It’s Chiefs week. Again. The Raiders face off against their division rival Chiefs for the second time this season. The first time, the Raiders shocked the world, beating the heavily favored (-12.5 points) Chiefs at Arrowhead. This time they’re coming to Las Vegas and once again they’re favored.
The line doesn’t lean quite so far toward the Chiefs this time. They are a mere 8-point favorites over the Raiders this time according to BetMGM. Though, to be fair, that seems low.
Yeah, the Raiders beat the Chiefs this season. They are also the only team this season to have beaten the reigning Super Bowl champs. Then again, the Raiders have been in serious turmoil this week with 11 players landing on the reserve/COVID-19 list, ten of whom are on their defense. And the Chiefs are coming off of their bye, so they’ve had an extra week to prepare.
If you want to see a bright spot here, there is one. It was the Raiders’ offense that beat the Chiefs in week five, posting 40 points on them. And the Raiders’ offense is intact, for the most part. The only starter who is not in the lineup from their first meeting is right tackle Trent Brown.
It also helps that eight of the ten defenders the Raiders had to put on the reserve/COVID-19 list should be eligible to return in time for the game. The only players who figure to not be available are defensive end Clelin Ferrell and linebacker Cory Littleton.
Even still, the other eight players missed practice all week, making it difficult to prepare for the league’s top offense.
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