By Fred Liggett
FredL@lstribune.net
The NFL season has now reached week #14 and, to no one’s surprise, this Sunday’s game between AFC West division rivals Oakland and Kansas City has a lot on the line. What no one saw coming was how the two teams have arrived at this very point in the season.
After being picked by a number of NFL experts as the AFC West division champion, Oakland got off to a slow start. The Raiders saw a 2-4 mark after 6 weeks and fired their defensive coordinator, Ken Norton Jr. Usually mid-season coaching changes do little for a team in the short term. The Raiders though, aided by an improved defense, have won 4 out of their last 6 games to be 6-6 entering Sunday’s game in KC. Oakland starting QB Derek Carr missed a couple of games and star Running Back Marshawn Lynch has struggled in a few games since his NFL return this season.
The Kansas City Chiefs got everyone’s attention by jumping out of the gate red hot and opening the season at 5-0. At mid-season, the first place Chiefs stood at 6-2. Now, after a 4 game losing streak, the Chiefs are tied for first with both the Oakland Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers at 6-6. The Chiefs will host the Chargers next week. With just one month left in the regular season, Sunday’s AFC West showdown is B-I-G, BIG. Whoever loses on Sunday will not have enough time to make up for the loss.
Starting with a one game suspension of Star CB Marcus Peters, the Chiefs are trying to make the necessary changes to kick-start a winning finish to the season. Chiefs welcome back RB Charcandrick West this week, but as of press time are without DL Allen Bailey, C Mitch Morse and LB Dee Ford. Chiefs coach Andy Reid has never lost to Oakland at Arrowhead, standing at 4-0 entering this contest. The Chiefs have more veterans on their roster than Oakland and they know it’s win or stay-at-home time. With Smith, Hill, Kelce and Hunt on the offensive side of the ball, I sense good things ahead for the home team. Expect a tough battle that will go down to the wire in typical Raiders versus Chiefs fashion, with Coach Reid and the Chiefs coming out on top.
That’s What I REID Into It for this week.
What I REID Into It Is Sponsored By Westside Grill & Bar
