Kansas City Chiefs vs. Las Vegas Raiders: Week 13 Preview, Score Predictions

How will the Kansas City Chiefs fare when they host the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 13? Let's predict KC's 12th outing of the 2024 season.

Oct 27, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman (17) and quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) leave the field after the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs are back at home this week, and it's an AFC West rivalry game for the back-to-back Super Bowl champions. The Las Vegas Raiders are in town for an intriguing Black Friday contest, marking consecutive years that Andy Reid and Antonio Pierce's squads will square off right in the thick of the holiday season.

How will the game unfold? The Kansas City Chiefs On SI crew makes its predictions for Week 13 of the 2024-25 campaign.

Joshua Brisco: In light of a performance the Chiefs didn't seem particularly proud of in a narrow win over the Panthers, this game is a perfect opportunity for the Chiefs' spiraling defense to stabilize. In quarterback Aidan O'Connell's first game back from a broken thumb on his passing hand, Steve Spagnuolo's defense has plenty to prove. KC's underperforming pass rush and struggling coverage unit simply cannot allow for the Chiefs' defense to be the lesser unit when O'Connell and the Raiders offense is on the field. On offense, Kansas City can afford to remain a slow-and-steady unit against Las Vegas, but a couple of deep shots to Xavier Worthy and a bit more playing time for DeAndre Hopkins would be encouraging developments.

Prediction: Chiefs 24, Raiders 13

Jordan Foote: While I don't expect the Chiefs to cover in this one, I certainly don't think they're on upset watch. Barring a complete and utter collapse a la Christmas Day of last year, Kansas City should take care of a clearly inferior opponent that's on a skid right now. Expect plenty of the ground game in this one – including Isiah Pacheco getting a bit of work in his return – and a more inspiring performance from Steve Spagnuolo's defense. It won't lead to any more style points for the reigning champs, yet it'll be a win nonetheless that punches the Chiefs' ticket to the playoffs.

Prediction: Chiefs 24, Raiders 17

Zack Eisen: A Friday game this week for the Chiefs begins their wacky scheduling run of playing on some non-traditional NFL days. Heading into the game, the Chiefs will know if they can clinch a playoff spot with a win. Considering that factor, plus what happened last year on Christmas against this same Raiders team, the Chiefs should come out focused and ready to play. The offense has improved over the previous few weeks, and I expect that to continue to the tune of 30-plus points. It would be encouraging to see the defense stop the skid and really have a strong performance against a weak offense.

Prediction: Chiefs 35, Raiders 23

Mark Van Sickle: The last time these two went head-to-head in Arrowhead was on Christmas last year, and things didn’t go well for the Chiefs. I expect things to be cleaned up and as long as the Chiefs don’t lose the turnover battle by multiple turnovers, they should win this one fairly easily. We all know that’s not how these things generally work out, though, especially with the Chiefs as a heavy favorite. It’s been almost two months since the Chiefs covered the spread. With that said, they’ll remember last year’s Christmas debacle and put it to the Raiders this week and turn Black Friday into Red Friday for Chiefs Kingdom.

Prediction: Chiefs 27, Raiders 10

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