The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off of their first loss of the season, a 19-13 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the loss, Kansas City came out flat and looked to be low on energy before finally finding a spark in the fourth quarter. This week, the Chiefs travel to the Black Hole and take on the hated Oakland Raiders. Its Raiders week, folks. Here are the week seven Kansas City Chiefs Keys to Victory.
Week Seven Kansas City Chiefs Keys to Victory
Play with Energy
The Oakland Raiders have their back against the wall. They are 2-4 and facing a must win game in week seven of a 16 week season. This is a game that the Raiders must win if they want to have any hope of playing in the post season. Because of this, expect the Raiders to come out with an intensity and effort similar to that of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The problem with Oakland is that they cannot get out of their own way. Even before injuring his back two weeks ago, Derek Carr has been struggling this season. In his first game back from injury, Carr was only able to throw for 171 yards on 21 completions. Carr also threw two interceptions on the day. However, this doesn’t mean that the Raiders do not have the talent to score and score at will. There are still plenty of weapons on this Raiders offense to put up points if they need to.
The Chiefs offense needs to get back on track this week against a suspect Raiders defense. Alex Smith should be able to find some targets down the field against a weak Oakland secondary. Expect a healthy dose of Kareem Hunt in the ground and the air as the Chiefs look to control the clock and play to their tempo.
Frustrate Carr
Bob Sutton has had Carr’s number since becoming the defensive coordinator of the Chiefs. Some of Carr’s worst games in his career have come against Kansas City, and a lot of that has to do with the schemes that Sutton runs against the Raiders offense. Expect Sutton to go back to the same thing that has worked for him in the past.
Carr is 1-7 against Kansas City in his career, his only win coming on a rainy Thursday night game in his rookie year – the first win of his career. Coming in to that game, the Chiefs were 7-3 and the Raiders were 0-10 – so anything can happen on a short week when playing on the road.
The Chiefs will need to pressure Carr and get him off his spot. Carr is already frustrated enough this season as it is, and it is time for Justin Houston and Dee Ford to put him over the edge and end the Raiders season in week seven.
Get Healthy
A short week means the Chiefs do not have any time for rest. In week six, they were missing some key players that they hope to get back this week. Starters Albert Wilson and Mitch Morse were limited participants on Thursday and Friday’s practice but did not play on Sunday. Both could have helped Kansas City in their loss to the Steelers. There is a chance either one or both will return on Thursday night, which could go a long way to beating the division rivals in Oakland.
Don’t expect to see Charcandrick West this week. West is in the concussion protocol, and typically those players do not get cleared until Wednesday or Thursday of the following week. With it being a short week, it will be hard for West to get cleared and get sufficient practice time in order to dress and be effective on Thursday night.
It appears that the Chiefs are at least a week away for Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, which means he might be seen on the extended week as Kansas City does not play again until the following Monday night in another strong divisional game against the Denver Broncos.
Kansas City needs to come in prepared to take care of business and get out of Oakland with a win. If they do, many will forget about what happened last weekend against the Steelers and be back and focused on the remainder of the season. This thing is far from over, and the Chiefs are still in the drivers seat for the division and the number one seed in the playoffs.
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