This week, the Raiders travel to Kansas City to face the Chiefs in a must-win for both teams. The Chiefs have been up and down lately, having defeated the Packers last week but having been trounced by the Jets the week before. The entire defense played extremely well against the Packers, but nobody played well for the Chiefs against New York.
That being said, the first time Carson Palmer played against the Chiefs in a Raider uniform he was intercepted three times, with one being returned for a touchdown. Since then Palmer has become much more comfortable with the Raiders’ offense and has been playing at a high level. The key to beating the Chiefs will be a balanced attack that does not allow K.C. to stack the box to stop Michael Bush. Palmer must show his ability to stretch the defense deep and accurately hit screens and short slants to keep the Chiefs’ excellent linebackers from constantly blitzing.
This will not be easy with Jacoby Ford likely out for the game and Denarius Moore’s status questionable. The Chiefs will likely focus on Darrius Heyward-Bey and try to take him out of the game with double coverages. They are certainly capable of shutting him down and if they do it will be up to Palmer to find other receivers- Houshmandzadeh, Schilens, Boss, Reece, and Bush out of the backfield. If Carson Palmer can succeed at spreading the ball around and keeping the Chiefs off balance, the Raiders will have a great chance to win on Saturday.