Gambling Matchup Week 7 – K.C. Chiefs vs. Oakland Raiders
Who would have thought the Raiders would be coming off back-to-back wins and battling it out at this point in the season with San Diego for top spot in the AFC West?
Kansas City v Oakland
Venue/Stadium: O.co Coliseum, Oakland, California
Time/Date: 4:05 PM ET, Sunday, October 23, 2011
NFL Odds From: Bet Online
Spread (ATS): Oakland -4.5
Over/Under: 42
Even more mystifying is the fact that this year’s Kansas City Chiefs, who after a slow start, have also managed to string together two straight wins of their own to make this weekend’s match all the more interesting for an Al-Davis-less era Oakland and their new quarterback.
The Raiders are in second place in the AFC West and have just made a big trade with the Cincinnati Bengals for Carson Palmer in the wake of Jason Campbell’s injury, and he will likely join workhorse running back Darren McFadden who will again be shouldering a big load on Sunday, despite who starts under center.
Oakland are 4-2 and are starting to pick up the pace even after the passing of their fearless leader, but there are still plenty of question marks surrounding the team after a Week 6 win over the Cleveland Browns. Starting with Campbell who went down with a collarbone injury and will be out for at least six weeks.
With the recent acquisition of Palmer and the way back up QB Kyle Boller came in and played in his absence. It is likely that Campbell could be on his way out of Oakland.
But how could this affect the Raiders momentum?
Adjusting to a new quarterback could disrupt the entire rhythm of the offense. But, I tend to think with Palmer comes a veteran play caller who – if healthy – can get the ball to Oakland’s young and sometimes underrated receivers, bringing a whole new dimension to an otherwise one-dimensional Raiders offense. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Nevertheless, one thing is for certain. Oakland will have little time to get its offensive scheme together as they prepare to face an improving Kansas City team that always provides some entertaining matchups when playing their divisional foe.
Kansas City currently sits at 2-3 on the season and has recovered nicely from two-straight losses to start the season along with a close loss in game three to the San Diego Chargers.
Coming off their bye week after beating the Vikings and the Colts -who have a combined record of 1-11 on the season- just makes it so much harder to figure out where this year’s Chiefs are headed.
However, from history, the Chiefs and Raiders usually collide in close and in not so recent years, meaningful matchups.
With KC struggling to gain ground in the AFC West, this game is even more significant.
It will most likely come down to a game of quarterbacks.
Oakland’s veteran versus Kansas City’s Matt Cassel, who after an amazing 2010 campaign, has been the leading passer in just one of the Chiefs’ four games this season.
Throw in a KC defense that has been giving up a good chunks of receiving real estate, and has been no better than average in stopping the run, and McFadden and Palmer should gel quite nicely in their first outing as teammates.
Matt’s Prediction: Oakland 31-17
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