In week 14, the Kansas City Chiefs take on their long standing division rivals the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders are 10-2 coming in to Thursday night’s showdown, and the Chiefs are 9-3. The winner of this game will take over the drivers seat of the AFC West race and will control their own destiny for a first round bye in the playoffs. These are the Kansas City Chiefs week 14 keys to victory.
Kansas City Chiefs Week 14 Keys to Victory
Block Khalil Mack
Sounds simple enough, right? Khalil Mack has been on a tear lately, which has propelled him right into the discussion of being the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. Since the Chiefs week six victory in Oakland, Mack has garnered eight sacks, four forced fumbles, a pick six, and 24 tackles. Those are insane numbers over just a six game stretch.
Mack will undoubtedly provide pressure throughout the night. Tackles Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz will have their hands full all game, and the Chiefs will have to consider providing the bookends with some tight end or running back help. At the end of the day, if the line can prevent Mack from creating big plays, the offense should be able to move the ball on the Oakland defense.
Get Pressure on Derek Carr
Derek Carr is having a great season and uses all of his offensive weapons to their full potential. On the season, nine different Raiders have caught a touchdown pass from Carr. It does not matter if you are a wide receiver, tight end, running back or even an offensive lineman, Derek Carr will throw you a touchdown pass.
Carr has been sacked a league low 12 times this season. The offensive line has done a very good job of keeping Carr clean and allowing him time to find one of his play makers down field. However, the Chiefs have been successful in the past against Carr. In his career, Carr is 1-4 against the Chiefs and has thrown five interceptions, the most against any team. He has also been sacked 17 times by Kansas City, which is again the most against any team in the league. The Chiefs can get Carr off of his game and will need the pass rushing efforts of Justin Houston, Dee Ford, Tamba Hali and Chris Jones to do it.
Lean on Travis Kelce
Over the past three weeks, Travis Kelce has been almost unstoppable. He leads the league in receiving yards and is the only player this season to have a three week stretch of more than 100 yards each week. Consider, too, that he had at least four drops against the Broncos in week 11, and you can easily tell the Chiefs have relied on him to lead their passing attack. This might change some, as Jeremy Maclin is set to return from his injury that has caused him to be sideline for the last five games, but Kelce should still be a primary focus of the passing game.
Be What Got You Here
There is no denying who these Chiefs are: one of the most complete teams in the league who try to control the clock and smother you on defense. And there is no reason for that to change now. Get the ball to Kelce, Maclin, Tyreek Hill, and Spencer Ware. Create pressure with twists and stunts on the defensive side of the ball. Do what you have done to get you to 9-3, and be the team that beat these Raiders earlier this year in their house.
If the Chiefs can move the ball on a below average Oakland defense and continue to make opportunistic plays when the defense is on the field, mixed with big special teams plays, there is no reason the Chiefs should not win this game. This is the beginning of a three game home stretch for the Chiefs, and if they want to maximize their chances in the playoffs, they need to take care of business on Thursday night.
