Chiefs @ Raiders Prediction Thread

The Kansas City Chiefs have a big AFC West showdown today when they take on the Oakland Raiders.

I have been going back and forth on this game all week. For most of the week I was almost sure that I would be picking the Raiders. They are running the ball well and have been getting pretty solid play at the QB position as well. My worry is that the Chiefs are going to go into Oakland and get ambushed by a confident and physical football team.

I think part of my insecurity is something that happened to me a few weeks ago. You see, I grew up in Ohio and I am a big Ohio State Buckeyes fan. The Buckeyes are, in a lot of ways, like the Chiefs. They are well coached and they like to run the football, play good defense and control the flow of the game. They don’t make a lot of mistakes and they don’t play flashy.

One difference between the Buckeyes and the Chiefs is that Jim Tressel is a very conservative coach whereas Todd Haley is an aggressive gambler.

The reason I think of the Buckeyes when I think of today’s contest in Oakland is because of what happened to Ohio State when they went to Wisconsin. It was a big game, under the lights on the road. Had the game been in Ohio I think the Buckeyes could have pulled off a win but instead, the Badgers came out and ran it down Ohio State’s throat.

That was what was so shocking about the loss. Ohio State had been playing excellent defense all season but the Badgers gashed them, running the ball straight up the middle all night long. The Wisconsin faithful were fired up and from the opening kickoff it seemed that Ohio State never had a chance. They were standing in front of a freight train and they were bond to get run over.

This is what scares me about today’s game. It isn’t that I think the Raiders are a more talented team than the Chiefs. I don’t. I just worry that the Chiefs are walking on to the train tracks at the wrong time.

My official prediction is after the jump.

I think the key for both teams in this game is to get going early. If the Raiders get rolling I don’t know if the Chiefs will be able to overcome it. On the flip side, I think if Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones start going off, the Raiders are in trouble.

A log of people are predicting this to be a very close game. That will probably happen but I am going to go another way.

The Chiefs are miles better than the Denver Broncos and even the Seattle Seahawks. They also have the best coaching staff in the National Football League. I don’t think Romeo Crennel is going to let Darren McFadden get going and I don’t think the Raiders will be able to stop the KC run game.

I think the first quarter is tight but the Chiefs blow it open with a couple of turnovers in the second quarter and send the Raiders fans home early.

Chiefs 28, Raiders 12

Alright Addicts, I went out on a limb. What are your game day predictions? And since I know some loyal Raiders fans will inevitably show up, what are your predictions Raider Nation?