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Before week 1, I would have looked at this matchup and written it off as a blowout for the Chiefs. This game will be better than I previously thought. After seeing the Raiders’ Monday night performance against the Broncos, it is hard to definitively say that the Chiefs will beat the Raiders. The offense for the Raiders looked good, with 357 yards and 24 points. The offensive line played well, allowing only 0 sacks against a prolific Broncos pass rush. That being said, the Chiefs still have the best offense in the NFL. Even though they lost Tyreek Hill, their top receiver, to a clavicle injury, the Chiefs will still do very well on offense. Even though the Raiders defense and Chiefs defense both look improved this season, this game will most likely be a shootout that sees the Chiefs come out on top. I still think the Raiders have a shot at winning this game. For odds movement and full matchup history, visit the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders Matchup Page.
TV Schedule
Date: Sunday, September 15th, 2019
Time: 4:05 ET
Location: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum – Oakland, CA
Coverage: CBS
Injury Report
Kansas City Chiefs: WR Tyreek Hill (O) – Shoulder, DE Frank Clark (Q) – Neck, QB Patrick Mahomes (P) – Ankle, S Tyrann Mathieu (Q) – Shoulder
Oakland Raiders: S Jonathan Abram (D) – Shoulder, CB Gareon Conley (Q) – Neck, G Gabe Jackson (D) – Knee, DT Corey Liuget (Q) – Knee, LB Nicholas Morrow (Q) – Ankle, WR J.J. Nelson (Q) – Ankle
Kansas City Chiefs Analysis
The Chiefs started the season with a comfortable 40-26 win over the Jaguars. Some experts expect the Jaguars to be in the mix for the playoffs this year, so this win for the Chiefs means something. They had two major injury scares on Sunday, with Tyreek Hill and Patrick Mahomes. He will miss 4-6 weeks. The less serious injury was when Patrick Mahomes twisting his ankle. He is good to go for week 2, but a twisted ankle does not fully heal in a week. This is something to watch because it could potentially get reinjured. However, Mahomes still remains the best quarterback in the league right now, and this twisted ankle should not affect his on-field performance.
The most important player on offense last week was Sammy Watkins. He had 198 yards and 3 touchdowns and will be the WR1 until Tyreek Hill is back in action. He could have another big game this week. Without Tyreek Hill, the others Chiefs pass catchers will get more targets from Mahomes this week. Tight end Travis Kelce was targeted eight times last week, caught three balls, and still had 88 yards. He will have a much better game this week, with more receptions, more yards, and probably a touchdown this week against a worse Raiders team. As for the Chiefs receivers not named Sammy Watkins, we do not yet know who will step up to be the WR2. Last game, the other Chiefs receivers, Demarcus Robinson and Mecole Hardman, had 0 yards and 1 receptions on 3 targets combined. We will have to wait and see if one of these receivers steps up.
The running back situation is a bit more tricky. LeSean McCoy had more rushing yards than Damien Williams–McCoy had 81 rushing yards compared to Williams’ 26. However, Williams was more of a factor in the passing game, with 6 catches for 39 yards, and had more carries than McCoy. Willams will likely see a majority of snaps this week and should outperform McCoy. This running back battle is still one to watch because McCoy might see more carries in the future once he becomes more acquainted with the Chiefs offense.
Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart
QB: Patrick Mahomes
RB1: Damien Williams
RB2: LeSean McCoy
WR1: Sammy Watkins
WR2: Mecole Hardman
WR3: Demarcus Robinson
TE: Travis Kelce
Oakland Raiders Analysis
The Raiders are a completely different team from last season. Jon Gruden has really transformed this team with a one year rebuild. His three first round draft picks this year made instant impacts, helping their team beat the Broncos last week. The Raiders had 3 sacks on Monday, which is impressive considering that the whole team had a total of 13 sacks in the 2018 season. Even though the defense looks better this year, they will still not be able to stop the Chiefs offense this week. What will likely happen is that the Raiders offense will try to match the Chiefs’ production on offense.
The Raiders offense is primed for a big game this week. That offensive line protected very well for Derek Carr last week, and will do the same again this week. The Raiders receivers are still very good even without Antonio Brown. There is plenty of talent for Carr to throw to, with Tyrell Williams at WR1, Darren Waller at TE1, Hunter Renfrow as the slot WR, and Jalen Richard as the receiving back. With the offensive line and weapons for Carr to throw to, not to mention Josh Jacobs running the ball, this offense will have a great day.
I really like Tyrell Williams’ outlook for the whole season. He became a starter for the Chargers after emerging midseason in 2016, and performed well alongside Keenan Allen last season with 653 yards and 5 touchdowns. He has amazing speed for his size at 6’4” and runs routes well. He is going to be a star for the Raiders this year.
Oakland Raiders Depth Chart
QB: Derek Carr
RB1: Josh Jacobs
RB2: Jalen Richard
WR1: Tyrell Williams
WR2: J.J. Nelson
WR3: Hunter Renfrow
TE: Darren Waller
Daily Fantasy: Offenses Light up the Scoreboard
This is the premier game for fantasy football this week. This game will be high scoring, and there are many playmakers on both sides of the ball. Patrick Mahomes (DK: $7,500, FD: $9,000) and Sammy Watkins (DK: $7,200, FD: $7,400) are both good plays, but they are expensive this week. Damien Williams (DK: $5,800, FD: $6,600) is a good pick for the Chiefs this week. He is relatively cheap and received 66% of snaps last week. He will see a lot of action this week.
I really love the Raiders players this week. Derek Carr (DK: $5,100, FD: $6,600), Josh Jacobs (DK: $4,700, FD: $6,500), and Tyrell Williams (DK: $4,400, FD: $5,900) will all do very well this week, and they are all really cheap. I also love Darren Waller (DK: $3,300, FD: $5,400) for this game because of his tremendous upside and extremely low salary. Travis Kelce (DK: $7,300, FD: $8,000) will also has a good game as a tight end, but like most of the Chiefs players, he is too expensive. If you want to go with cheaper players that should do very well, go with Raiders players. If you want to go more conservative, and have the salary for it, go with Chiefs players. You really cannot go wrong in this matchup.
