What to watch for: Chiefs look to continue dominance over Raiders
LAS VEGAS — The Kansas City Chiefs visit the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. Kansas City has won the past five meetings, 10 of the previous 11 and 15 of 17.
The Chiefs are coming off a 21-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night. Las Vegas lost 20-13 at the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
Oddsmakers favor the Chiefs by 9 1/2 points. Kansas City’s offense and defense ranked in the top eight. The Raiders’ units are closer to the bottom.
Betting info and recent trends
OPENING LINE: Chiefs by 9 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Chiefs 6-4; Raiders 6-5.
SERIES RECORD: Chiefs lead 72-54-2.
LAST MEETING: Chiefs won 31-13 on Jan. 7, 2023, in Las Vegas.
LAST WEEK: Chiefs lost to Eagles 21-17; Raiders lost at Dolphins 20-13.
CHIEFS OFFENSE: OVERALL (8), RUSH (14T), PASS (6), SCORING (14).
CHIEFS DEFENSE: OVERALL (4), RUSH (18), PASS (4), SCORING (3).
RAIDERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (29), RUSH (31), PASS (23), SCORING (26T).
RAIDERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (27), PASS (11), SCORING (13).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Chiefs minus-5; Raiders minus-7.
Chief to watch
CB Trent McDuffie. The second-year pro is making a strong case for an All-Pro nod this season. He had two sacks and forced a fumble against the Eagles last week, and he played a big part in shutting down wide receiver A.J. Brown. McDuffie has forced a league-leading five fumbles this season.
Raider to watch
RB Josh Jacobs. Interim coach Antonio Pierce said the Raiders didn’t stick with the ground game like they should have at Miami. Jacobs received only 14 carries, resulting in 39 yards, but he is a physical back who wears down defenses. Especially considering the Chiefs are average defensively against the run, look for Las Vegas to make more of a commitment and for Jacobs to return to form in which he gained 214 yards over the two previous games.
Key matchup
Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco vs. Raiders’ defensive front. Pacheco rushed for 66 yards in the first half against the Eagles, forcing Philadelphia to bring its defensive backs closer to the line of scrimmage. Especially with Kansas City’s receivers dropping passes, the Chiefs could try to establish the run game to open up passing opportunities, particularly considering the Raiders rank near the bottom in rush defense.
Injury report
The Chiefs are keeping an eye on WR Mecole Hardman’s sprained thumb … Kansas City RB Jerick McKinnon (groin) was limited in practice Wednesday. … Raiders DE Maxx Crosby (knee) didn’t practice Wednesday. … Las Vegas CB Amik Robertson (concussion) returned to practice and LT Kolton Miller (shoulder) was limited.
Odds and Ends
Kansas City has won the past five meetings. The Raiders’ last victory was 40-32 on Oct. 11, 2020, in Kansas City.
The Chiefs have not scored in the second half in their past three games and have a league-low 53 points in the second half of games this season.
Kansas City has held opponents to 24 points or fewer in each of their 10 games, tying the 1969 and 1971 teams for the fourth-longest streak to start a season. The record is 14 set in 1991.
The Chiefs have had more than one sack in every game since Week 2, tying the fifth-longest streak in club history.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has started 44 straight games, tying Hall of Famer Len Dawson for second at his position in franchise history. Trent Green started 81 in a row.
TE Travis Kelce passed Jamaal Charles last week for second in Chiefs history with 10,999 yards on offense and special teams combined. Dante Hall had 12,356 from 2000-06. Kelce has 74 career TD catches. He needs three more to pass Tony Gonzalez for the most in franchise history.
DT Chris Jones had two sacks last week against Philadelphia, tying him with Neil Smith for the fourth-most multisack games in Chiefs history with 19. Tamba Hali is third with 20.
Chiefs K Harrison Butker is 19 for 19 on field-goal attempts this season.
Rather than stick with their game-week routine, the Raiders had a walk-through practice Tuesday rather than have the players take the usual day off. They instead will get Thursday off for Thanksgiving.
This is the second week in a row Las Vegas has altered plans. The Raiders originally were scheduled to spend last week in Orlando, Florida, before traveling to Miami. They instead remained in Las Vegas before flying to South Florida on the weekend.
DE Maxx Crosby has reached 10-plus tackles for the third time. He’s the seventh Raiders player to accomplish that feat in his first five seasons. Crosby also is 1 1/2 sacks from 49 1/2 for his career, which would be the best for a Raiders player in his first five seasons.
Jacobs is 74 yards from scrimmage from 1,000, which would make him one of nine running backs since 2000 to reach that mark in each of his first five seasons. Marcus Allen is the only other Raiders back to pull that off.
WR Davante Adams is six receptions from 70, which would extend his streak to eight seasons. It would tie for the sixth-longest streak in NFL history and make Adams one of 10 players to accomplish that.
FANTASY TIP: Chiefs TE Travis Kelce. After his uncharacteristic fumble that helped cost the Chiefs the game against Philadelphia, look for Kelce to bounce back and play up to his usual high standards. He also is the receiver Mahomes trusts most. The two could look to establish an early rhythm.
