Chiefs Need Win Over Raiders, Holiday Miracle

Football Betting Lines

12/22/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a 7-7 record that includes a woeful 3-7 mark within the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs need a great deal of help to realize their playoff dreams.

But first, the Chiefs must help themselves.

Herm Edwards' team travels to play the struggling Oakland Raiders on Saturday night, and will look to take out the frustrations of an untimely three-game losing skid on the Silver and Black. The Chiefs have lost consecutive contests to the Browns (31-28 in overtime), Ravens (20-10), and Chargers (20-9), and have also been forced to contend with the passing of team owner Lamar Hunt, who died from complications of prostate cancer last Wednesday.

The high ground that Kansas City could once claim in the AFC Wild Card race has eroded during the troubling stretch, and anything less than a pair of wins coupled with a complete meltdown from several other Wild Card contenders over the final two weeks will not get the Chiefs their first playoff bid since 2003.

In that regard, it is a good time to be playing the Raiders.

Oakland is mired in a seven-game losing streak, the franchise's longest single-season skid since 1987, and its 2-12 record is tied with Detroit for the worst mark in the league. The Raiders enter Week 16 slightly behind the Lions in the quest for the No. 1 pick in the 2007 Draft, based on strength of schedule.

Whether Oakland picks first or second in April, offense of any kind will likely be high on the team's priority list. The Raiders haven't scored more than 14 points during their seven-game slide, and last week's 20-0 home loss to the Rams was their third shutout defeat of the season.

The Silver and Black are 2-21 in AFC West play since 2003, and have lost 13 straight division games since winning at Denver in Week 12 of the 2004 campaign.

SERIES HISTORY

Kansas City holds a 48-42-2 edge in its all-time regular season series with Oakland, which dates back to 1960. The Chiefs have won seven straight in the series, taking a 17-13 home decision in Week 11 and sweeping home-and-homes in 2003, 2004, 2005. Kansas City took a 23-17 triumph at McAfee Coliseum in Week 2 of last season. Oakland last defeated the Chiefs during the 2002 campaign, winning a 24-0 decision at home.

In addition to the regular season history, the teams have met three times in the playoffs, with Kansas City holding a 2-1 edge. The Raiders won a 1968 AFL Division Playoff, the Chiefs returned the favor with a 17-7 victory in the 1969 AFL Championship, and Kansas City also triumphed in a 1991 AFC First- Round Playoff.

Raiders head coach Art Shell is 2-11 against the Chiefs all-time, including 2-10 in his first stint with the franchise (1989-94). The Chiefs' Edwards is 4-4 against the Raiders, including playoff losses for his Jets to Oakland in both 2001 and 2002, and is 1-0 against Shell head-to-head.

CHIEFS OFFENSE VS. RAIDERS DEFENSE

It has been an eventful week for Chiefs running back Larry Johnson (1516 rushing yards, 36 receptions, 15 TD), who complained about the team's offensive approach in the wake of the loss to the Chargers, then was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl on Tuesday. Johnson had a string of four consecutive 100-yard games snapped against San Diego, as he amassed 84 yards on 19 carries for the night. He ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards as Week 16 begins, behind only LaDainian Tomlinson (1626 yards). Johnson carried 31 times for 154 yards and two touchdowns against the Raiders in Week 11, and has hit triple-digits in three of five career outings versus Oakland. Dee Brown (13 rushing yards) was Johnson's backup against the Chargers, rushing once for three yards.

The job of slowing Johnson will fall to an Oakland defense that ranks just 26th in the NFL against the run (134.1 yards per game), but has also faced more rushing attempts (33.4 per game) than any other team in the league. The Raiders are a more respectable 13th in yards per carry allowed (4.0). A young Oakland linebacking corps boasting Kirk Morrison (113 tackles, 2 INT, 1 sack) in the middle and Thomas Howard (93 tackles) and Sam Williams (44 tackles, 1 sack) on the flanks has been a team strength. Morrison had six tackles and a sack to lead that group against the Rams. A rotating group on the interior line has regularly featured Tommy Kelly (61 tackles, 3.5 sacks), Terdell Sands (40 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT), and Warren Sapp (39 tackles). Sapp had three tackles and a sack in the St. Louis loss.

When Johnson complained about the team's offensive approach, he may have been talking about the work of an aerial game that ranks just 21st in the league (188.1 yards per game) and seems to lack a downfield threat. Quarterback Trent Green (1013 passing yards, 5 TD, 6 INT) slipped to 2-4 as a starter this season with the San Diego loss, completing 23-of-41 passes for 185 yards with an interception and failing to throw a touchdown pass for the fourth time in six starts. Tight end Tony Gonzalez (66 receptions, 5 TD) was Green's top target as usual, catching six passes for 53 yards, and No. 1 wideout Eddie Kennison (46 receptions, 3 TD) added 43 yards on his six grabs. Tight ends Kris Wilson (13 receptions, 3 TD) and Jason Dunn (4 receptions) had two receptions each, and No. 2 receiver Samie Parker (36 receptions) posted the team's only catch of longer than 20 yards, a 26-yard completion. Gonzalez and guards Brian Waters and Will Shields were all named to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday, despite being part of a line that has allowed 36 sacks on the year, including six last week.

The Raiders continue to rank first in the NFL against the pass (151.6 yards per game), but are tied with the Colts for the fewest aerial attempts faced on the year (25.4 per game). Oakland does present problems with its pass rush, led by end Derrick Burgess (42 tackles, 11 sacks) and interior playmaker Sapp (8 sacks). Burgess is Oakland's only 2006 Pro Bowl selection, and Sapp leads all NFL interior linemen in sacks. In the secondary, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (39 tackles, 7 INT, 1 sack) is having a Pro Bowl-caliber year (though he was snubbed from the AFC team), and fellow secondary members such as corner Fabian Washington (33 tackles, 4 INT) and safeties Michael Huff (68 tackles) and Stuart Schweigert (90 tackles) have done a credible job as well.

RAIDERS OFFENSE VS. CHIEFS DEFENSE

Like Johnson, Raiders quarterback Aaron Brooks (969 passing yards, 3 TD, 7 INT) voiced displeasure with his own team's direction earlier this week, hypothetically querying "What the [heck] have I gotten into?" Brooks dropped to 0-7 as a starter in 2006 following last week's loss to the Rams, failing to add a touchdown pass to the team's NFL-low total of seven on the year and being benched in favor of Andrew Walter (1451 passing yards, 3 TD, 11 INT) late in the game. Brooks, who was 11-of-19 for 98 yards with an interception, is expected to start this week. Top receiver Randy Moss (42 receptions, 3 TD) was unavailable last week due to an ankle injury, and is questionable for Sunday. No. 2 wideout Alvis Whitted (27 receptions) was lost for the season with a dislocated wrist suffered against St. Louis. Ronald Curry (46 receptions, 1 TD), who led the Raiders with nine catches for 87 yards last Sunday, could start opposite prodigal son Doug Gabriel (27 receptions, 3 TD), who caught two passes for 31 yards after being cut by the Patriots earlier in the week. Tight end Courtney Anderson (21 receptions, 2 TD) comes off a four- reception, 52-yard day. The Raiders continue to lead the NFL in sacks allowed, with 66.

Getting to Brooks will be a priority for the Chiefs this week, after Kansas City failed to register a single sack against Oakland in the Week 11 meeting. The Chiefs ranks near the bottom of the league with just 25 sacks on the year, but did get to Philip Rivers a couple of times last Sunday. Rookie end Tamba Hali (50 tackles, 6 sacks, 1 INT) had a sack and an interception, and tackle James Reed (33 tackles, 1 sack) broke through for a sack on a night that saw Rivers complete just 8-of-23 passes for 97 yards without a touchdown. Free safety Greg Wesley (57 tackles, 3 INT) had the secondary's only pick of Rivers, and cornerback Patrick Surtain (59 tackles, 1 INT) led the Kansas City defensive backs with six tackles. The Chiefs are 14th in the league against the pass (203.9 yards per game).

Raiders running back Justin Fargas (490 rushing yards, 1 TD) has received an extended chance to prove his value in the four games since LaMont Jordan (434 rushing yards, 2 TD, 10 receptions) was sidelined for the year with a knee injury, but the fourth-year-pro has failed to distinguish himself to any great degree. Fargas has not broken the 50-yard barrier in any of his starts, and has just one touchdown over that span. The USC product carried 12 times for 43 yards against the Rams' bottom-tier run defense last week. Backup ReShard Lee (52 rushing yards, 2 TD, 17 receptions) wasn't much better, with his seven touches totaling 22 yards on the afternoon. The Raiders are 28th in NFL rushing offense (94.2 yards per game), and their five rushing touchdowns are tied for the fewest in the league.

The Chiefs will be pleased to see the weak Raiders running game this week, just six days after facing probable NFL MVP Tomlinson and the San Diego ground attack. Tomlinson carved up the Chiefs for 199 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, with 100 or those yards coming on a pair of first-half scoring runs. The linebacking crew of Kawika Mitchell (95 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 INT) in the middle and Derrick Johnson (61 tackles, 4.5 sacks) and Kendrell Bell (44 tackles, 1 sack) on the outside must be better this week. The group combined for 21 tackles in San Diego, but came up well short in the big-play department. Up front, tackles Reed and Ron Edwards (19 tackles, 2.5 sacks) appear to be fading after a quick start. Edwards did not have a tackle last week, the fourth time this season that has happened. The Chiefs are 19th in the NFL against the run (121.6 yards per game).

OVERALL ANALYSIS

The Raiders played the Chiefs tough in the teams' last meeting, but that was long ago and far away, when Oakland looked like it still had a pulse. Shell's team has lost four more times since, and last week's performance against the Rams showed a franchise that looks much closer to calling it a season than coming out with pride in an effort to put together a win. Do the Raiders have the talent to beat the Chiefs? Absolutely, but talent has never been the issue on this team, coaching and desire have. Oakland doesn't have enough of either, which means consecutive loss number eight is imminent.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Chiefs 27, Raiders 10