup: Raiders’ rising defensive line vs. Chiefs’ in-flux offensive line

The Chiefs’ offensive line has been a big bright spot to start the season but there’s now some uncertainty whether they can maintain their hot start. A major part of the uptick has been rookie first-round pick left tackle Josh Simmons, but he conspicuously left the team hours before the Lions’ win for undisclosed personal reasons. He’s yet to rejoin the Chiefs with team officials remaining mum on his absence. Kansas City held it together against Detroit, but Las Vegas brings a new challenge with a front led by superstar edge rusher Maxx Crosby that’s carried the defense. The Raiders had a season-high six sacks in the win over the Titans with defensive tackles Jonah Laulu and Leki Fotu getting a tick in the box score next to White and Crosby’s two takedowns. Mahomes has called Crosby the best pass rusher he’s ever played against on multiple occasions but, in most games over the years, he’s been the only player in silver and black that the quarterback has needed to worry about. The Raiders are confident that’s changed this year.

Problematic matchup: Rashee Rice’s return vs. Raiders’ secondary

The Chiefs’ No. 1 receiver returns against the Raiders after serving a six-game suspension for criminal convictions stemming from a highway racing turned hit-and-run incident during the 2024 offseason. The team hasn’t been shy about sharing that they intend to give him a full workload immediately. If Rice is a fraction of the player that ascended in four games last year before suffering season-ending knee and hamstring injuries, the Raiders might be ill-equipped to handle him. Kansas City has traditionally lined Rice up in all three primary receiving positions to hunt for mismatches. Las Vegas coach Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham hardly ever shadow receivers with a single defensive back, but this might be one situation where they could be tempted. No. 1 cornerback Eric Stokes has been the Raiders’ only consistently reliable coverage player all season. Fellow starting cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly and rotational nickelback Darnay Holmes have struggled mightily overall, while the coaching staff appears to not fully trust rookie Darien Porter yet. Unless the Raiders have some surprises in store, Rice couldn’t have asked for a softer landing spot to come back to the field.

Gamebreaker: Wide receiver Tre Tucker

There seems to be a new No. 1 receiver in Las Vegas, and it’s the 5-foot-8, 182-pound playmaker taken out of the University of Cincinnati in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Tucker surpassed Meyers for the team lead with 356 receiving yards last week, and should have the opportunity to increase his cushion against the Chiefs. Meyers didn’t practice this week with knee and toe injuries, while there are unconfirmed rumblings that he may have played his final game in silver and black. The relationship between Meyers and the Raiders’ new power structure — Carroll and general manager John Spytek — has been frosty ever since this offseason when the latter showed little interest in extending his contract. Meyers requested a trade in response, but it was denied before the season began. Perhaps a deal with another team will now come together before the NFL’s trade deadline on Nov. 4. Tucker failed to prove capable of handling No. 1 duties last year after the team traded Davante Adams and Meyers went down with an injury, but Carroll and new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly rave about him. They’re enthused by what they’ve seen so far and think he can be even better going forward. 

Big Number: 1

Only one game Raiders’ game at Arrowhead Stadium has been decided by more than a touchdown since the team moved to Las Vegas in 2020. That was the infamous 2021 beatdown when former Raider edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue encouraged his teammates to huddle on top of the Chiefs’ midfield logo pregame. The home team took it as an ultimate sign of disrespect and responded with a 48-9 victory. Take away that game and Las Vegas has outscored Kansas City by 11 points at Arrowhead with a 2-2 record where it’s covered all four point spreads. The rivalry at Arrowhead has been much more competitive than at Allegiant Stadium, where the Chiefs have outscored the Raiders by a collective 70 points over five years. Las Vegas feels like it should have beaten Kansas City on the road in two straight years as it was 12 seconds away from attempting a game-winning 50-yard field goal last year when the home team recovered a botched snap to seal a 19-17 victory. The holdovers from last year’s team remember the gut-wrenching loss all too well and will be out to atone for it.

Best Bet (3-3): Maxx Crosby over 0.5 sacks

Without Simmons, the Chiefs’ tackles should be outmatched against Crosby. Neither mediocre right tackle Jawaan Taylor nor swing backup Jaylon Moore, a hero of the Lions’ win, should be able to contain him. Look for the Raiders to give Crosby opportunities against both by moving him to both sides of the line. Crosby only has a somewhat disappointing six career sacks in 12 games against the Chiefs, but that’s misleading. He has 10 more quarterback hits, meaning he’s been unlucky to not get Mahomes on the grass more often. Crosby is always maniacal in his preparation and doesn’t hide the fact that the Chiefs’ game means a little more than him. The pick’em price of -105 (i.e. risking $105 to win $100) at multiple national sports books and the push equity attached if Crosby combines with a teammate to get credited with a half-sack is attractive. Bet on him to get the best of Mahomes at least once this time around.