The Kansas City Chiefs will meet the Oakland Raiders on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in a game that, for the Chiefs, isn't completely meaningless. NFL playoff seeds are still on the line but no matter the result today the Chiefs will host a home playoff game next week.
Here are a few questions on my mind as we await the game:
Are the Chiefs really playing to win? I trust that the Chiefs want to win this game and they'd like the momentum heading into the wildcard round of the playoffs. But at what cost are they willing to get that? If a player is banged up, or if the Chiefs get a big lead, it'll be interesting to see how they handle it.
What records do they go after? The Chiefs have a number of milestones they can hit this week. Matt Cassel is three touchdowns away from tying Len Dawson's franchise mark, Jamaal Charles is 56 yards behind Arian Foster in the NFL rushing race, Thomas Jones is 121 yards away from 1,000 and the Chiefs can go 8-0 at home. Which one of these will they try to hit?
Can the running game prove it? The running game isn't broken by any means but against the Raiders earlier this year they put up their third worst performance of the season (in terms of yards). With teams like the Jets, Ravens or Steelers potentially on the schedule next week, can the Chiefs figure out a way to run the ball against a physical defense?