The Kansas City Chiefs (1-7) will have a great opportunity to get their second win of the year against the Oakland Raiders (2-6) on Sunday.  They will be without Larry Johnson, who was dismissed from the team.  That means Kolby Smith and Jamaal Charles will most likely share carries.  Smith may even be the starter even though last week was his first action of the season.  The Raiders are giving up 161 rushing yards per game though, so both Smith and Charles could have big days.  Matt Cassel had a good game last week against the Jaguars, going for two touchdowns and 262 yards on 23/39 passes.  If Cassel has a similar game the Chiefs should win.

The Chiefs’ defense doesn’t need to worry too much about the Raiders’ passing game, and they should look to get some turnovers off of JaMarcus Russell.  Russell has been terrible for the Raiders this year and has thrown 9 interceptions, compared to only 2 touchdowns.  He has a huge arm though, so the Chiefs need to make sure they don’t get beat and they should be fine in their pass defense.  Darren McFadden is expected to return for the Raiders in this one, so he gives the Raiders’ backfield a more explosive option.  I’m not sure how many carries they will give him though, so the Chiefs should be ready for Justin Fargas and Michael Bush.  The Chiefs have the better offense, so I am going to go with them in this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Kansas City Chiefs 24, Oakland Raiders 20