Arrowhead Pride
The Chiefs will look for revenge from the last time this division rival came into Arrowhead
The holiday season is here — and in 2024, that means the Kansas City Chiefs’ schedule is going all over the map. The madness starts on Friday, when the (10-1) Chiefs will host the (2-9) Las Vegas Raiders in a “Black Friday” matchup on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
After that, the team will get an extra couple of extra days off before it hosts the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday of Week 14. Starting the following Sunday, Kansas City will play three games in 11 days, going on the road against the Cleveland Browns, returning home to play the Houston Texans the following Saturday and going back on the road to play the Pittsburgh Steelers the following Wednesday: Christmas Day.
That will be exactly a year since the last time the Raiders invaded Kansas City. In 2023, Las Vegas bullied the Kansas City offense on the way to a 20-14 win victory on Christmas Day.
The Chiefs have lost just one of their 17 games since then — including Week 8’s 27-20 road win over the Raiders, who will be looking for their first victory since Week 4. Las Vegas will have to do it without starting quarterback Gardner Minshew, who broke his collarbone last Sunday.
But now that the Miami Dolphins lost to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, Kansas City has something even better to gain with a Week 13 victory: becoming the first NFL team to clinch a 2024 playoff berth.
Here are five things to watch in this AFC West matchup.
Without Minshew, the Raiders are turning to second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell to play in Kansas City — just as they did a year ago. Even though O’Connell completed only nine passes — all of them in the first quarter — the Chiefs’ early turnovers put Las Vegas in position to win.
So Kansas City will be focusing on avoiding those negative, momentum-shifting plays — while the Chiefs’ defense continues doing what it has done best this season: stifling the opposing running game. Last year, the Raiders’ running backs collected 156 yards in their win. But in 2024, Las Vegas has the league’s fewest rushing yards, averaging just 3.6 yards per attempt.
It won’t help the Raiders that they might be without starting running back Alexander Mattison, who was limited in this week’s practices with a hip injury; he is questionable for the game. Running back Zamir White had most of the yards in last season’s win, but has been ruled out.
Once the Chiefs’ defense stuffs the Raiders’ rushing attack (like it did when it held Las Vegas to only 33 yards in Week 80, the pass rushers and defensive backs will need to execute. Lately, that’s been a tougher ask than usual for defensive coordinator Steve...
