The Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders have maintained a rivalry for 60 years. Over 121 games, the Chiefs won 66, the Raiders won 53, and two games were tied. But Sunday’s showdown at Arrowhead Stadium may be one of the most important regular-season matchups in the lengthy series. A win for Kansas City likely seals the Chiefs’ place in the postseason. Before their bye week, Kansas City buried the Los Angeles Chargers’ hopes of playoff contention with a win in Mexico City .
But for the Raiders, Sunday’s game may be their last chance to put themselves in playoff position in their final season before relocating to Las Vegas in 2020. Oakland comes into the game off a hapless, 34-3 defeat to the New York Jets, a team that had won only three games prior to facing the Raiders. Perhaps as a result, the Raiders head into Kansas City as consensus 11-point underdogs, according to NBC Sports .
Football experts cited by NBC Sports also unanimously see an easy win for the home team, with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk picking Kanas City by 13 points, 30-17. Three other experts predict a win of seven or 10 points.
When the two teams met in Week 2, the Chiefs took a 28-10 victory in Oakland, with 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes throwing for 443 yards and four touchdowns.
Watch a preview of the Oakland Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs matchup in the video below, with insights from Matt Miller of Bleacher Report
The Chiefs are coming off a much-needed bye week, after losing four of their last seven, and are now seeking their first back-to-back victories since winning their first four games of the season, including the Week 2 win over Oakland, as Athlon Sports recounts.
In the rivalry against Oakland, which dates back to 1960, the Chiefs have dominated over the past several years. The Raiders have failed to win two games in a row against Kansas City since 2012. The Chiefs have won 11 of the 13 clashes since then including the last four games in a row, according to Pro Football Reference .
Despite last week’s humiliation against New York, the Raiders have somehow climbed back into the playoff race after starting the season with two losses in their first three games — and finishing eight games behind the Chiefs in the AFC West last year.
But the Raiders are now tied for the second AFC Wild Card spot at 6-5, and an upset victory at Arrowhead would put them level with the Chiefs. Both would be 7-5, putting the Raiders in the improbable position of sitting within reach of a division title.
