You’ve heard the stat by now. The last time the Kansas City Chiefs faced the Oakland Raiders they put up a season-high 183 rushing yards on a season-high 40 rushing attempts.
It was a beautiful sight to see the Chiefs running the ball in the second half and draining that clock. It’s exactly what you want from your team while nursing a lead.
The Chiefs rushing stats are a good indicator of how well they’re playing. So is this one: time of possession. Why were the Chiefs able to hold the Raiders to just 10 points earlier this year? The defense played great, yeah. But it’s also simpler than that: They didn’t give Derek Carr any time.
No, not time on his drop back ... time of possession. The Chiefs held the ball for 36 minutes against the Raiders. The Oakland offense only had 23 minutes of game time to score points and some of that came when they were already one dimensional.
The best defense against a great offense is, um ... a great offense? Or something like that. What I’m saying here is that the best way to beat the Raiders offense is to keep them off the field.
We’ve talked about stats and trends and matchups all week. The Chiefs time of possession is up there for the most important things to watch for in this game. Add in third down percentage while we’re here. The Chiefs were 7/13 on third down in that last game. If they duplicate their time of possession and third down percentage, they’re winning this game.