Raiders vs. Chiefs, Week 5: How to watch, what to watch

After a solid enough win on Sunday/Monday Night Football, the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs welcome the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders are coming off a somewhat impressive loss to the Buffalo Bills that showed some glimpses of hope and plenty of flaws. The Chiefs took one over the Patriots on Monday night to keep their perfect season alive.

The Chiefs defense was the star of the show against the Cam Newton-less Patriots on Monday. Frank Clark and Taco Charlton were dominate in the pass rush that kept the Pats backups on their heels. Tyrann Mathieu was equally as impressive on the night, sealing the deal with a pick six. The Chiefs defense had a pretty easy test on Monday, and passed with flying colors. All you can ask.

In their loss to the Bills, the Raiders defense was annihilated yet again. They’ve given up 120 points through the first four weeks of the season, and the Chiefs will be happy to exploit that. The Raiders key hope this week is finding some semblance of a pass rush. Without it, Derek Carr and the Raiders offense will be forced to play the dangerous game of ‘who can score the most’ against Patrick Mahomes.

TV Info

Date: Sunday, Oct. 11
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Broadcast map

Notable Statistical rankings (Football Outsiders)

Raiders: #25 Overall — #10 offense, #20 defense, #22 special teams
Chiefs: #9 Overall — #4 offense, #5 defense, #32 special teams

DraftKings Sportsbook odds

Raiders: +12.5, +525
Chiefs: -12.5, -670
Total: 56.5

Injury report

Raiders

OUT: WR Bryan Edwards (ankle, foot)

QUESTIONABLE: T Trenton Brown (calf), DT Maliek Collins (shoulder, illness), WR Rico Gafford (hamstring), WR Henry Ruggs (knee, hamstring)

Chiefs

OUT: DE Michael Danna (hamstring)

Fantasy football start/sit advice

Raiders

Josh Jacobs, RB, $6,300

Jacobs was an impressive rookie, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. His recent performances haven’t been as solid, leaving some to question his value. Against this Chiefs offense, the Raiders need some semblance of a ground game. Expect Jacobs to get plenty of attempts at first to little avail.

Derek Carr, QB, $5,300

If there’s any week to take a chance on Carr, its a week wherein the Raiders are sure to be behind big early. A Chiefs offense coming off a couple lackluster performances will be sure to hang some points early. How much you trust Derek Carr against a stellar Chiefs pass rush and secondary dictates if you bench him or not.

Chiefs

Chiefs, D/ST, $3,500

I’ve mentioned this a few times at this point. But the Raiders defense is bad, and the Chiefs defense is good. A desperate Raiders offense trying to catch the Chiefs offense should leave plenty of opportunities for Andy Reid’s defense to be effective.

Travis Kelce, TE, $6,400

Kelce is nearly a must start at this point. However, if there’s any week to consider that Mahomes may not need his trusty tight end, it’s this week. The Raiders defense is ready to be exploited deep, and Kelce’s production may suffer a bit. He has yet to grab more than 100 yards in a game this year and is only averaging 6 catches a week. This was my attempt to throw water on Kelce.

Now that you’ve considered benching him, you should still start him. He’s a healthy Travis Kelce.