Black Friday features an AFC West rivalry game
It’s week 13 of the NFL season, and that means a recently established Thanksgiving tradition: Black Friday Football. This afternoon the Kansas City Chiefs host the Las Vegas Raiders in an AFC West rivalry game. The game is scheduled to start at 3:00 pm EST. The Chiefs are 13.5 point home favorites in this game according to our friends at Fanduel Sportsbook.
This is a game between the haves and the have nots. The Las Vegas Raiders fall decidedly in the have nots category. The 2-9 Raiders may be the worst team in the NFL. After getting their season off to a decent 2-2 start. the Raiders have lost seven straight games. Last week they lost to the Denver Broncos, 29 – 19.
It has been a month since the Raiders finished a game within a touchdown of their opponent on the scoreboard. The Raiders have the worst running attack in the NFL, but what has really hurt them this season is turnovers. The Raiders are dead last in the NFL with 22 offensive turnovers, and dead last in the NFL with 5 defensive turnovers. They have turned the ball over on offense in every game they have played this season, and they have not won the turnover battle in a single game this season. You simply can’t win this way.
The 10-1 Chiefs come into this game with the best record in the NFL. Led by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs have found a way to win despite an offense that has struggled at times this season. Today the Chiefs get Isiah Pacheco back from the injured reserve list at running back. That should help a struggling Chiefs running game.
Today the Chiefs have home field advantage, where they have not lost a game this season. The Chiefs have the best quarterback in the NFL and the Raiders have Aidan O’Connell. The Raiders haven’t won a game in two months, and they have won just one game on the road this season. All signs point to a Chiefs blowout. However, this is a division rivalry game, and sometimes strange things happen. In addition, the Chiefs, while winning, have struggled to land a knockout blow against opponents this season. Eight of the Chiefs’ 10 wins have been decided by a single score. The last time the Chiefs lost at home was on Christmas Day 2023 against – you guessed it – Aidan O’Connell and the Las Vegas Raiders. Yes, this should be an easy Chiefs win, but you just never know. I’m picking the Chiefs to defeat the Raiders at home tonight. If you bet, good luck to you, and please consider using our friends at Fanduel Sportsbook.