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

Patrick Mahomes versus Raiders’ secondary

Notwithstanding the offensive line issues, Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes is still on pace for over 4,500 yards and 44 touchdowns in 2020. The reasons why are simple: Mahomes is brilliant and talented, and the Chiefs have the best corps of receivers in the National Football League (when you factor in all skill position players).

On the other side of the ball, Las Vegas fields a passing defense which ranks 20th in the league through four weeks, giving up an average of over 250 yards per game. They have young and inexperienced corners and seemingly no one who can match up well with either Tyreek Hill or Travis Kelce. We’ve seen this narrative play out before.

While Mahomes had an off game in terms of statistical productivity in Week 4 against the Patriots, passing for only 236 yards, one would not expect that to roll over to the matchup in Vegas. Expect the Chiefs to target the Raiders’ young corners regularly over the course of the contest, and challenge them with the full bevy of a very complex route tree by a experienced receiving corps that has all the tools to be elite, game in and game out.

If Mahomes can exploit the massive advantage Kansas City boasts over Las Vegas in the passing game, they could force Derek Carr to beat them. That strategy has not worked out for the Raiders often in this rivalry.