Three Things the Chiefs Need To Do To Win Against The Raiders
The Kansas City Chiefs will put their perfect record on the line when the Las Vegas Raiders come to Arrowhead Stadium for the teams' first matchup of the season on Sunday.
While the Raiders haven't beaten the Chiefs since 2017 and haven't won in Kansas City since 2011, the Raiders come into the contest with a revamped offense and a new home location.
I preview this Sunday's matchup with RaiderMaven's Hondo Carpenter on today's episode of Roughing the Kicker. Carpenter gives his keys to the game from the Raiders perspective on the show, but here are my three keys to the game if the Chiefs want to continue their 13-game winning streak.
1. Score early and score often.
I believe this was one of my keys last week and it will probably continue to be a key moving forward until we see this consistently. The offense has had some inconsistency issues in the first four weeks but as I've mentioned before, the lack of a preseason and offseason could be the main reason we're seeing that. If the Chiefs can get on the board early and get the offense going, this will get ugly quick.
2. Contain tight end Darren Waller.
Waller has been one of the best tight end in the league this season. The 28-year-old has proved to be a pivitol part of this Las Vegas offense along with Josh Jacobs. When faceing other premier tight ends like Mark Andrews and Hunter Henry, the Chiefs secondary held their own and limited their impacts. With the Raiders wanting to go to Waller a lot, sealing him off and forcing the ball to other options will be crucial as the Raiders aren't at full health at wide reciever.
3. Stop the run.
Another common theme in my weekly three keys is also this one. The Chiefs currently rank 27th in run defense and the Raiders will try to exploit that weakness. When Las Vegas has been successful on offense this season, it's been when Jacobs has a high impact. Limiting his yards per touch will be an emphasis for the Chiefs' front seven. Being able to stop the run early and force Gruden and Carr to throw the ball when they don't want to will be crucial in securing the victory.
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