Las Vegas Raiders upstart defense has to find the answer vs Chiefs

On Christmas Day, the Las Vegas Raiders will head to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the AFC West-division leading Kansas City Chiefs. With their playoff hopes hanging in the balance, the Raiders will look to do something that has not happened nearly enough in recent memory, and that is beat the Chiefs on the road.

We all remember when the Raiders beat the Chiefs in Kansas City the last time, as Jon Gruden had the team bus take a victory lap around the stadium. That was a monster win for the team, and on Monday, the win would mean even more, as it would keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

To win this game, the Raiders offense will have to go toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes and a powerful Chiefs offense. While the wide receivers have struggled this season for the Chiefs, they can still score at any moment, especially with Isiah Pacheco likely returning from injury.

If the Raiders are to stop Mahomes, their upstart defense will have to find a way to do so for a full four quarters.

Raiders defense must have their best game of the season

The Raiders are getting strong play on all three levels of the defense as of late, something that must continue against Kansas City on Monday. We all know how great Maxx Crosby is, as he is in the middle of a possible NFL Defensive Player of the Year campaign, but he is finally getting some help from his teammates.

Las Vegas has been much better in the secondary since the arrivals of Marcus Epps and Jack Jones, while the linebacker group, led by Divine Deablo and Robert Spillane has been much better than advertised. Of course, if the Raiders are to beat the Chiefs, Crosby needs to be all over Mahomes all game long, something I could see happening in this one.

Kansas City is heavily-favored in this matchup, so the Raiders winning would certainly be an incredible upset. However, the defense has been elite as of late, and Mahomes and this offense should be worried going into this one.