Raiders head to Kansas City on Monday for Christmas Day showdown in AFC West
RAIDERS PLAYER TO WATCH: Running back Zamir White filled in admirably for Josh Jacobs, who was out with a quad injury, by running for 69 yards and scoring his first career touchdown last week against the Chargers. The Chiefs are much better against the pass than the run, so it could be up to White to help the Raiders set the tone on offense.
CHIEFS PLAYER TO WATCH: The Chiefs expect Isiah Pacheco to return this week after the running back missed two games to a “cleanup” procedure on his ailing shoulder. He was coming off his best game of the season before the injury, when he ran 18 times for 110 yards and a touchdown in Green Bay. Pacheco is averaging 4.4 yards per carry this season; the Chiefs averaged 3.2 yards per attempt in the two games he was out.
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KEY MATCHUP: Raiders wide receivers Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers played well against Kansas City when the teams met in November. Adams had five catches for 73 yards and Meyers had six for 79 yards and a score. They need to have similarly big games against one of the league’s best pass defenses to take some of the pressure off young quarterback Aidan O’Connell.
KEY INJURIES: Raiders RB Josh Jacobs (quadriceps) didn’t practice Wednesday and LT Kolton Miller (shoulder) was limited, but interim coach Antoine Pierce said he expected both to play. DE Maxx Crosby (knee) did not practice, but that’s not unusual and he hasn’t missed a game. TE Michael Mayer (toe) and G Dylan Parham (illness) were held out of practice. CB Brandon Facyson (shin), who hasn’t played all season and was recently activated off injured reserve, was a full participant. … Chiefs LB Nick Bolton missed practice with an illness but should play Monday. RB Jerick McKinnon (groin) and WR Kadarius Toney (hip) likewise missed practice this week.
SERIES NOTES: The Chiefs have won six straight against Las Vegas since the Raiders beat them on Oct. 11, 2020. They also have won 11 of the past 12 in a series that goes back to Sept. 16, 1960, when the newly formed AFC teams were known as the Dallas Texans and the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders have only won once in Kansas City since Oct. 28, 2012.
STATS AND STUFF: The Chiefs can clinch the AFC West for the eighth consecutive year with a win over the Raiders, or if they tie the Raiders and Denver loses to the Patriots on Christmas Eve. … The Raiders set a franchise record with 63 points in last week’s win over the Chargers. Their 42 points in the first half also was a franchise record. … Eight different Raiders scored their nine TDs against the Chargers. … Adams has 84 catches for 968 yards and five TDs this season. His streak of six straight 80-catch seasons is the second-longest active streak in the NFL. … The Raiders had five takeaways against the Chargers, including TDs on a fumble return by John Jenkins and a pick-6 by Jack Jones. … Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes needs four TD passes to break the record for a player in his first seven years held by Dan Marino (220).
Mahomes has played in 94 games while Marino played in 103 to reach his total. … Mahomes needs 223 yards to pass Matt Ryan (110) games for the second-most yards passing by a player in his first seven years. Peyton Manning has the record with 29,442 yards in 112 games. … Chiefs RB Jerick McKinnon threw his first TD pass last week in New England. He also caught a TD pass, joining Curtis McClinton (1963) and Tyler Thigpen (2008) as the only Chiefs players to accomplish the feat in the same game. … WR Rashee Rice set the Chiefs rookie record with his seventh TD catch last week against the Patriots. He needs three catches to break that rookie record of 70, set by Dwayne Bowe in 2007. … The Chiefs have had 15 players get at least a half-sack this season, two away from the club record set in 2022.
FANTASY TIP: Hard as it is to believe, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is no longer a must-start in fantasy leagues. He is having one of his worst seasons as a pro, primarily because of poor wide receiver play, but also some head-scratching turnovers and mistakes of his own. It might be wise to consider other options given the Raiders are 11th in the league against the pass.
