Kansas City Chiefs: It’s Raider Week
By Britt Zank
The Oakland Raiders are coming to Arrowhead Thursday night. Primetime game, division up for grabs, Chiefs in all red and it’s going to be cold. I think every Chiefs fan will agree with me when I say, that sounds like heaven on Earth!
I think the last time I was this excited about going to a Chiefs game was opening day 2010 when the “new Arrowhead” opened on Monday Night Football. That night was all about the future. It was about a revamped stadium, revamped coaching staff and a positive outlook looking forward. Thursday night against the Raiders is all about right now.
The division is on the line. If the Chiefs win then they would take over first place in the AFC West. If the Raiders win the Chiefs are two games back with No. 4 remaining. Playoff seeding is on the line. If the Chiefs win they have the inside track for the No. 2 seed and a first round bye and a home game.
If the Raiders win, the Chiefs almost lock themselves into the No. 5 seed. As the No. 5 seed the road through the playoffs would not make any stops in KC. With a team that has a realistic shot at making the Super Bowl, this game means the world to how hard that road might be. Also, it’s against the Raiders, whom we all hate no matter the record or stakes.
We’ve all heard the phrase, “big time players make big time plays in big time games”. The Chiefs have proven time and time again that they have those big time players who make those plays. Now, it’s our turn! That’s right; the rest of this analysis is all about us, the “Sea of Red” and the “Chiefs Kingdom”.
First of all this game isn’t about records or having anything to prove. We already own the record for loudest stadium. We shattered Seattle’s record when we hit 142.2 against these same Raiders. The “12th Man” has challenged us many times and we’ve destroyed them every time. We have nothing left to prove to anyone outside of Kansas City. This game isn’t about being the 12th man; it’s about being the 4th facet of the game. Everyone knows about offense, defense, and special teams but in KC we are going to take fans to the next level.
I don’t ever remember hearing about Guinness or decibels in the 90’s. Unlike Seattle, we didn’t need to put numbers by our name to know we were the loudest. We had all the physical evidence anyone needed. We’ve been flagged by refs for being too loud more than once. I remember going to school not being able to hear or talk. The local police received noise complaints from over 10 miles away during a MNF game against the Bills. I rest my case your honor, we are the best in the league.
This is the first big game we’ve had a real chance to shine through in some time. This is our big game and it’s time to step up. Our big plays will start before the coin toss. Everyone needs to be inside the stadium early. When the Raiders walk on the field for their final pregame warm ups they need to feel surrounded. They need to know that we are there to play and we are ready. I want the players getting goosebumps in the tunnel during intros. When the anthem blares I want us singing so loud you can’t even hear the poor person on the field with the microphone. I want the loudest “home of the…CHIEFS” ever. Then I want the Chiefs to kickoff and let the defense and fans set the tone.
From that kickoff until the end of the game this is our game to make big plays. This will be a close game. Big plays for us are making the Raiders burn time outs. We need to force false starts. The defense needs us to get them into predictable snap counts because of the noise so they can get good breaks. We need to ruin hot routes & audibles so players get confused and make mistakes. We need to stay in the entire game, no let downs. We have our job to do and we can’t let anything affect us. The offense, defense, and special teams have their jobs to do and we have ours.
It’s up to us to prepare to do our jobs. So that means rest those voices this week. Get the cold weather gear packed and ready. Make sure you have tailgate supplies stocked and the food is fresh. Start working on that excuse to be off work Thursday and Friday. We know we are big players and we know this is a big game. Now it’s time to go out there and make our big plays. THIS IS RAIDER WEEK!