On December 1, the Oakland Raiders will prepare for their annual trip to Arrowhead Stadium where they have not won a game since 2012.
The upcoming game on Sunday won’t be quite as huge as it could’ve been and that’s thanks to Adam Gase’s New York Jets squad for a beautiful performance, stomping the Raiders 34-3 last weekend.
Last week was a chance for Oakland to tie with Kansas City in the standings for a shot at first place in the division.
Instead, the Raiders fall to 6-5 after the Jets handled Oakland quite well. Quarterback Sam Darnold looked like the guy New York thought they initially drafted, throwing 20-29 for 315 yards and two touchdowns, while the Raiders clearly weren’t prepared for the three hour time difference on the east coast.
Quarterback Derek Carr was benched at the start of the fourth following a measly performance completing 15 of 27 passes for 127 yards and a pick.
Carr now travels to a place where he’s seen the least amount of success and that’s Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Since entering the league in 2014, Carr’s Raiders have only beaten Andy Reid’s team twice and both occasions were at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
The first was on a rainy Thursday night during his rookie season. The Chiefs had just come off an emotional victory over the Seattle Seahawks and had to travel to Oakland on a short week. Carr threw for 171 yards and a touchdown to help the 0-10 Raiders pull off the 24-20 upset.
The second was again, on a Thursday night in Oakland. Kansas City initially had this game in the bag, however, a series of penalties against the Chiefs allowed the Raiders plenty of opportunities after regulation to eventually score the game-winning touchdown to steal the game from Kansas City 31-30.
Aside from that, Carr and the Raiders have been slapped around like an ugly stepchild by Andy Reid’s squad.
In eleven career games against the Chiefs, Carr has completed 59 percent of his throws for 2,511 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. He has a 74.8 career passer rating against Kansas City and has been sacked 30 times by Chiefs defenders.
The best part, Carr is 0-5 inside Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs have done a great job defending their home turf when their arch rival comes to town.
This time around, Kansas City comes off a week’s rest following the bye week and will look to dominate Oakland once again as they prepare for their push towards the postseason.
Sunday’s matchup will be a little different considering the stakes.
If the Chiefs win, they’ll improve to 8-4 while Oakland falls to 6-6 and will likely be out of Kansas City’s hair for the rest of the season.
However, if the Raiders pull off the upset, both teams will go to 7-5 and it’ll be a dogfight for first place in the AFC West.
