5 Keys for Oakland Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs

By Kevin Saito

Oakland's 5 Keys to Victory Over the Chiefs

Open Slide — Just a few weeks ago, the Raiders beat the Chiefs for their first win of the season. Losers of three in a row, the Chiefs are fighting for their playoff lives and will no doubt be playing desperate football. But last week, we saw Oakland derail the 49ers' playoff hopes with a dominant performance. They will need to duplicate that effort against the Chiefs to notch their third win in four games. Here are their five keys to victory...

5. Contain Jamaal Charles

Charles

5. Contain Jamaal Charles

Charles — Simply put, Jamaal Charles is the most consistent and productive component of Kansas City's offense. Averaging a little more than five yards a carry, Charles is a threat to break one from anywhere on the field. He is also lethal when catching passes out of the backfield. Oakland has struggled with screen passes and has given up quite a few yards to backs taking short passes and turning them into big gains. Oakland must stop Charles.

4. Overcome the Loss of Sio Moore

Moore

4. Overcome the Loss of Sio Moore

Moore — Sio Moore is second on the team in tackles – just behind Charles Woodson – and is Oakland's emotional leader on the field. The defense just seems to feed off his fire, passion and intensity. He's out of the game against the Chiefs with a hip injury, leaving the Raiders without one of their best defenders and defensive leaders. They need somebody to step up and fill the considerable void Moore's injury leaves behind.

3. Run, Run, Run the Ball

Murray

3. Run, Run, Run the Ball

Murray — While it's doubtful Latavius Murray will have the sort of out of this world performance he did in his first game against the Chiefs, the Raiders will need to keep feeding him the ball and getting him going. A steady – and productive – dose of an Oakland running game that is looking better will keep KC on their heels and open up the offense as a whole. But Oakland's offensive success starts with a strong running game.

2. Derek Carr Must Continue to Make Smart Decisions

Carr

2. Derek Carr Must Continue to Make Smart Decisions

Carr — Coming off arguably his best game as a pro, Carr's confidence is sky high and he truly looked the part of the franchise quarterback Oakland has been searching for for so long. He must continue to show steady progress and improvement – and putting together back to back dominating performances can help do that. To beat the Chiefs, he must be smart with the ball, make sound decisions, be efficient and avoid the big turnovers.

1. Have a Solid Gameplan Going In

Sparano

1. Have a Solid Gameplan Going In

Sparano — As much as the players need to string together good back to back performances, so too do the coaches. They called a great game against the Chiefs the first time around and then drew up an absolute turd against the Rams. The gameplan for the 49ers was fantastic on both sides of the ball and resulted in a big win. They need that same sort of gameplan and sound adjustments on the fly to beat Kansas City.

Teams in this article »

Oakland Raiders

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