Grab Points In Divisional Battle

Raiders vs. Chiefs, 1:00 ET

Merry Christmas, friends. I am thankful for this gift of the opportunity to write about something I love and be paid for it. I'm grateful for the followers and support. Hell, I'm even pleased that I have some trolls that like to chirp when I lose but say nothing when I win. Either way, I'm lucky to be in this position and I reflect on it on days like today. To kick off the football slate for Christmas, I'm putting a play between the Raiders and Chiefs.

So... what happened last time the Raiders played football? Well, I said that the team was going to struggle to score but didn't focus it around the 3-0 loss to the Vikings. It wasn't just that I had no faith in the Raiders. I focused it on the fact that the team had nothing going for them for weeks. The Raiders scored no more than 17 points in any game against an opponent in seven of eight games with Aidan O'Connell under center. Last week, I said they would score less than 19.5 points in the game. They post 21 in the first quarter and 63 overall for the game. It was an offensive and defensive explosion. Don't expect it to be a trend. It was a motivated team that had a good situation I suppose. The Chargers were predictable and the Raiders were ready for them. In this game, they've played the Chiefs before, but they are not a predictable offense. I do expect them to compete and be ready for this game. In that first game, they lost 31-17 on their home turf, but O'Connell played rather well. He was able to throw for almost a 70% completion rate and had one touchdown and no interceptions while racking up 248 yards.

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - DECEMBER 10: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks to the sidelines during the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on December 10, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)

The Chiefs offense has been the story all season. Now, it normally is. I mean, when you have a generational talent under center and one of the best players of all time (likely) on the team, the offense is usually the story. This season is about how bad the offense is playing. Mahomes is still doing everything he can, but he might have the worst receivers in football. I like Rashee Rice, and think he probably is the only one that will be on the field for the Chiefs next year. Travis Kelce still leads in yards, but teams are focusing so much attention on him that this is a bit lower production. The running game has been a bit better this year which bodes well for the team, but they still aren't great in comparison to when they had Kareem Hunt or anything. The saving grace for the Chiefs is that their defense has been outstanding this year. They have allowed the fourth fewest yards this season and third fewest points per game. If they can keep this up and the offense finally clicks - maybe they just need Kadarius Toney to stop being the opponent's best player - they are in line for yet another Super Bowl.

I don't think the Chiefs are going to cover this game. I do think they win the game, but covering is a different story. I get it, they were on the road and won by 14 in the first game, but I think the Raiders should be good enough to at least hang with them. The teams usually play pretty tight contests and after the inspired effort last week, I expect there to be a bit of residual enthusiasm to be here. I'm taking the points in this one.

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