The Chiefs-Raiders rivalry has been pretty one-sided since Andy Reid came to Kansas City. However, after a pretty dominant victory from the Raiders in October and the bus-driven victory lap that proceeded, there might be a little extra motivation for the Chiefs to punch the Raiders in the mouth.
The Kansas City Chiefs are currently 8-1 on the season. Their only loss came from a 40-32 beatdown at the hands of the Raiders at Arrowhead stadium. It is the first time that the Raiders have won in Kansas City since Andy Reid has been the head coach.
In fact, in the previous four meetings between the two teams, the Chiefs had outscored the Raiders 143-55. The week five victory over the Chiefs is only the third time that the Raiders have beat the Chiefs in the Andy Reid era.
It hasn’t really been much of a rivalry since the Chiefs have been so dominant in the head-to-head games and have won the AFC West the past four seasons. The Raiders haven’t won the division since 2002. The Chiefs’ current rivalries have been with more successful teams like the Patriots, Ravens, and the Steelers. The Raiders have been more of an afterthought.
That was until Jon Gruden decided to throw a parade for his team in Kansas City after a probably meaningless regular-season victory back in October. KSHB-TV producer Nick Jacobs tweeted out a report that the Raiders had requested a police escort so that they could do a victory lap around the stadium.
This was apparently the Raiders’ version of the Super Bowl, but to Chiefs fans, it just comes across as sad. Chiefs fans have seen a Super Bowl parade and are now to the point where regular-season games just prolong inevitable playoff success.
The games from September through December haven’t mattered in Kansas City since Patrick Mahomes came to town. Now all that matters is winning in the playoffs and repeating as Super Bowl champs.
However, this Sunday’s regular-season matchup against the Raiders will hold a little more weight. The Chiefs will travel to Las Vegas and will more than likely be thinking about that victory lap.
Andy Reid, on Monday, downplayed the impact that the Raiders’ gloating had on the team.
“Well, listen, they won the game, so they can do anything they want to do if they end up winning the game. That’s not our style, but we’ll get ourselves back, ready to play, and that’s where we’re at.”
– Andy Reid
The Chiefs will be coming off of their bye week and Reid is currently 18-3 when coming off of a bye. The Chiefs are undefeated coming off of a bye since the arrival of Patrick Mahomes and they haven’t been swept by the Raiders since Matt Cassel was the quarterback.
“It’s two good football teams playing each other. I don’t think either team likes the other that much, as they’ve stated before.”
– Andy Reid
The Chiefs are currently on a four-game winning streak since that week five loss, while Las Vegas is two games back in the division. A Chiefs victory would likely make that previous loss meaningless, but a Raiders win would make the division race a lot closer.
There will be a lot at stake this Sunday and regardless of what Andy Reid says, the Chiefs will be looking to make a statement. However, the Chiefs probably won’t take a victory lap after making that statement.
They’ll save that for February.
