Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs, Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Sunday, January 2, 2011, 1:00 pm EST, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Chiefs -4
Current Line: Chiefs -3
Opening Total: 43.5
Current Total: 43.5
Money Line: Chiefs -180 / Raiders +160
The Oakland Raiders (7-8) may have been eliminated from postseason contention last week, but they will still be looking to finish the year unbeaten in the AFC West when they visit the division champion Kansas City Chiefs (10-5) on Sunday. The Chiefs (-3) clinched the AFC West title with a victory last week along with a loss by San Diego at Cincinnati while the Raiders saw their playoff chances disappear after falling 31-26 at home to Indianapolis.
In fact, Oakland could become the first team ever to win every divisional game and miss out on the postseason, although it will be a difficult achievement considering Kansas City has yet to lose a home game. The Raiders have won in their last three trips to Arrowhead Stadium and will also look to avoid finishing the regular season with a losing record for the first time since 2002.
Surprisingly, the Chiefs are just 2-3 against divisional foes and may choose to rest their starters since they have no chance of earning a bye in the playoffs. They will end up as the #3 or #4 seed in the AFC and host Pittsburgh, Baltimore or the New York Jets next week in the wild-card round.
Kansas City has obviously played much better at home, going 5-2 against the spread en route to a perfect record straight-up at Arrowhead. The team is coming off a 34-14 rout of Tennessee there last week, building a 31-7 lead at halftime and holding the Titans in check in the second half. Quarterback Matt Cassel continued his stellar play by completing 24 of 34 passes for 314 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions while running back Jamaal Charles rushed for 77 yards and also caught four passes for 40 yards, including the first two scores of the game.
Cassel (216 yards with two touchdowns and one interception) and Charles (53 yards on 10 carries) struggled a bit in the first meeting with Oakland back in Week 9, which resulted in a 23-20 overtime loss. Rookie wide receiver Jacoby Ford was the star for the Raiders in that game with a career-high six catches for 148 yards, and he has scored the opening touchdown in each of the last two games overall on a 71-yard run and a 99-yard kickoff return.
Oakland is 2-5 on the road this year, but both wins came against AFC West foes and were decided by an average of 30 points. The OVER has cashed in the last three games overall for the Raiders, who are 4-2 ATS in the last six meetings with the Chiefs. The UNDER is 4-1 in the last five games between the teams and 8-2 in the past 10.
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