In Week 11, the Las Vegas Raiders will take on the Kansas City Chiefs in a critical AFC West matchup. To get you prepared for that contest, we talked to Charles Goldman, the managing editor of the Chiefs Wire, about this matchup. Here are his thoughts on the Chiefs this season and the rivalry game on Sunday between these two squads:
1. Andy Reid is incredible after the bye week. What makes him so successful after the week off?
He gets a chance to sit back, eat his favorite cheeseburger from Town Topic and recharge. There’s really not much more to it than that. He takes his time evaluating film and personnel with his coaches, they talk adjustments that they need to make for the rest of the season. Then it’s time for game preparation, which he’s already among the best at. He takes that little bit of extra time to really hone in on the details that can shift the outcome of a game.
2. In the last meeting, the Raiders were able to pressure Patrick Mahomes 32 times. How has the offensive line performed since then?
Yeah, they’ve actually done a much better job protecting Patrick Mahomes since that Week 5 game. They’re allowing a 20.5% pressure rate on the season which is good for the 12th best in the NFL. The offensive line has gone through a number of changes this season, but right now they’re tracking to trot out what has been their best group with Eric Fisher at LT, Nick Allegretti at LG, Austin Reiter at C, Andrew Wylie at RG and Mike Remmers at RT.
3. Give us one under-the-radar player to watch in this game?
Rookie CB L’Jarius Sneed was designated to return from injured reserve on November 4th. He hasn’t yet been activated and the team still has until next Wednesday to do so, but if he were to play in this game it could be a game-changer for Kansas City. He had the NFL lead in interceptions through the first two weeks of the season before suffering a collarbone injury in Week 3. He has the speed to match up and take away a player like Nelson Agholor or Henry Ruggs III, who really burnt the Chiefs in that Week 3 matchup.
4. Le’Veon Bell was added to this team since the last time these two teams played. How has he impacted the team so far?
Bell has really not been more than a depth piece for Kansas City since he arrived. He hasn’t played in more than 33% of the offensive snaps in each of his three games. The positive note is that he did have two 16-yard carries during his first game, which tells you that he still has some of that explosion left that we saw in Pittsburgh. It’ll be interesting to see if his role increases at all after the bye week with some extra time to pick up the playbook. I also expect the coaching staff will have installed more plays for him.
5. What is your prediction for this game?
I have a feeling this game will be every bit as contested as the first time around, but I anticipate it’ll end in a different outcome. That extra bit of rest, preparation and a return to health for several players from the bye week should give the Chiefs a big boost in Week 11. They also have the extra motivation from the loss in Week 5. Plus it’s a primetime game, Patrick Mahomes and the offense always seems to show out for those.
I’ll take a Kansas City win, 37-27.
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