Last Updated on November 3, 2010 10:53 pm by Anthony Rome
Chiefs vs. Raiders Preview
OAKLAND, CA – As well as the Kansas City Chiefs have played, coach Todd Haley knows his team has to improve away from Arrowhead Stadium.
Opening a key two-game road stretch, the AFC West-leading Chiefs try to win their eighth straight road contest against the archrival Oakland Raiders, who will try to post three straight victories for the first time since 2002.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Raiders 2.5-point spread favorites for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. Current NFL Public Betting Information shows that 50% of more than the 4,901 bets for this game have been placed on the Raiders –2.5.
Off to its best start since it was 9-0 in 2003, Kansas City (5-2) leads Oakland (4-4) and is 2 1/2 in front of San Diego atop the division.
The Chiefs, though, are 1-2 away from Arrowhead and face the Raiders and West rival Denver on the road the next two weeks.
Kansas City is averaging nearly nine points fewer on the road while giving up 9.5 more per game away from home.
“You’ve got a lot of people who don’t want you to win (on the road), who are doing everything they can to get you to not win, to get you to make mistakes,” Haley said.
“To be a good team in this league and to eventually be a great team, you must win on the road.”
The Chiefs own the longest winning streak by a visitor in Oakland, but they’ll face a resurgent Raiders team that enters November without a losing record for the first time since its ’02 Super Bowl run.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” offensive lineman Robert Gallery said Monday. “We haven’t experienced this a whole lot in the past six, seven years around here. This is what it’s supposed to be like.”
Few, though, have seen the Raiders play such a dominant two-game stretch. After setting a franchise record for points in a 59-14 win in Denver the week before, Oakland racked up a season-high 545 yards in a 33-3 victory over Seattle on Sunday.
Darren McFadden (135 yards rushing), Darrius Heyward-Bey (135 receiving), fullback Marcel Reece (122 rushing) and running back Michael Bush (106 rushing) led the way as the Raiders posted consecutive 500-yard games for the first time in franchise history.
The 92-17 scoring margin in the two wins is the most lopsided for Oakland in 43 years.
“We can be very explosive,” Heyward-Bey said.
While Jason Campbell has been at the center of the offensive outburst, going 27 of 47 for 514 yards and four TDs in the last two contests, coach Tom Cable said that Bruce Gradkowski (shoulder) will start as soon as he’s healthy. Gradkowski told coaches prior to last week’s victory that it was the best he had felt since getting knocked out of a 35-27 win over San Diego on Oct. 10.
“It’s clear cut,” said Cable, whose team hasn’t won three in a row since a five-game run from Nov. 11-Dec. 8, 2002. “There’s no issue there in my mind. What we’ve done is some nice things in the last two weeks. You got to take your hat off to Jason. It’s a nice job on his part, as well as the rest of the offensive players. But, we know who our quarterback is.”
So do the Chiefs. Matt Cassel has thrown 10 TDs – five to Dwayne Bowe in the last three weeks – with only three interceptions. His ability to limit mistakes is a major reason Kansas City has a league-low four turnovers.
Cassel has also benefited from the league’s top running game. Led by Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones, Kansas City has run for 228 yards or more in each of the last three games.
Continuing that ground surge could be a challenge as Oakland has held two consecutive opponents to fewer than 100 rushing yards for the first time since 2006.
If Cassel is forced to throw more against the Raiders, he may feel more comfortable doing so if Nnamdi Asomugha doesn’t play. The Pro Bowl cornerback left last Sunday’s game with a sprained right ankle.
The Raiders last won three in a row at home during a four-game run at Oakland that was capped by a 24-0 victory over Kansas City on Dec. 28, 2002. That was Oakland’s last home win in the series.
Kansas City won 16-10 in its last visit to Oakland Coliseum on Nov. 15.
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