Do the Raiders have a real shot to win the AFC West?

The Oakland Raiders are half a game back of the Kansas City Chiefs in the division. Can the Silver and Black seriously win the AFC West this year?

The Oakland Raiders have themselves right in the mix in the AFC playoff picture entering Week 11. The Silver and Black finds itself half a game back of the archrival Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West standings at 5-4. Oakland hosts the winless Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon. Do the Raiders have what it takes to win the AFC West this year and host one final home playoff game?

On this week’s episode of Stacking the Box, FanSided‘s Matt Verderame and Mark Carman, along with former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, answer the question if the Raiders have what it takes to catch Kansas City and win the AFC West for the first time since 2002 (37:07).

“I’m out because they already lost to the Chiefs at home,” said Verderame. “They already lost at home to them, the Chiefs are still up by half a game in the division and the schedule going forward for the Chiefs is not difficult. And they don’t play anybody of note except for the [New England Patriots] and the Raiders as well.”

Schwartz was also out on the Raiders winning the AFC West for similar reasons. Both analysts recognize that Oakland will have to play the Chiefs at Arrowhead coming off a bye. Andy Reid off a bye is a certain victory for the team he coaches. Plus, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has had some of his worst games professionally playing at Kansas City.

At the end of the day, the Raiders are still in great shape to make the AFC playoffs. The offense is fun and they seem to be playing for each other under head coach Jon Gruden. The defense may still be a work in progress, but the Silver and Black have what it takes to be one of the six best teams in the AFC this year.

Truthfully, we’ve seen the Chiefs play better football in recent years than what we’ve seen in 2019. Patrick Mahomes is an electrifying playmaker, but that Kansas City run defense gets gashed by just about anybody. If Josh Jacobs approaches 200 yards on the ground in Arrowhead, then the Silver and Black may just stun everybody and win the AFC West this season after all.

Here are a few other topics discussed on this week’s episode of Stacking the Box:

• What was the biggest upset of Week 10? (7:41)
• Verderame and Geoff spar on the Chiefs (8:30)
• Do the Bengals get the No. 1 pick? (43:25)
• Verderame says put up or shut up to Chiefs (46:00)

All this and more!

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