For the Raiders to leave Kansas City with a share of first place in the AFC West, they need to play flawless on defense and Derek Carr needs to slay his cold-weather demons.
Vincent Bonsignore
Raiders reporter
Vinny has covered the Raiders extensively in the past, breaking news on their eventual move to Las Vegas and their thwarted return to Los Angeles. Before joining the Review-Journal, he covered the Rams for The Athletic and the Los Angeles Daily News.
Hunter Renfrow and Derek Carr had uncanny chemistry, especially on third downs. Replicating that will be a challenge for the Raiders.
The NFL, understanding the importance of Sunday’s AFC West matchup between the Chiefs and Raiders, flexed it to the late afternoon time slot to feature it as the CBS national game of the week.
After hearing his share of criticism for his failures in cold weather, Derek Carr went sleeveless at practice on Thursday in spite of temperatures in the 40s.
Maxx Crsoby has been a fourth-round steal for the Raiders, but why did he last so long to begin with?
In a swift and decisive flurry of blows, the Chiefs flipped the script on the Raiders in September. It didn’t help that the Raiders made some critical errors.
“I think this will be good for us,” said wide receiver Tyrell Williams. “We have a stretch of five games left, and we’re going to make a playoff push.”
The recent kicking woes of Daniel Carlson were mitigated a bit by the Raiders’ three-game winning streak. But after another field goal miss Sunday against the Jets his struggles have moved to the forefront.
The Raiders’ 34-3 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday likely revealed some harsh truths about where they really are as a franchise.
The easy thing would be to say the Raiders simply got caught looking ahead on Sunday, and that the 34-3 beatdown the Jets unleashed on them was retribution for peeking a little too far into the future and overlooking an outclassed opponent.
A showdown awaits the Raiders next week against the Kansas City Chiefs, but they can’t get caught looking ahead of the Jets, who they play on Sunday
As a big opportunity awaits the Raiders, here are three things to keep an eye on Sunday.
As opposed to some teams that loathe travel, the Raiders look forward to it.
The Raiders have the second most penalties in the NFL, and they realize they can’t keep that pace up as they head down the final stretch of the playoff race
As quarterback Derek Carr takes the temperature in his locker room, he is comforted in how nothing seems out of the ordinary.
