The Raiders will play a must-win game on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Sitting at 6-6, the Raiders must secure a victory in order to stay alive in the Wild Card hunt.
To get you ready for that game, we spoke with Charles Goldman of Chiefs Wire to talk about the upcoming contest.
1. How has the defense gotten so much better over the last two months?
It has been pretty remarkable, hasn’t it? The Chiefs’ defense went from allowing 30 points per game to allowing just over 11 points per game, and I don’t think you can really point to one thing and say, ‘Eureka! That’s how they did it!’
They’re still playing against elite competition on offense, playing the toughest schedule by offensive DVOA in the NFL so far, so I’m not sure there is any credence to that argument.
The only new player they’ve added is Melvin Ingram, who has admittedly helped open up the pass rush with Chris Jones playing more defensive tackle again. Jones (wrist), Frank Clark (hamstrings) and Willie Gay Jr. (toe) were injured early in the season, but they’re all healthy now.
Jarran Reed getting more comfortable in the scheme has been a big thing lately. It’s really a culmination of things, including Steve Spagnuolo having a better feel for his personnel and the plays he needs to call for his players to find success.
2. Why is the offense for the Chiefs still sputtering at times?
Self-inflicted wounds have been the biggest problem for this offense. The Chiefs currently lead the league in the unofficial stat known as dropped passes and its players like Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill leading the way. You look at Patrick Mahomes’ interception numbers and find that seven of his 12 interceptions have hit a receiver before being picked off by a defender.
Then, there are penalties. Of the Chiefs’ 79 total penalties through Week 14, the majority of them (45) have been called on the offense, with offensive holding and false starts being the two most frequent. Andy Reid refers to all of the above as drive-stoppers, and that’s exactly what they’ve been for Kansas City.
3. Do you believe this is a Super Bowl-caliber team in 2021?
Absolutely, I mean we all know the old football adage, “Defense wins championships.” Looking back to 2019, the Chiefs offense was kind of sputtering this time of year too. That was more because Patrick Mahomes was working his way back from his kneecap dislocation than anything else, but the offense wasn’t the same we’d seen all year.
They were having to win some games ugly and it wasn’t really until things started clicking on defense that the offense was able to get back to its explosive form. I think Kansas City is on the cusp of a breakthrough offensively, they just need to figure out how to carry the success they’re having in the opening game script through a full four quarters of football.
4. How do you envision the Chiefs trying to stop Hunter Renfrow?
I don’t anticipate they’ll do anything too special to go about covering Renfrow. I think they’re going to be a lot more comfortable playing man coverage this game, especially if Darren Waller doesn’t play on Sunday. If Renfrow is lined up in the slot, he’ll be matched against L’Jarius Sneed, who has been hit or miss this season.
On the perimeter, he’ll be matched up with either Charvarius Ward, Deandre Baker or Rashad Fenton if he’s active for the game. Ward is probably the best matchup for him just because Renfrow can probably beat him with shiftiness.
5. Who wins this game and why?
I’m not giving the Raiders much of a chance in this one. Just look at Derek Carr’s numbers in December in Arrowhead over his career and you’ll understand where I’m coming from.
With the Chiefs defense playing its best ball and Las Vegas hurting for playmakers on offense, the onus lies on the Raiders defense to keep it close. I don’t see that happening after what we witnessed back in Week 10. Chiefs 38, Raiders 9.
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