The Kansas City Chiefs are 3-point favorites over the Oakland Raiders. A win for the Chiefs would strengthen their hold on the top Wild Card spot in the AFC playoff picture.
The Arrowhead Pride picks for the game...
Joel Thorman: Chiefs 20 Raiders 16
This is close to a toss-up for me. That Derek Carr-Amari Cooper connection scares me a little bit after what Sammy Watkins did last week but the Chiefs defense has proven they are legit. Defense wins it.
MNChiefsfan: Chiefs 31 Raiders 20
Derek Carr has improved his accuracy in his second season, and he has the other requisite skills to be a guy who can do some things at quarterback. That (and Amari Cooper) are concerning, as is the Chiefs offensive line being in flux.
However, the Chiefs may have finally, finally, finally, started unlocking the keys to the offense (they have the initials "J.M" and rhyme with "Stacklin") against a significantly more talented Bills defense last week. The optimist in me believes that one of two things will happen:
1) The Raiders will play they way they have the last few years against the Chiefs, stacking the box with little safety help on the back end. Smith and Maclin will exploit it the same way they did against the Bills and we're all going to continue to wonder who body-switched with our QB.
2) The Raiders will see what happened with the Bills and incorporate more traditional cover two deep safety looks, opening up the middle of the field for the rest of Reid's layered routes and Travis Kelce in particular. The linebackers will be sucked back to compensate, and Spencer Ware will have a field day.
One of those two things will HOPEFULLY happen, and it really doesn't matter which. Either way, the offense will flourish.
Matt Conner: Chiefs 21 Raiders 13
The Raiders and Chiefs have one thing in common: they're going to get better the more reps their players get. I'm assuming because of the rivalry AND the experience gained this season that we might be seeing the Raiders at their best in both games this season, given the late nature of the scheduling. That said, I have a hard time believing the Chiefs will lose this game (or any) down the stretch.
Stagdsp: Chiefs 28 Raiders 14
The Buffalo game proved the Chiefs can win a slugfest, and come back if they get down. It proved that next man up philosophy means something as the Chiefs third string OL and RB stepped up admirably. The Denver and San Diego wins showed they can go on the road and beat division opponents decisively. They'll need to win their second straight vs. a playoff contender for tie-breaker supremacy. Winning six in a row is crazy hard to do, and I don't think the Chiefs will win out. That said, they'll win this one and keep rolling.
Clay Wendler: Chiefs 17 Raiders 24
Winning six in a row will prove too tall a task for a severely banged-up Chiefs team that usually struggles in Oakland, anyway. The fact that the Raiders have a bona-fide playmaking QB for the first time since Rich Gannon won't help matters. This game is Oakland's season and they won't let it slip away.
Super G: Chiefs 27 Raiders 26
This is one of those weird games where nothing goes right for the Chiefs yet they somehow squeak out with a victory on a last second 52 yard Santos FG. Alex Smith gets sacked four times and has trouble getting comfortable throughout the game. Knile Davis returns a kickoff for a touchdown at the beginning of the second half. Derek Carr gets caught putting on mascara on the sideline during the game and Mark Davis reveals it is in fact a dead possum sitting on his head and not a wig.