How the Raiders Can Turn Their Season Around With Win Over Chiefs

The Las Vegas Raiders have a slate of very winnable games following their matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. With a bye in between.

Dec 25, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Jack Jones (18) interacts with then crowd during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders' backs are completely against the wall as they prepare to host the back-to-back Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, on Sunday.

While the Raiders, who sit at 2-5 ahead of their meeting with the only undefeated team in the league, are viewed as severe underdogs going into the matchup, and rightfully so.

Las Vegas hasn't had much going for it for it at all, besides its consistent defense. It enters Sunday's contest without its starting quarterback, Aidan O'Connell, and will likely have to again rely on Gardner Minshew II, who comes off arguably the worst performance of his career. Meanwhile, the Chiefs are hot, with no sign of letting up.

Most are thinking about what could go wrong for the Raiders on Sunday -- again, rightfully so. But what if things were to go their way?

While the Raiders have dug themselves a very deep hole, three games out of .500, a win over Kansas City could be significantly momentous for their chances of bouncing back this season.

Las Vegas would come out of the game 3-5, having defeated its greatest rivals as the only team to have beaten the defending champs so far this year. It would then face a Cincinnati Bengals team that has had struggles of its own.

The Bengals are riding a two-game win streak, but the victories came against two very underwhelming opponents in the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants.

Yes, the Raiders have lost to below-average teams before this season, but in this scenario, they would be coming off a monstrous win, riding high on momentum.

After Cincinnati, they have a much-needed bye, which will allow them to regroup. And if they defeat Cincinnati, they would be sitting just a game back of .500.

Out of the bye, they face the Miami Dolphins, another team that has got off to a poor start to this 2024 season. It's sounding like they would likely have quarterback Tua Tagovailoa back by that game (in fact, it could be as soon as this weekend), but there's no telling how efficient an offense will be when a quarterback has been away for extendsive period of time.

Of course, Cincinnati and Miami could both be in different situations by the time the Raiders meet them, and both games are on the road. But this is a hypothetical for those looking for the positive. After all, there's no fun in being miserable all season long.

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