How the Las Vegas Raiders can beat the Chiefs even if Maxx Crosby does not play

Raiders defense must force turnovers, apply pressure to QB Patrick Mahomes

The defense as a whole has stepped up this year, allowing only 20.5 points per game after allowing 25 through 11 games last year. In the last three games, since the new regime took over, the Raiders defense leads the NFL with only 12.7 points allowed per game. They will need to stop the Chiefs consistently from scoring points by any means on Sunday to have a chance to win. 

Raiders offense must consistently score and feed star RB Josh Jacobs the ball early and often

Josh Jacobs in all five Raider victories this season has touched the ball at least 20 times. In the one victory where his run touches fell under the 20 mark against the Broncos in the season opener, he also caught two passes to total 21 touches.

In the Raiders’ six losses this year, Jacobs’ rushing attempts were 9, 17, 17, 11, 15 and 14. The Raiders are 22-6 when Jacobs’ gets 20+ Carries in his career and 4-0 this season, and are 0-6 when he gets less than 20 carries this season.

Not to mention, Jacobs usually does pretty well against the Chiefs, and while Kansas City does have one of the best defenses in the NFL this year, their run defense has been their weakest link by far. Long story short, the Raiders need to feed Josh Jacobs early and often on Sunday, and he needs to touch the ball at least 20 times in this game and every game going forward, whether that’s catching the ball or running it, which will ultimately also help Raiders’ rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell and the passing game get better and succeed too.