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Pick Six: Raiders roll into Arrowhead Stadium, a place that brings out their best

Back to Arrowhead Stadium

The Las Vegas Raiders have been able to keep things competitive at Arrowhead Stadium in recent seasons.

Since 2020, the Silver and Black have defeated the Chiefs on the road twice, with those two victories coming in Week 5 in 2020 and Week 16 in 2023. Additionally, the last three times the Raiders have traveled to Kansas City, the game has been determined by one possession.

So far this season, the Chiefs are 0-3 in one score games.

"What I've witnessed is the Raiders have seemed to get up for the Chiefs," Geno Smith told local media Wednesday. "I mean, no matter what the records are, it's always a close game. It's always a tough game, from what I've seen. And then just the history of both teams in the league and just how historic they both are and how much they've fought for the same things every single year. So, it's going to be new to me, as far as being a part of this rivalry, but I know what's at stake."

Establishing the run remains key

When the Raiders defeated the Chiefs on Christmas Day 2023, Andy Reid said it fueled Kansas City's run to another Super Bowl title. A run in which they won 15 consecutive games (including playoffs).

It also made Kansas City re-evaluate their run defense. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Chiefs haven't allowed a running back to rush for 100 yards in 32 games, the longest active streak in the NFL. The last to do so was Zamir White in that Christmas Day classic, as he rushed for a career-high 145 yards.

No. 15 in red

It shouldn't be surprise to anyone, but Patrick Mahomes has been playing exceptional football this season.

The two-time NFL MVP leads the NFL in offensive yards (1,736) and offensive touchdowns (15) with a 11:2 touchdown to interception ratio. He also holds a league-high dropback success rate (57.5 percent) against zone coverage this season, per Next Gen Stats.

While getting pressure on Mahomes has been the obvious key to success to limit him, he's scrambled to run on 11.5 percent of his dropbacks this season, the highest rate of his career. His 220 rushing yards on scrambles are the second-most by any quarterback this season, trailing only reigning MVP Josh Allen.

"[W]hen guys have flexibility, whether the drop in the coverage or rush or peel with the back or things of that nature, it allows for you to try to change it up for Mahomes," defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. "But again, now you're getting to the point where Mahomes, he's seen everything, too. Plus, his skill set, he's a great football player. A good quarterback, very good quarterback, but he's a great football player. He's fun to watch out there on the field. So, to combat it, you're trying to keep him contained and keep him from making the big plays. But it's hard. Everybody, all 31 other teams are trying to do that."

Keeping Kelce in front

Even at 36 years old in his 13th NFL season, Travis Kelce remains Mahomes' most reliable weapon.

He leads the Chiefs in receiving yards (321) and ranks second on the team in receptions (28) and receiving touchdowns (two). Heading into this matchup, he has the most career catches (128) and yards receiving (1,582) of any player against the Raiders. And with one more touchdown, he'll tie Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates for the most against the Raiders with 13.

'He's going to have a gold jacket, obviously," Graham said of Kelce. "So savvy, and then with all the experience he has, he's seen all the different types of ways people try to cover him. You try to him with a defensive end, you try to pop out to him, you try to match a safety on him, you put a corner on him. He's seen everything, and then on top of that, the skill level. I mean, he's a skilled football player. Everyone wants to talk how smart and savvy he is, but he's skilled. I mean, this guy, he catches everything."

While still a security blanket for Mahomes, Kelce is averaging 4.8 air yards per target, his fewest since 2016. The Chiefs have lined up in 12 personnel on over 33 percent of their snaps, the sixth-highest of any team this season with Noah Gray also feeding into the offense.

On the flip side, the Raiders defense has allowed the ninth-fewest receptions to tight ends this season.

Status of Raiders' top offensive weapons

Both Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers returned to practice Friday after not participating Wednesday or Thursday.

Meyers (knee/toe) has been ruled questionable, with Carroll saying he's trending in the right direction for Sunday. Bowers (knee) has been ruled doubtful, as he's missed the last two games. Despite his game status, he's glad to be back on the field and told local media after practice "we'll see how I'm feeling" on gameday.

"It's just really frustrating to me not being able to do what I wanted to do, especially with the season [being] so short," Bowers said. "I want to be out there every game so it's tough."

Big addition for Chiefs offense

After serving a six-game suspension, Andy Reid confirmed that wide receiver Rashee Rice will play this Sunday. Rice hasn't appeared in a game since Week 4 of last season when he suffered a season-ending knee injury.

"I'm sure he's excited to play. He hasn't played a real game for a year and six weeks," Reid told Kansas City media this week. "I'm just going to watch it in the game. He knows everything. How many reps he gets – I'm sure it won't be every rep. We'll just see how he does."

While Rice will likely be working to shake off some rust against the Raiders, he was one of the league's more promising receivers before his injury. He led the Chiefs in receiving touchdowns (seven) his rookie season with 164 receiving yards and a touchdown in his two games against the Raiders that year.

Eric Stokes seems to be best equipped to cover Rice, as Stokes is holding quarterbacks to 44 percent completion and 59.5 passer rating as the nearest defender.

As the Raiders head to Kansas City for their Week 7 matchup against the Chiefs, view photos from their past matchups.

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