Pete Carroll and the Las Vegas Raiders were able to pick up a big win in Week 6 at home over the Tennessee Titans. That win helped them improve to 2-4 on the season as they look to claw their way back into the playoff race in the AFC.
Next week, things get much more difficult than facing the struggling Titans.
In Week 7 action, the Raiders will hit the road for a matchup against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. That game will be no easy task. Finding a way to win at Arrowhead Stadium is something that every team in the NFL struggles with.
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Heading into that game, Las Vegas is going to be a major underdog. With the struggles the Raiders have had already this season and the Chiefs coming off of a dominant win over the Detroit Lions, it would be a surprise to see an upset happen.
While Las Vegas is facing an uphill battle, Carroll remains confident in his team’s ability. He spoke out with an honest message about facing off against Kansas City.
He spoke out about the importance of the game and also shared some confident about his team’s ability to win if they play the right way.
“It’s always really valuable,” Carroll said. “I mean, yeah, it’s positive and it feels good and all that. It happens to be Kansas City that’s next, you know, and so we’ll do everything we can to prepare and come off this game clear-minded and really drilled into the challenge that they bring. It’s a tremendous program that Andy’s been running for a long time, and we’re going to have to play really well to have a chance, but if we prepare well, we’ll have a chance, and that’s all we could ask for.”
Geno Smith will need to take his game to another level if the Raiders are going to beat the Chiefs. He has struggled, especially with turnovers, to begin his tenure in Las Vegas.
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Defensively, the Raiders are going to need to focus on limiting big chunk plays from Kansas City. Mahomes is always dangerous and capable of making throws down the field. The Chiefs don’t pull off quite as many as they used to, but Las Vegas has to find a way to make life difficult on him.
It will be interesting to see what this week’s game has in store for Las Vegas. Carroll and company pulling off a win would go a long way towards getting them back into the playoff hunt.
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