Kansas City is 11-3 SU and ATS in its last 14 road games against Oakland per the OddsShark NFL Database. That one game aside however, Oakland isn’t Pittsburgh and the Chiefs still remain undefeated against the AFC West division. The second meeting was a Thursday night and the Raiders are just 3-7 ATS in their past 10 playing on a Thursday. They are tied for the NFL’s best record, and they have a convincing win over the league’s only other 5-1 team.
The Chiefs finally take their first loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, putting them 5-1 after their 19-13 defeat. They are in desperate need of a win this Thursday against Kansas City. The head coach is 7-1 against Oakland, including three road wins by at least two touchdowns. After being the No. 6 offense in the National Football League last season, the Raiders are now 30th. They have owned the Raiders in their last six matchups, but will have to be better offensively, as the Raiders offense has enough talent to explode on any given night. QB Derek Carr returned from back spasms, but threw two INTs and failed to reach 200 yards passing.
The Oakland Raiders might be 2-4 and reeling after four consecutive losses, but they’ve also lost to some tough teams and have suffered some serious injuries, including being forced to play E.J. Manuel at quarterback while Derek Carr was out for a bit. Get $60 in FREE member football picks from Doc’s Sports Service, one of the most trusted names in handicapping! Carr was especially tentative in Week 6, averaging just 5.7 yards per pass attempt.
– Kansas City has not turned the ball over since Kareem Hunt’s fumble in the season opener against New England, a span of five games without a giveaway.
The Oakland injury report filed on Monday in advance of Thursday night’s showdown with the Chiefs omits Carr’s name entirely, which signifies that he’s as fine as he was before the injury. They look very much like the 2-4 team they are instead of the Super Bowl contender they were expected to be. Defensively, Oakland ranks No. 26 in total defense and has done well to allow just 21 points per game.
Kansas City has won five straight against Oakland and covered in four of those.
All the trends favor the Chiefs, but it’s desperation time for Oakland. The betting is going heavily in favor of Kansas City covering that spread at the moment, with 72% of the bettors backing the Chiefs and 28% against them. The Raiders are coming off a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last week.
If Carr continues to have time to throw, it’s hard to believe he’ll continue to struggle like he has during Oakland’s losing streak.
The Raiders come into this one needing a win, and teams can be risky when they are in this desperate state.
“They do a good job rushing the passer”. Kansas City should be much more comfortable this week against a struggling opponent that it has enjoyed plenty of recent success against.