In a rematch of their Week 5 matchup, the Kansas City Chiefs travel to Las Vegas to battle the Raiders on Sunday Night Football. Jon Gruden’s team was able to dominate both lines of scrimmage, leading to 490 yards of total offense. The Raider defense forced Patrick Mahomes to throw his lone interception of the season. Andy Reid and company will come in with extra motivation this week. Here’s what to expect in this one.
Kansas City Chiefs
Fresh off a bye week, the world champion Chiefs are riding high. Winners of their last four games, the team squeaked out a hard-fought victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 9. Kansas City currently holds a two-game lead over Las Vegas in the AFC West. The Chiefs will look to continue their momentum and take a commanding lead with a victory on Sunday night. Mahomes has led the Chiefs to the top-ranked passing offense in the league, along with the second-ranked scoring offense. Tossing 25 touchdown passes to just one interception, the 25-year-old will look to be extra motivated in this one. Paul Guenther’s defense allowed Mahomes to only complete 50 percent of his passes while sacking the former MVP three times.
Steve Spagnuolo’s defense allowed the Raiders to rush for over 144 yards with second-year back Josh Jacobs carrying the ball 23 times. Kansas City could be down three starting offensive linemen with Mitchell Schwartz and Kelechi Osemele already ruled out. Mike Remmers is a game-time decision with a rib injury.
Las Vegas Raiders
Trying to sweep the Chiefs for the first time in eight years, the Raiders reeled off their third straight victory over their AFC West rival Denver Broncos a week ago. Leading from start to finish in the matchup, Derek Carr and the Raider offense rattled off 23 consecutive points to close out a 37-12 victory. Gruden’s team sits in the first wild card spot in the AFC playoffs thanks to a revitalized offense from a season ago. Led by last year’s rookie of the year Jacobs, the Raiders sit seventh in the league in rushing yards per game with over 139.2 yards per contest. Along with this, the team is in the top-ten in the league with an average of over 28 points per game. The Raiders racked up a season-high in offensive yards in their previous matchup and will need to keep up with Kansas City on Sunday.
With a decided advantage on the ground, look for this one to come down to the Las Vegas rushing attack. The Chiefs have ranked in the bottom three teams in the league in rush defense, allowing over 4.8 yards per carry and 138 yards per game.
One thing to watch heading into this one will be the movement along the Covid-19 list heading into the weekend. Managing an outbreak earlier on in the week, the Raiders placed seven defensive players on the reserve list as high close contacts after second-year pass rusher Clelin Ferrell tested positive earlier on in the week. All of the players on the COVID list were taken off on Saturday evening.
Game Info
Date: November 22, 2020
Start Time: 8:30 P.M. est
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Stadium: Allegiant Stadium
TV Info: NBC
Betting Odds Sponsored by Jazz Sportsbook
Points Spread: KC -8 (-110) | LV +8 (-110)
Moneyline: KC -345 | LV +290
Over/Under: O 57 (-110) | U 57 (-110)
Looking right away at the betting lines, swallow the eight points and take the Chiefs to cover the number. 18-3 off a bye week, Reid and his team will be extra motivated heading into this one after being embarrassed by their divisional rival earlier on in the season. A game that should feature lots of scoring with two top-ten offenses in points per game, take the over with both teams expected to score close to 30 points each.
Prediction
Heading into this game as winners of four in a row and well-rested off a bye week, look for the Chiefs to exact revenge on the Raiders and grab a firm hold on capturing another AFC West title. While a heavy dosage of Jacobs for Las Vegas could cause problems for Kansas City once again, expect them to be much more prepared to slow down the Raider offense after their worst defensive showing of the season four weeks ago.
Final Score: Kansas City Chiefs 38, Las Vegas Raiders 28
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