Three Things the Chiefs Need To Do To Secure Win in Las Vegas
Eyes all over the world will be fixated on Allegiant Stadium on Sunday night as the Kansas City Chiefs travel to the "Death Star" to take on the Las Vegas Raiders for the first time in their new home.
RaiderMaven's Hondo Carpenter joined me on today's episode of Roughing the Kicker to preview the teams' second matchup of the season and talk about the storylines heading into this renewed rivalry.
Here are three things the Chiefs need to do to secure a victory and restore order in the AFC West.
1. Test negative for COVID-19.
Las Vegas has been struggling with COVID-19 since the beginning of the season and luckily the Chiefs haven't had too much to deal with. It looks like Mecole Hardman won't be back but high-risk close contacts Eric Fisher, Martinas Rankin and Mitchell Schwartz were all able to be activated off the list. While the Raiders have the majority of their starting defense on the list due to high-risk close contact, they could still be eligible for the game. For the Chiefs to be able to beat the Raiders, they're going to need everybody, especially on the offensive line. Staying free of the COVID list should be priority No. 1 for the team going forward for the rest of the season.
2. Don't forget how to play football in the thrid quarter.
We've seen this several times this season where the Chiefs offense hits a lull in the third quarter. Now, it could be because of halftime adjustments from opposing defenses and it taking a little bit for Kansas City to adjust themselves, but that can't happen on Sunday night. The Chiefs have to consistently score if they want to assert their dominance not only in the AFC West but in the NFL. A whole lot of eyes will be on this game and if Kansas City goes and lays an egg in the second half like they did last time around, it won't be pretty for Chiefs Kingdom.
3. Communicate better on defense.
As we saw in the last matchup, the secondary seem to not be on the same page sometimes. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo took the blame for the big plays after the game, saying some of the schemes they were in at times were not the right calls. I don't expect that to be a problem this time. Kansas City knows what they're getting in to and when the bright lights are on, it's not often the Chiefs don't show up. The defense has plenty of motivation to right their wrongs from the last meeting.
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