KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- There are parallels between this year’s trip to Oakland for the Kansas City Chiefs and last season’s, but not as many as people think.

Yes, the Chiefs are once again taking a five-game winning streak with them, at about the same time of the season as in 2014. But that’s where the similarities end.

Last season the Chiefs headed to Oakland after playing their most emotional, most physical game of the year against the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks. They had to expend plenty of energy to win that one.

Then, with the Raiders game being on a Thursday night, the Chiefs faced a short week to prepare for an opponent with an 0-10 record. They had to fly to California on Wednesday. It’s no wonder they came out flat.

This year’s Chiefs didn’t have things laid out for them in last week’s win over the Bills -- not after falling behind by a couple of scores early in the game. But it didn’t require the same kind of effort as last year against Seattle to rally and beat Buffalo. Even if it had, the Chiefs have a full week this time to recover and prepare for the Raiders.

None of this is to suggest things will be simple for the Chiefs in Oakland. The Raiders are capable of scoring a lot of points. And injuries to linebacker Justin Houston and some of Kansas City's offensive linemen won't help.

So the Chiefs have some reasons for concern. But recent history isn’t one of them.

I’ll have a prediction with a score posted on ESPN.com on Friday, and a lengthier explanation for the pick on Sunday morning.