The Raiders — Not the Steelers — Are the Chiefs' Biggest Worry in the AFC
While the Pittsburgh Steelers maintain the league's only perfect record, the Kansas City Chiefs' biggest threat to retaining the Lamar Hunt Trophy might be in their own division.
Despite splitting the series with the Las Vegas Raiders this season, they have caused the Chiefs more problems than any other team on their schedule.
This was one of the many questions Arrowhead Report's Conner Christopherson and Jordan Foote joined me to answer on today's Thanksgiving edition of Roughing the Kicker.
It took a while but I've finally come around on the Steelers. The 10-0 team from Pittsburgh seems to be solid despite its schedule not being the toughest this year. Their past schedule ranks 32nd according to Football Outsiders DVOA strength of schedule metric.
While the remaining portion of the Steelers schedule ranks 15th, they avoid seeing the Chiefs this season for the second year in a row.
As Conner brought up in the episode, Pittsburgh's defense has some deficiencies outside of its front seven. The Chiefs should feel comfortable against a team that hasn't seen Patrick Mahomes since 2018.
On the other hand, the Chiefs have played the Raiders twice this season and both times Kansas City struggled. Contrary to the win, last week's game showed the Chiefs they have a lot to work on.
Vegas' defense wasn't as stingy the second time around and Mahomes was able to have a vintage game with little help from his defense. The Chiefs defense embraced the 2018 motto of "bend don't break" during the game and had moments where things just didn't look great. I feel confident in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo but my confidence is wavering when it comes to playing the Raiders.
They seem to have the Chiefs' number and good for them. That was the Raiders goal. When you're in the same division as the Super Bowl champs, beating them becomes the main focus. They've put together a team that is a nightmare matchup for Kansas City.
So when it comes playoff time, I would much rather face any other team — including the Steelers — in the postseason. The problems the Raiders put the Chiefs into are tougher than any other team outside of the division could do.
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