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The Chiefs dominated most of the way in the first matchup with the Raiders, but ended up on the short end of wild, penalty-filled final sequence in which Oakland scored the game-winning TD on the final play. What appeared to be an aberration ended up part of a dismal slide that saw Kansas City plummet from 5-0 to 6-6. Its Sunday rematch with Oakland now looms as a huge contest in the tightly bunched AFC West. Despite their struggles, I still think the Chiefs are the class of this division, and they will prove it with a dominant performance Sunday.
The Raiders will get back Michael Crabtree this week and he should be anxious to get after that secondary. We'll see if last week was a complete aberration for the Chiefs or a motivator for this week. The pressure is on. Look for them to respond positively. Lay the points with the Chiefs.
This figures to be a high-scoring game with the Chiefs' offense getting back on track and the Raiders getting at least Michael Crabtree back this week if not Amari Cooper. With Marcus Peters out for the Chiefs, I think the Raiders can keep up on the scoreboard despite their defensive issues. The Chiefs have lost six of seven, with the last three coming against mediocre teams in the Giants, Bills and Jets. The Raiders have as good an offense as those teams at least, and they hung 505 yards of offense on the Chiefs earlier this year. This game comes down to a field goal either way, so I'll grab the points.
The Chiefs are of course in a massive freefall, losing six of their last seven, many against mediocre teams. The offense got back on track last week, and I like their chances of scoring a lot of points again here with Matt Nagy taking over the playcalling. But the Raiders should be more than able to keep up with Marcus Peters suspended and the Chiefs defense getting lit up week in and week out. The Raiders racked up 505 yards of offense in the first matchup between these teams, a 31-30 Oakland win. I expect a similar game here, and this total should only rise with Peters out.
Kansas City has covered once in seven games as most defenses have doused its big-play offense. Oakland is on a modest 3-1 straight-up streak, its only setback against New England at an out-of-the-country venue, and is fond of visiting Kansas City for reasons other than tasty barbecue. The Raiders have covered on eight of the last 11 trips. The suspension Wednesday of Chiefs CB Marcus Peters boosts their chances of scoring. Oakland has improved slightly and K. has declined since the Raiders’ buzzer-beating score for a one-point win when last they met on Oct. 19.