Raiders Small Favorites Over Chiefs

NFL News - November 10th, 2009 - Written by John

The word competitive can have many meanings. Mostly positive. Some negative. Possibly both.

If nothing else, Sunday's meeting between the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders promises to be competitive, like it was the last time. In that game, the Raiders narrowly escaped with a 13-10 win when Darren McFadden rushed for a five-yard touchdown with just over a minute left, spoiling Matt Cassel's debut with the Chiefs. McFadden will actually be active for the first time since Week Four after straining several knee ligaments. With him, BetUS prefers the Raiders by 1 1/2 points with an even -110 payout both ways.

Because of both teams' troubles on offense, the over/under is 36 1/2, the lowest projected total of the week. The reasoning is obvious. Eight of the last nine meetings have hit the under and the Raiders are 6-2 hitting the under after a bye week.

If only the fourth quarter mattered, The Kansas City Chiefs would rank among the top teams in the league with Cassel under center. Nearly all of the team's 13 touchdowns have come in the final 15 minutes, including last week when Cassel hit newly acquired Chris Chambers twice for touchdowns. In their first meeting with Oakland, a late surge also made up the bulk of the points, when Dwayne Bowe caught a 29-yarder for the only touchdown. Cassel has been efficient, albeit unremarkable, in his first season. He has thrown for 10 touchdowns to go along with only five picks, and has four games with two touchdowns and no interceptions this year.

Because of steady quarterback play, Kansas City's problems appear much more fixable than Oakland's. After ridding themselves of running back Larry Johnson, the Chiefs suddenly became free of the distractions that tagged alongside. Jamaal Charles is actually carrying the ball at a better rate, anyway, and had 36 yards on six carries a week ago. However, the team is still without a rushing touchdown on the year and are still 1-7.

Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell is still the leader on the field, but remains at the bottom of the league in passer rating. When he is serviceable, Oakland looks like a pretty competitive team. In his two best performances this year, the Raiders beat Philadelphia and hung tough with San Diego. In his worst performances, however, they were blown out by a minimum of 20 points by Denver, Houston and both New Yorks. At this point, a five-win season would be considered a success, considering their next three games are against Cincinnati and at Dallas and Pittsburgh.

As mentioned, McFadden will likely be back in the lineup, bringing the explosive option the team has been without. Justin Fargas has been adequate, taking the majority of the carries, but hasn't broken 87 yards in any game.

If you are planning on doing some betting be sure to drop by our page on the NFL Week 10 Odds and also our NFL Week 10 Game Previews to find all the information you need to place an informed bet.

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