Don’t Look Now, But It’s Raider Week

How about them Kansas City Chiefs? Back to back nail bitters with outstanding play coming from all sides, but the fun hasn’t stopped yet. The Chiefs are facing the Raiders on Thursday Night Football for the AFC West crown. The Chiefs appear to be fully healthy, as all available players practiced with just four players practicing with a limited designation.

The Raiders on the other hand had four players who missed Monday practice and two with limited designation. Starting rookie safety Karl Joseph was one player who missed practice, and was seen with a walking boot.

It’s fair to say this may again be a matchup of the week for the Kansas City Chiefs. Now lets take a look at some of the storylines for each side.

Pay The Man

How could I not start the Chiefs section off without mentioning Eric Berry?

Eric Berry single handily won us our game against the Falcons. Berry is currently playing on the franchise tag for $10.8 million this season. The current top safety contract by average guarantee per year is Devin McCourty who signed a 5 year $47.5 million dollar contract in 2015.

The Chiefs will be tight in the salary cap as they’re currently projected to be roughly $1.5 million over the salary cap. Lets hope John Dorsey is able to work some salary cap magic and pay the man.

Chiefs Are Finally Healthy

As mentioned before the Chiefs had all available players at practice on Monday with 4 being designated as a limited participant. Including the usually limited Tamba Hali.

Jeremy Maclin and Phillip Gaines should return this week and provide immediate support on offense and defense against the Raiders. Maclin has been out since Week 9, and Gaines has been out since Week 12.

Dee Ford will also be in his second game back after a hamstring injury. Ford should be in for an increased snap count after only participating in 36 percent of snaps against the Falcons. On the other side of the ball, all OL starters participated in 100 percent of snaps against the Falcons. Something that hasn’t happened often this year, and will make a difference going forward.