HENDERSON, Nev. — HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The Raiders finally enter a game off a victory — and what a perfect time to do it.
They’re set to travel to face Kansas City, which is showing signs of the being the team that has ruled the AFC West. That trip kicks off a challenging part of the schedule for Las Vegas.
After the Chiefs, the Raiders come back from their bye week and face Jacksonville and Denver, both of which are currently 4-2. The Raiders (2-4) likely will be underdogs in all three games and then probably the week after against Dallas (2-3-1).
Had the Raiders lost to Tennessee on Sunday, they could have gone into a real tailspin. Now Las Vegas at least can take a better mindset into this stretch after defeating the Titans 20-10 in a game the Raiders controlled throughout.
“It just happens to be Kansas City that’s next, so we’ll do everything we can to prepare and come off this game clear-minded and really drilled into the challenge that they bring,” coach Pete Carroll said Monday. “It’s a tremendous program that Andy (Reid’s) been running for a long time, and we’re going to have to play really well to have a chance.”
The Raiders are 11 1/2-point underdogs to the Chiefs, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, but Las Vegas has been known to pull stunners.
Last season, it was a Week 2 victory at Baltimore. The Raiders also have won at Kansas City twice since 2020, and last year a bungled snap in field-goal range deprived them of a third victory.
But the Raiders aren’t catching the early-season Chiefs, who opened with back-to-back losses. Kansas City has won three of four, including a statement-making 30-17 victory over Detroit on Sunday night.
The Chiefs looked in that game like the team that has won the division every year since 2016 and appeared in five of the six most recent Super Bowls, winning three.
If the Raiders are to compete with Kansas City — and most of the teams that follow — they will need to play significantly better than they have this season, including against the Titans.
Las Vegas rushed for 68 yards and passed for 174, relying on its defense against a Titans team that was even more offensively challenged. Tennessee fired coach Brian Callahan a day later.
But as Carroll pointed out, the Raiders could easily be 3-3 given that they had what would have been a winning field goal blocked by Chicago on Sept. 28.
“We’re so much closer to being on the other end of it than it has appeared,” Carroll said. “It’s why this game (against Tennessee) is important to us, to get this win and at home. It is important as we take our next step forward, hopefully we can capitalize on it.”
The Raiders pressured on a season-high 36.4% of dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats. Las Vegas sacked Cam Ward six times, its most since registering eight sacks against the New York Giants in Week 9 of 2023. The Raiders had just eight sacks through their first five games.
The offensive line continues to have problems, with the running game averaging 2.1 yards per attempt against Tennessee. Ashton Jeanty was hit repeatedly behind the line of scrimmage, though he managed to rush for 75 yards. Geno Smith was under considerable pressure in the first half and was sacked twice. The line did protect him much better in the second half, and Smith wasn’t sacked.
Special teams had been a disappointment this season, but not Sunday. Daniel Carlson made both field goals, including a 50-yarder. AJ Cole averaged 41.8 yards per punt, despite playing with an injured ankle, and placed all four attempts inside the 20-yard line. Dylan Laube on kickoffs and Alex Bachman on punts were highly effective with their returns.
Smith didn’t challenge the Titans downfield, throwing just one pass 10 or more yards in the air, according to Next Gen Stats. He hadn’t thrown one or fewer of those types of passes in nine years. Smith entered the game with a league-high nine interceptions while often forcing passes deep, so he played conservatively and took what the Titans gave him.
How close TE Brock Bowers (knee) is to returning is uncertain. He has missed the past two games.
10 — DE Maxx Crosby has at least 10 tackles for loss in each of his first seven seasons. Jared Allen and Aaron Donald are the only players since 2000 to accomplish that.
The Raiders visit the division rival Chiefs on Sunday.
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