Chucky Has Oakland Keeping Pace With Kansas City's Offense
Raiders vs Chiefs
Sunday, September 15 at 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS) at Coliseum
Odds & Week 1 Recap
There's a wide range in odds for this game, which will encourage backers of both sides to feel like they've got a good number. Some books opened Kansas City as 10-point favorites, while others opened as low as Chiefs -7.5. Currently, the spread is as low as Chiefs -7, while Raider backers can (and should) grab the +9 surviving at 5Dimes.
It's easy, but misleading, to view Kansas City's offense as unstoppable after it dismantled what was a top-five defense last year in Jacksonville. But I think this is the wrong notion to have of the Chiefs' offense because Jacksonville did not play like a top-five defense.
Jacksonville's defense was ridden with youth and inexperience at the linebacker and safety positions and hampered by discipline issues that found expression in 10 penalties and the ejection of its top linebacker. Credit Chief coach Andy Reid for knowing to take advantage as Jaguar defenders repeatedly missed easy tackles, lost their man in coverage, and otherwise looked clueless and inept in ways that had rather little to do with the quality of their opponent
Raiders Win Battle In The Trenches
What I do take away from Kansas City's performance in Week 1 is concern about its lack of pass rush. With a sizable lead that surely made it obvious that Jacksonville would be pass-first and facing a somewhat beleaguered Jacksonville offensive line, the Chiefs' pass rush should have flexed its muscles. It's supposed to be Kansas City's defensive strength. But against the Jags, it mustered only one sack and two quarterback hits.
On the other side, Oakland faced a high-profile Denver pass rush without letting the formidable Bradley Chubb or Von Miller or any other Bronco get a single sack. The Raiders' offensive line proved solid with two-time Pro Bowler Rodney Hudson at center, a healthy Kolton Miller at left tackle, and the massively-sized former Patriot Trent Brown debuting at right tackle.
Oakland's Offense Maintains Balance
A well-known way to keep an opposing offense from finding rhythm is by dominating time of possession. Expect a strong effort from former Alabama running back Josh Jacobs, whose mixture of physicality and elusiveness made him a justified first-round pick. He'll thrive behind Oakland's offensive line against a Kansas City run defense that was one of the worst last year in multiple categories.
In Week 1, Derek Carr looked more like the 2016, MVP-caliber version of himself. He was accurate, read the defense well, and distributed the ball to several different targets at all levels of the field.
Look out for top wide receiver Tyrell Williams because the Chiefs don't have a corner who can match-up with him size-wise. Only Charvarius Ward is even 6'0. At 6'3, Williams also boasts a speedy 4.48 40 time that makes it easy for him to find separation for yearly one of the NFL's most accurate deep passers. He'll thrive downfield and elsewhere against a KC secondary that didn't look any different from last year's 31st-ranked version.
Darren Waller also picked up where departed tight end Jared Cook had left off. Carr loves to throw to his tight end and Waller's combo of athleticism and route-running made him hard for Denver to contain.
Oakland will have an even easier time keeping up with Kansas City's offense because top wide receiver Tyreek Hill is injured. No matter that it faced a harmless Denver offense, the Raider defense didn't look disheveled like Jacksonville's and it won't need to get that many stops in order for Oakland's offense to stay within the spread.
Best Bet: Raiders +9 at -130 odds with 5Dimes
Raiders vs Chiefs
Sunday, September 15 at 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS) at Coliseum
Odds & Week 1 Recap
There's a wide range in odds for this game, which will encourage backers of both sides to feel like they've got a good number. Some books opened Kansas City as 10-point favorites, while others opened as low as Chiefs -7.5. Currently, the spread is as low as Chiefs -7, while Raider backers can (and should) grab the +9 surviving at 5Dimes.
It's easy, but misleading, to view Kansas City's offense as unstoppable after it dismantled what was a top-five defense last year in Jacksonville. But I think this is the wrong notion to have of the Chiefs' offense because Jacksonville did not play like a top-five defense.
Jacksonville's defense was ridden with youth and inexperience at the linebacker and safety positions and hampered by discipline issues that found expression in 10 penalties and the ejection of its top linebacker. Credit Chief coach Andy Reid for knowing to take advantage as Jaguar defenders repeatedly missed easy tackles, lost their man in coverage, and otherwise looked clueless and inept in ways that had rather little to do with the quality of their opponent
Raiders Win Battle In The Trenches
What I do take away from Kansas City's performance in Week 1 is concern about its lack of pass rush. With a sizable lead that surely made it obvious that Jacksonville would be pass-first and facing a somewhat beleaguered Jacksonville offensive line, the Chiefs' pass rush should have flexed its muscles. It's supposed to be Kansas City's defensive strength. But against the Jags, it mustered only one sack and two quarterback hits.
On the other side, Oakland faced a high-profile Denver pass rush without letting the formidable Bradley Chubb or Von Miller or any other Bronco get a single sack. The Raiders' offensive line proved solid with two-time Pro Bowler Rodney Hudson at center, a healthy Kolton Miller at left tackle, and the massively-sized former Patriot Trent Brown debuting at right tackle.
Oakland's Offense Maintains Balance
A well-known way to keep an opposing offense from finding rhythm is by dominating time of possession. Expect a strong effort from former Alabama running back Josh Jacobs, whose mixture of physicality and elusiveness made him a justified first-round pick. He'll thrive behind Oakland's offensive line against a Kansas City run defense that was one of the worst last year in multiple categories.
In Week 1, Derek Carr looked more like the 2016, MVP-caliber version of himself. He was accurate, read the defense well, and distributed the ball to several different targets at all levels of the field.
Look out for top wide receiver Tyrell Williams because the Chiefs don't have a corner who can match-up with him size-wise. Only Charvarius Ward is even 6'0. At 6'3, Williams also boasts a speedy 4.48 40 time that makes it easy for him to find separation for yearly one of the NFL's most accurate deep passers. He'll thrive downfield and elsewhere against a KC secondary that didn't look any different from last year's 31st-ranked version.
Darren Waller also picked up where departed tight end Jared Cook had left off. Carr loves to throw to his tight end and Waller's combo of athleticism and route-running made him hard for Denver to contain.
Oakland will have an even easier time keeping up with Kansas City's offense because top wide receiver Tyreek Hill is injured. No matter that it faced a harmless Denver offense, the Raider defense didn't look disheveled like Jacksonville's and it won't need to get that many stops in order for Oakland's offense to stay within the spread.
Best Bet: Raiders +9 at -130 odds with 5Dimes
