Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland Raiders: Breaking Down Kansas City's Game Plan

The Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders meet for the first time this season on a national stage on Thursday Night Football. The Chiefs have a very short week, being given just two days to practice as the team prepares to fly to Oakland on Wednesday.

For the first time since 2006, the Chiefs swept the Raiders in the season series last year and look to build on their winning streak against their longtime rivals.

Although Oakland is winless, Chiefs coach Andy Reid will approach this game aggressively to prevent an upset and help the team earn their sixth straight victory.

Run the ball against Oakland

Given that the Chiefs have Jamaal Charles as their starter and Knile Davis and De’Anthony Thomas as backups, running the football will always be part of the team’s game plan. Since Oakland is 27th in stopping the run, giving the ball to Charles and his backups is an easy decision.

Charles had his first 100-yard game last week when he gashed through one of the best run-stopping defenses in the NFL in the Seattle Seahawks. He finished with 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the 24-20 win over the Seahawks.

He has run for 257 yards and three touchdowns in the past two games, averaging 7.3 yards per carry. Charles is currently ninth in the league in rushing, while Davis is 25th.

When it comes to scoring, Charles is second with eight rushing touchdowns and Davis is tied for eighth with five touchdowns.

Like last week, the Chiefs should go run-heavy and let the scatbacks handle the load on offense, as it will result in big yardage and scoring for Kansas City.

Continue the dominance on defense

A big reason Oakland is winless through 10 games is due to the lack of execution on offense. The Raiders are 26th in passing the ball, last in rushing and last in moving the chains.

The Raiders have scored more than 20 points in only two games this year, while the Chiefs have yet to allow more than 20 points in each of the seven games they have won.

Kansas City has a prominent front seven, led mostly by outside linebackers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali, and nose tackle Dontari Poe. In addition, the Chiefs have gotten additional help against the run from inside linebacker Josh Mauga and defensive ends Jaye Howard and Allen Bailey.

Although the Chiefs have the fewest takeaways in the NFL with seven, the Raiders own the worst turnover differential with -12 and have committed 20 giveaways. This is a perfect opportunity for Kansas City to create turnovers and give the offense great field position.

Don’t get overconfident

Generally, when I write game-plan articles, they feature the X’s-and-O’s. This game “plan” has nothing to do with the “X’s-and-O’s.” Instead, it is more of a mental game plan against a winless team.

There are plenty of reasons why upsets happen in sports. Overconfidence usually plays a role in a team dropping a game they shouldn’t have lost.

With Reid as the head coach, he won’t let the Chiefs suffer a loss they shouldn’t.

During his postgame press conference following a win over the Seahawks, Reid immediately mentioned the Raiders due to the short week. He even referred to the Raiders as “a good Oakland team.”

If anything, you can respect the fact that the he has respect for all of the NFL teams, regardless of how many wins or losses they have. 

Follow @Farzin21