NFL Picks Week 7: Carson Palmer Will Watch the Raiders Lose to the Chiefs

Carson Palmer doesn't seem to be in a hurry to take the reigns as starter for his new team. The Raiders will have to turn to the largely ineffective Kyle Boller.

Think about it, if the Raiders really wanted to start Kyle Boller this week, would they have gone after Palmer so aggressively?

It is still a smart decision to hold him out, at least until the following week. The Raiders are hosting the Kansas City Chiefs in a very winnable game, but this is a rivalry. Without a real starting QB, the Raiders will try to pound the Chiefs with the running game.

The NFL's top rusher, Darren McFadden, may get his season high in carries as the Raiders will truly be biding time until Palmer is comfortable.

The Chiefs have won two straight as they have feasted on the other have-nots in the NFL. Defeating both Minnesota and Indianapolis won't carry much weight this week against a much stronger Raiders squad.

The key to the Chiefs' improved play has been their improvement on offense. Dwayne Bowe and Matt Cassel have finally gotten on the same page.

The Chiefs have improved since Week 3 when they dropped a close decision to the San Diego Chargers. The Raiders may regret not starting Palmer or at least opening the playbook for Boller.

I have the Chiefs with the upset. The improved Chiefs offense and the rest coming from the bye week will be enough to narrowly defeat the short-handed Raiders.

With the win, the Chiefs will be a surprising 3-3, especially considering they lost the first two games of the season by a combined score of 89-10. 

The Chiefs will win, 16-9.