Raiders: 5 toughest matchups of the 2022 regular season

Raiders: 5 toughest matchups of the 2022 regular season

Week 18 vs. Chiefs

Finally, the last game of the year is where I’m going to plant my last flag. Patrick Mahomes, to this point, has still not lost a road division game. It’s weird, but it’s true.

And back a couple years ago when the Raider managed to stun the Chiefs at Arrowhead, the follow-up game at Allegiant did not end in such a favorable conclusion for the silver and black.

I’m going to assume both the Chiefs and Raiders are going to be vying for a playoff spot by this point in 2022, and that neither has locked anything up just yet. That makes this final game a must-win for both sides.

And when I do that, I can’t help but lean on the Chiefs’ overall history against the Raiders for the past decade. Since 2013, the Chiefs are 15-3 against the Raiders overall, and 7-2 on the road in the series. The Raiders have yet to beat KC in Vegas, and they also haven’t won a home game against them since 2017.

This is a game that, on paper, should 100% go the Chiefs’ way. That makes the lead-up to that point ever more crucial that the Raiders solidify their playoff status before they hit Week 18.

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I’m expecting the Chiefs to still be a good team this year, despite losing their best offensive weapon. Maybe the step back they take is even more exaggerated than previously anticipated, but until they show that regression, I can’t emphatically say the Raiders should win this game.