The Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs are two of the three remaining undefeated teams in the AFC. Nobody is surprised that the Chiefs have gotten off to a strong start, but the Raiders have caught everybody off guard.
It remains to be seen how good this Raiders team is, but it’s clear that they’re no longer an easy win for good teams. The Raiders host the Chiefs in Week 4, and this will be their biggest test yet.
A win over Kansas City would cement the team as true contenders in the AFC. A close loss would show that there’s been real growth. A blowout loss would be a major step back.
Though the Chiefs have mostly dominated the Raiders, they never underestimate them. They are historic rivals that don’t like each other. Head coach Andy Reid is a big fan of the rivalry and certainly isn’t overlooking Las Vegas.
“Yeah, I think it’ll be a great atmosphere for a football game,” Reid told reporters. “I think they’ve done a nice job of improving their football team. This is what it’s all about, and I think it’ll be great for the fans. It’s a heck of a rivalry over the years, and the better the two teams are, the better the rivalry. So, this is what it’s all about.”
Maxx Crosby Talks Patrick Mahomes
This will be the first game of the Raiders-Chiefs rivalry for people like Klint Kubiak, Kirk Cousins, Nakobe Dean and all of the new players joining the franchise. However, there are plenty of players on both rosters who know what this rivalry is all about.
Maxx Crosby has played the Chiefs many times and has an intense rivalry with quarterback Patrick Mahomes. While the two have been known to get heated, they also have a lot of respect and admiration for each other. Crosby spoke about the rivalry ahead of the Week 4 clash.
“He [Mahomes] knows what it is,” Crosby said on “The Rush” podcast. “It’s war. There’s no other words needed. You know what I mean? That’s as simple as that. So, yeah I can’t wait. There’s a lot of work to be done till we get there, but, yeah, it’s war.”
How Raiders Can Pull Off the Upset
The Raiders are already playing better than anybody expected, so they don’t have much to lose. However, a win in this spot would be massive for the franchise. They’d secure the top spot in the AFC West right now, and it’d be hard to argue that they aren’t the best team in the division.
The Chiefs are coming off a rough season, but they’ve also won three Super Bowls with Mahomes as the starting quarterback. They are also a team that has dominated the Raiders when Mahomes plays. He is 13-2 in games he’s started against the team.
The Raiders can prove that things are different now with a win here. They need to at least keep the game competitive. Getting the wheels blown off by the Chiefs would be a big setback.
Andy Reid Has Strong Words For Raiders Ahead of Matchup