In the first matchup between the Raiders and Chiefs this season, the Oakland defense was terrific on third downs in a 24-20 victory.
Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith and his teammates could convert just 2-of-14 third-down attempts and also were 0-for-1 on fourth down.
On their first two possessions of the game, in fact, the Raiders' D set the tone, stopping K.C. on three-and-outs while the Oakland offense put together a touchdown march of its own that ended with Latavius Murray’s 11-yard run. The Raiders were able to take a 7-0 first-quarter lead en route to their first victory of the season.
Now, with the teams scheduled to meet again this Sunday in Kansas City (10 a.m. kickoff in the Bay Area), how the Chiefs and Raiders perform on third downs will be one of the keys to the outcome.
Because while the Chiefs were struggling, the Raiders were converting 8-of-16 third-down plays and were 1-for-1 on fourth down.
Kansas City defensive coordinator Bob Sutton this week talked about a much-better Raiders offense of late with quarterback Derek Carr, running back Latavius Murray and tight end Mychal Rivera, and now important it will be for the Chiefs to keep the Raiders from putting together long drives. That will mean performing well on third downs.
“They do a good job on third down, so I think one of our challenges is when we get them to third down, we have to win those,” Sutton told a writer for the Chiefs website. “We can enhance our opportunity by playing really good on first and second and making those (third downs) as long a yardage situation as possible.”
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On the Raiders’ first scoring drive vs. the Chiefs in that first meeting, the Raiders converted two key third-down plays. On a third-and-7 at the Chiefs 38, Carr hit James Jones for 11 yards and a first down. On third-and-4 from the Chiefs 21, Carr connected with Brice Butler for 10 yards, just one play before Murray broke free for his touchdown run.
Then, late in the game, the Raiders put together an 80-yard drive – with the game on the line – converting two third-down attempts and one fourth-down play.
Lately, the Raiders’ third-down efficiency on both sides of the ball has been strong. In last week’s Oakland victory over the 49ers, Carr & Co. converted 6-of-13 third-down plays. On defense, the Raiders held San Francisco to just 3-of-11 third-down conversions.
Though there will be many factors that determine Sunday’s outcome – the Chiefs’ strong home-field advantage and desire to make up for the first loss, the return of linebacker Joe Mays to the K.C. defense and how well Oakland can check Jamaal Charles and the Chiefs’ ground attack – the teams’ performance on third downs early in the game could signal which way this game will go.
Oddsmakers believe that this time, the outcome will be different. The Chiefs are favored by 10 to 10 ½ points.
