Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders Preview

By Jason Kirk  |   Saturday, September 17, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

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Randy Moss will make his much anticipated home debut when the Oakland Raiders host the Kansas City Chiefs in an AFC West showdown on Sunday night. Kickoff is set for 8:30 PM EST.

Kansas City will look to continue their strong play after their 27-7 dismantling of the New York Jets in their first game. The Oakland Raiders will need to improve their defensive play after allowing 379 total yards by the New England Patriots in their first game. Both teams made some changes this off-season on the defensive side in an effort to take some pressure of their high-powered offenses. Last season the Raiders and Chiefs finished the season ranked 30th and 31st respectively, in defense. Look for both teams to try and light up the scoreboard which should provide for a very exciting game. Kansas City has won the past four meetings with Oakland, though none have been decided by more than seven points.

The Kansas City Chiefs had a very surprising effort on defense last week against the Jets. The Chiefs forced seven fumbles, registered three sacks, had an interception and came within 29 seconds of ending the game with a shutout. In the off-season Kansas City acquired Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Surtain and defensive end Carlos Hall, signed safety Sammie Knight and linebacker Kendrell Bell and selected linebacker Derrick Johnson in the first round of this year's draft. Surtain had a 53-yard interception return and recovered a fumble, Knight and Johnson each had nine tackles and a sack, and Bell contributed to a defensive unit that held Curtis Martin to 57 yards on 20 attempts.

On offense, Kansas City will be without Pro Bowl left tackle Willie Roaf, who sustained a hamstring injury last week. Quarterback Trent Green, who threw for 200 yards against the Jets, will look to expose a suspect Raider's secondary. Running back Larry Johnson should be available for Sunday's game after turning himself in to police on Tuesday after an altercation with his girlfriend. The 25-year-old Johnson, who was involved in a December 2003 incident with an ex-girlfriend, was cited for domestic abuse assault. It's uncertain whether Johnson's latest problem will result in punishment from the Chiefs or NFL. Last week against the Jets, Johnson carried the ball nine times for 110 yards and a touchdown.

The Oakland Raiders had a very dismal defensive performance last week against the Patriots and will need to improve in order to contain the Chief's offense. Against New England, Oakland's defense allowed quarterback Tom Brady to throw for 306 yards and two touchdowns. They also failed to force a turnover or register a sack. With the Chief's aerial passing attack and their high-octane running game coming to town, the Raiders will need to establish themselves early and not allow their offense to play catch-up.

Wide receiver Randy Moss had an impressive performance last week. Oakland's biggest off-season acquisition finished his first game in the ‘Silver and Black' with five catches for 130 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown. The Raiders are counting on another similar performance out of their All-Pro wide receiver.

Quarterback Kerry Collins will also need to have another solid performance. Last week Collins threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns. More importantly though, was the fact that he threw ZERO interceptions. Running back Lamont Jordan, another of the Raider's big off-season acquisitions, had an average game in his first outing as the starting running back. He finished the game with 70 yards on 18 carries with no touchdowns. Oakland will look to get Jordan going early as they hope to win the battle of the clock and keep the Chiefs offense off the field.
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