Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock are obsessed with closing the gap on the AFC West-dominant Kansas City Chiefs. On Thursday, they got their first look at what they are up against this season. Hey, at least the Raiders have an edge at punter. The Chiefs spent a considerable amount of
Checking in on whether Raiders have closed gap on Kansas City Chiefs
Yep, the Chiefs are still the Chiefs. This will be an uphill battle all the way.
Raiders on paper are better and have an improved roster on both sides of the ball relative to last year. Do I think they can beat the Chiefs though? No, not really. At the end of the day the Chiefs are the defending Super Bowl champions with basically a full complement returning…and will have a good chance of a repeat. The Raiders in my mind are a borderline playoff team and will likely finish somewhere around .500 give or take a win or two.
So yes the Raiders will likely have closed the gap a bit between them and the Chiefs. But that still won’t really matter as the Chiefs are still a far superior team, it’s not even close yet.
There is absolutely no way that I see the Raiders being able to beat the chiefs in a shootout. However, if the defense is truly improved, then there is a chance that the team can keep the game close for four quarters (rather than the three that they kept it close at last year’s home game). If they can keep the game within reach, anything can happen. See recent Thursday night games against the Chiefs.
I am almost wondering if the Raiders would do better to focus more on the Broncos and Chargers in order to keep them at bay and maybe get a WC spot.
+ 1
Agree….with division games, if you can keep it close, you have a chance to win. Remember when the Seahawks were in our division? No matter how bad they were, they always managed to find a way to beat the Raiders, who were usually the superior team.
A shootout type of game, regardless if it’s the Chiefs or someone else is a risky type of game, always. Aiming for a WC spot is a more reasonable, intermediate goal. The Broncos have run into the injury buzz saw – Miller likely done for the season; Chubb is still recovering from ACL repair from last season; Sutton has an AC shoulder injury which is likely a grade 3 or grade 4 (grade 4 is the most serious). Their offensive line is still an open queston. The Chargers – Derwin James, lost for the season. Despite all of the “we should’ve made James a Raider”, he’s become injury-prone. Bosa might miss the first 3-4 games of the season from the same injury he had last season. OL is also a concern for them.
Raiders trying to win shootouts would be a losing proposition…not because they don’t have talent but it’s a very young team in the offensive skill positions. Lots of mistakes will happen. Edwards…rookie, Ruggs…rookie, Jacobs…2nd year, Renfrow…2nd year, etc. Carr and Waller are really the only two with extensive experience. Lots of talent though no question.