Kansas City Chiefs: Chargers, Seahawks present biggest challenges on schedule
By Matt Conner
Road/Home: Oakland Raiders (Dec. 2, Dec. 30)
On paper, these should be the easiest wins on the calendar for the Chiefs. The Oakland Raiders have purposely traded away any and all players of value for the sake of future draft picks. Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper were traded for draft assets. Bruce Irvin was released. Some players just wanted out without any team assistance, such as former Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson.
Every win for the Raiders from here on out only hurts the franchise. There’s no reason for them to win another game given they face the Chiefs twice along with the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos in the final weeks of the season. Nor should they want to win given that finishing with their current amount of two wins would give them the top-tier draft picks that Jon Gruden clearly desires in his rebuilding of the Silver and Black.
If the Raiders are expected to lose against the NFL’s below average teams, how much greater the deficit should be against K.C.? The problem here is that whole rivalry thing. The Raiders always play the Chiefs tough. The competition toughens in these weeks, whether at home or on the road, and some veterans will want to enter the postseason with at least some performances to brag about. Remember last year the Chiefs were shocked to lose by one against Oakland and ultimately split the season series.
Despite any scary rivalry ghosts, however, the Raiders are undoubtedly the easiest team on paper the Chiefs will face this season. The fact that both teams will square off in the final five weeks should give the Chiefs some cushion in the standings if Andy Reid can keep his roster focused on the task at hand.
Don’t get caught off guard. These are two easy wins for the taking.