Raiders vs. Chiefs: Kansas City holds the edge in key matchups

When the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, they’ll do so with the confidence of a team that is better on paper by a long shot.

The Kansas City Chiefs host the Las Vegas Raiders for their first of two meetings in Week 5. The Chiefs have dominated this series as of late, including winning the last three matchups by a combined score of 103-22.

If there is any reason to feel like this round might go differently than the last several, it’s the fact that despite the record, Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr is actually playing pretty good football. Carr has not forced an interception through the season’s first quarter and has thrown 8 touchdowns.

Is Carr’s improved game enough to overtake Kansas City at the top of the AFC West pecking order? The answer is probably not. Sure, on any given Sunday, anything can happen. But based on the matchups at play here, it would be surprising if the Chiefs didn’t advance to 5-0.

Let’s look at the most important matchups in the divisional battle this weekend.

Andy Reid versus Jon Gruden

For the third week in a row one of our featured matchups in this game include head coach Andy Reid and a Hall of Fame counterpart on the other sideline. This week, it is Vegas coach Jon Gruden who matches up with Big Red. The two know each other well dating back to Gruden’s start in the NFL as a fellow offensive assistant for the Green Bay Packers.

Unfortunately, this matchup does not bode particularly well for Gruden or the Raiders. The Raiders haven’t defeated the Chiefs since Gruden returned to the sideline in 2018, and the majority of those games have been blowouts.

Reid also brings his best work to divisional games. He knows they’re the most important games on the schedule. As a result, we should expect to see an offensive game plan closer to what we saw in Baltimore and further from what we saw Monday night against New England.