The Chiefs are 7-0 at home this year and they have won the AFC West, but, they still have something to play for this Sunday.  A win over the Raiders clinches the Chiefs the #3 seed in the AFC playoffs.  So look for the Chiefs to play hard this weekend.  The Raiders are looking to win this game so they can have their first .500 record since the 2002 season when they lost the Super Bowl to the Bucs.  The Raiders won the first matchup between these two teams in Oakland, 23-20 in O.T.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs are going to come out running the ball with Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones.  They should be effective against the Raiders’ D which is allowing 134.9 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.  The Raiders are a good pass rushing team as they have 40 sacks this year but if the Chiefs get the running game going that will slow the pass rush.  Plus, Matt Cassel is one of the best playaction QBs in the NFL.  Look for Cassel to be looking for Dwayne Bowe deep and Tony Moeaki on the short stuff.

When the Raiders have the ball:  The Raiders are going to be running the ball a lot too.  The Chiefs will have to stop Darren McFadden and Michael Bush first and that won’t be easy as the Raiders are averaging 152.3 yards rushing per game and 4.9 yards per carry.  The Chiefs will need to blitz a lot in this game when Jason Campbell drops back to pass because if he has time to throw he has the speedy receivers to make the Chiefs pay.

PREDICTION:  CHIEFS 27, RAIDERS 24

The Chiefs have finally figured out how to use 27-year old OLB Tamba Hali as he is now the best pass rusher the Chiefs have without a doubt.  Hali has played 15 games for the Chiefs so far this year and he has 46 tackles, 12 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 passes defensed, 4 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.  Hali has now played in 78 games in his first five years with the Chiefs and he has 281 tackles, 10 passes defensed, 39 sacks, 18 forced fumbles and 1 interception.  I look for Hali to continue to improve under D-co-ordinator Romeo Crennel who has excelled at bringing the best out of the Chiefs’ defenders.

28-year old linebacker Derrick Johnson was the Chiefs’ first round pick (#15 overall) in the 2005 NFL Draft out of  Texas.  The Chiefs had been disappointed in his play up to this season and the Chiefs were even considering cutting him at one point.  But, new defensive co-ordinator Romeo Crennel waved his magic wand and Johnson is all of a sudden a dominator.  Johnson has played in 15 games for the Chiefs so far this year and he has 116 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 15 passes defensed, 4 forced fumbles and a interception that he returned for a  TD.  He has now played in 89 games in his first six years with the Chiefs and he has 503 tackles, 40 passes defensed, 14 sacks, 16 forced fumbles and 7 interceptions (3 returned for a TD).  Johnson is finally living up to his potential and he has led the way for a much improved Chiefs’ D in 2010.

The Chiefs completely dominated the Titans yesterday at Arrowhead Stadium.  Matt Cassel got back on track by completing 24 of 34 passes for 314 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 20 yards (6.7 ypc) in this game.  Brodie Croyle finished up the game at QB by completing 1 of 2 passes for -2 yards and he also threw a pickoff.  Jamaal Charles led the way on the ground for the Chiefs yesterday with 77 yards rushing on 13 carries (5.9 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 40 yards (10.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Thomas Jones pitched in with 51 yards rushing on 23 carries (2.2 ypc) in this game.  WR Dwayne Bowe (6 rec, 153 yards, TD) and TE Tony Moeaki (5 rec, 63 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Chiefs.  The Chiefs finished up with 152 yards rushing on 40 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 36 passes for 306 yards as they held onto the ball for 39:04!

CB Brandon Flowers (7 tackles) and safety Eric Berry (4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception (he returned it 54 yards for a TD)).  CB Brandon Carr and safety Kendrick Lewis each had a interception in this game too.  The Titans finished up with 57 yards rushing on 16 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 37 passes for 213 yards.  The Chiefs are now 10-5 on the season and they have won the AFC West.

The Chiefs will win the AFC West if they can beat the Titans and Raiders in the next two weeks at Arrowhead Stadium where they are 6-0 on the season.  The Chiefs are also pretty hot right now with 4 wins in their last 5 games.  The Titans broke a six game losing streak last weekend against the Texans.  Look for Jeff Fisher to pull out all of the stops to try to win this game as he is sitting on a hot seat.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs are going to come out running the ball with Thomas Jones & Jamaal Charles against a Titans’ D that is allowing 114.1 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry.  The Chiefs will also take some shots down the field to Dwayne Bowe against a Titans’ D that is allowing 247.8 yards passing per game this year.  But the Titans have 38 sacks already this year and 16 interceptions so Cassel is going to have to get rid of the ball quickly without making mistakes.  That means that rookie TE Tony Moeaki could also have a big game this Sunday.

When the Titans have the ball:  The Chiefs need to go all out to stop Chris Johnson and force the Titans to throw the ball.  Then they must get after QB Kerry Collins because the Chiefs are giving up 226.5 yards passing per game.  WR Kenny Britt and Nate Washington are pretty good receivers and they will make plays down the field if Collins has time to throw the ball.

PREDICTION:  CHIEFS 23, TITANS 20

The Chiefs got the lead in this game in the second quarter and then they took over.  Matt Cassel was in game manager mode last Sunday as he completed 15 of 29 passes for 184 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 6 times for 17 yards (2.8 ypc) in this game.  Jamaal Charles was awesome in this game for the Chiefs with 126 yards rushing on only 11 carries (11.5 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 27 yards (9.0 avg).  Thomas Jones was also effective in this game with 22 carries  for 62 yards (2.8 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 1 pass for 16 yards.  Chris Chambers (3 rec, 42 yards), Tony Moeaki (3 rec, 25 yards) and Leonard Pope (1 rec, 2 yards with a TD grab) led the way for the Chiefs in the air.  The Chiefs finished up with 210 yards rushing on 42 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 29 passes for 173 yards.

The defense was outstanding for the Chiefs in this game!  LB Derrick Johnson (13 tackles), DE Wallace Gilberry (3 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits) and safety Kendrick Lewis (2 interceptions) led the way for the D in this game.  The Rams finished up with 69 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 43 passes for 155 yards.  The Chiefs are now 9-5 on the season and they are still 1 game up on the Chargers in the AFC West.

The Chiefs are coming off a 31-0 loss at the hands of the Chargers who won on Thursday Night cutting the Chiefs lead in the AFC West to 1/2 a game.  The Rams are also in first place in their division (tied with the Seahawks) which makes this a “must win” game for both teams.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs hope to have Matt Cassel back under center this Sunday.  That is because they would be in deep trouble if forced to start Brodie Croyle again.  Regardless of who is playing QB, the Chiefs are going to come out running the ball with Jamaal Charles.  The Rams are allowing 105.7 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry so Charles should find some running room against them.  If Cassel is at QB the Chiefs will likely take some shots down the field to Dwayne Bowe against a Rams’ pass D that is allowing 228.2 yards passing per game.

When the Rams have the ball:  The Chiefs will need to go all out to stop Steven Jackson and make the Rams one dimensional.  That won’t be easy though as he runs downhill with the football.  The Chiefs will likely try to blitz rookie QB Sam Bradford in an attempt to rattle him.  Bradford spreads the ball around in the passing game which makes the Rams hard to defend as it’s not smart to try to double any of their WRs.

PREDICTION:  RAMS 21, CHIEFS 20

The Chiefs completely sucked yesterday as there is no need to sugarcoat things.  Brodie Croyle got the start at QB and he was pathetic.  He completed 7 of 17 passes for 40 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He was replaced late in the game by Tyler Palko who completed 2 of 3 passes for 8 yards.  Jamaal Charles led the way for the Chiefs on the ground in this game with 40 yards rushing on 10 carries (4.0 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 9 yards.  Thomas Jones could only muster 1 yard rushing on 3 carries (0.3 ypc) in this game.  WR Terrance Copper (2 rec, 15 yards) and TE Tony Moeaki (2 rec, 13 yards) led the way for the Chiefs in the passing game.  The Chiefs finished up with 48 yards rushing on 17 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 9 of 20 passes for 19 yards as they only had the ball for 19:50 in this game.

LB Derrick Johnson (9 tackles), CB Brandon Carr (8 tackles) and safety Eric Berry (7 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception) led the way for the Chiefs’ D in this game.  DE Wallace Gilberry recovered a fumble in this game for the Chiefs.  The Chargers finished up with 207 yards rushing on 43 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 24 passes for 219 yards.  The Chiefs still lead the AFC West with a 8-5 record but they are only 1 game ahead of the Chargers.

The Chiefs have won 3 games in a row to stay atop the AFC West by 2 games over the Chargers & Raiders.  The Chiefs also beat the Chargers 21-14 in the season opener at Arrowhead Stadium.  The Chargers have won 4 of their last 5 games but they were thumped 28-13 at home by the Raiders last weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chiefs have the ball:  Even without Matt Cassel in this game the Chiefs have to feel good about their chances.  The Chiefs watched the Raiders dominate the Chargers last week by running the ball and that’s likely the Chiefs’ gameplan this weekend.  The Chiefs are averaging 175.2 yards rushing  per game and 4.9 yards per carry so Jamaal Charles & Thomas Jones are likely going to get a ton of work tomorrow.  Dwayne Bowe isn’t going to get shut out like he did last week as he will likely be Brodie Croyle’s go to man in this game.

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers are going to come out passing the ball, like they always do.  The Chiefs are going to try to rattle Philip Rivers like they did in the season opener by blitzing him a lot.  That’s a dangerous gameplan though as Rivers has had success throwing the ball this year no matter who has been catching passes from him.  With Antonio Gates & Malcolm Floyd back in action it makes Rivers even more dangerous.  The Chiefs also have to be ready for Mike Tolbert who is running the ball well so far this year.

PREDICTION:  CHIEFS 23, CHARGERS 21

27-year old QB Brodie Croyle will likely get the start under center for the Chiefs this weekend.  Croyle has not gotten into any games this season for the Chiefs.  He played in 3 games for the Chiefs last season and he completed 23 of 40 passes (57.5%) for 230 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs (90.6 QB Rating).  Croyle has now played in 16 games in his first five years with the Chiefs and he has completed 173 of 300 passes (57.7%) for 1,631 yards with 8 TD passes and 8 INTs (70.6 QB Rating).  Croyle has also carried the ball 1o times for 15 yards (1.5 ypc) so far in his NFL career.  The Chiefs are 0-9 in Croyle’s starts so they need him to step up and they also need Matt Cassel to get healthy soon.