Oakland Raiders-Kansas City Chiefs Preview: 5 Questions

Dec 16, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Moeaki (81) is tackled by Oakland Raiders strong safety Tyvon Branch (33) after catching a pass during the third quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Oakland Raiders defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 15-0. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

5. Prediction time with a twist. First, tell me the winning formula for the Chiefs and what the score would be in that scenario. Second, tell me the worst case scenario. Then give me your final prediction.

Run to win. Oakland’s secondary is beat up so it is tempting to just air it out downfield, but that’s the one thing the Chiefs absolutely suck at. If the Chiefs can establish the run then they’ll have all kinds of opportunities in the screen game and on play action. Establish the run, get an early lead, and put pressure on the Derek Carr, and the Chiefs should be able to walk away from Oakland with a win, 27-10.

Aside from the dreaded ‘injury scenario’, there is a chance in this game Reid tries to go down the field too much. This offensive line isn’t built to be a pass heavy offense and the Chiefs simply do not have the wide receiver to be success downfield. Get in a situation where Smith is being rushed throwing downfield and turnovers are going to happen. If Oakland can establish this Murray kid early and get good field position off of turnovers then KC’s going to be a in a lot of trouble.

Ultimately with the Chiefs, I don’t buy into the short week/trap game scenario. KC hasn’t had time to look past Oakland because they were immediately at practice on Monday and didn’t get an off day this week. Plus the team knows that a loss to Oakland probably means the Chiefs lose the division, so I don’t see how KC looks past this game.

Whoever has the best head coach/quarterback combination generally wins these Thursday Night games and I think Kansas City has the better combination here with Reid and Smith. That’s why I have them winning tonight, 27–10.