Chiefs Know Raiders Will Not Be An Easy Out

This Saturday, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders will kick off a crucial NFL weekend. With plenty of playoff implications surrounding other matchups, there is not much to this AFC West rivalry, in terms of affecting the playoffs. Kansas City has had the AFC West locked up for a few weeks. Whereas with the Raiders, Las Vegas is already eliminated from playoff contention entering the weekend.

As the Chiefs well know, this game will not be an easy regular season finish, however. The Raiders took Kansas City to the brink earlier this season on Monday Night Football. While the Chiefs emerged victorious, it was a frustrating performance in many areas. The run defense could not contain Josh Jacobs for much of the contest. Offensively, Kansas City also struggled here and there with blocking and failed to get on the scoreboard early.

What are some possible keys to victory for Kansas City in their trip to Vegas? We will list four items for Chiefs fans to monitor when watching a new chapter in this AFC West rivalry on Saturday. Let’s kick it off.

Get To Stidham Quickly

As most fans know by now, Derek Carr will not be playing for the Raiders on Saturday. This will be the second straight start for Jarrett Stidham, as Carr sits before a likely trade or release this upcoming offseason. Stidham was incredibly efficient last week, outside of two interceptions. He pushed the ball down the field, extended plays with his legs when necessary and allowed his receivers to create additional yards after the catch. He joined Patrick Mahomes as the only other quarterback to throw for at least three touchdowns against the daunting San Francisco 49ers defense this season.

For Kansas City, their pass rush was electric last week. They won with power, speed and disguised blitzes. Chris Jones and George Karlaftis are as hot as anybody right now. Meanwhile, the Chiefs can use any defensive back at their disposal on a blitz. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is tremendous at designing those. Last week, we saw Trent McDuffie create a fumble on a DB blitz. We know how effective L’Jarius Sneed can be in that role, to boot. In order to stay on top of Stidham, the Chiefs must get after the Raiders quarterback early and often. He can be known to hold onto the ball for an extended period while in the pocket.

Limit Davante As Much As Possible

It does not take a rocket scientist to know that Davante Adams can erupt at any moment. Last week, Adams exploded for 153 receiving yards, the second highest mark for him in a single game this season. It was also his fifth game this season, in which he hauled in two touchdown catches. His 14 receiving touchdowns currently lead the league for 2022. Travis Kelce (12), AJ Brown (11) and Stefon Diggs (10) are the only other players to have double-digit touchdown catches this year.

In this season’s first matchup against the Chiefs, Adams only had three catches. Yet, he had a monster-like 124 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. He even had a few difficult catches that he made that ultimately did not count.

When defending Adams, the Chiefs must look to stay on top of the Raiders pass catcher. He is deceptive with his footwork and releases off of the line of scrimmage. At some point, you must be willing to give up short catches to Adams, so long as you can tackle him immediately after the catch. It will be interesting to see if McDuffie matches up with Adams a lot in this game, as the rookie cornerback was unable to face the wide receiver the first time around. With McDuffie’s athleticism and patience in coverage, it would be an exciting one-on-one matchup.

Do Not Abandon The Running Game

It is easy to want to rely on Mahomes to carry you to victory every single week. Nonetheless, the Chiefs must continue to trust in the running game as the season gets deeper. Kansas City completely abandoned that facet of the offense last week in the second half. Given the strength of the Denver Broncos defense being in the secondary, it was a questionable decision. On top of that, the Chiefs had early success when utilizing the rushing attack in the first half.

Isiah Pacheco has capitalized in almost every game since becoming the starting running back. At this time of the year, defenders are seemingly less motivated to face powerful running backs like Pacheco. With his mix of change of direction skills, speed and improving vision, Kansas City has a unique fit in their spread offense. Do not forget about Jerick McKinnon, either. Sure, most of his recent production has been through the receiving game. McKinnon is able to outrace almost anyone in the open field, while also being sneaky in between the tackles.

Given their lack of depth in the middle of the defensive front seven, the Raiders have struggled against the run most of this season. They are middle of the pack at best in rushing yards allowed (17th) and yards per carry allowed (18th). Furthermore, Vegas has surrendered 17 rushing touchdowns this season, ranking 23rd in that department.

Continue To Let Toney Loose

For the first time since his stellar Week 10 showing against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kadarius Toney received multiple targets last week. He had a catch on all four of his targets against the Broncos, registering a season-high 71 receiving yards. His presence will be even more important for the Chiefs this week, as Skyy Moore has been ruled out with a hand injury.

While the stats were great last week, the way in which Kansas City used Toney was even more tantalizing. We know that he can create yards after the catch on quick passes to the outside. Beyond that, Toney is a perfect fit for the little push pass that the Chiefs love to use behind the line of scrimmage. But, we actually got to see Toney shine in the intermediate to deep passing game last week. His suddenness was on display when separating away from defenders. With his ability to decelerate and find soft spots, it makes Toney’s speed much more dangerous for opponents to cover and contend with. It would certainly be encouraging to see him get more looks down the field once again this week.

Be on the lookout for our FPC Chiefs reaction article after Saturday’s game. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.