Kansas City Chiefs-Oakland Raiders Projected Final Score Revealed

If there’s such a thing as a “must-win” game before the midway point of the NFL season, the Oakland Raiders are facing it tonight.

The reeling Raiders, losers of four straight, host the AFC West Division-leading Chiefs in a marquee Thursday Night Football Showdown.

A loss to the Chiefs (5-1) would put the Raiders (2-4) four games behind the leaders.

Kansas City has won five straight in this rivalry, and seven of the last eight. The lone Raiders victory in that span was on Nov. 20, 2014 -- a Thursday night game.

After a 2-0 start, it’s pretty clear what side of the ball has presented issues for the Silver and Black.

With Derek Carr, two big and experienced receivers and the addition of RB Marshawn Lynch, Oakland’s offense was supposed to be a force to be reckoned with this season.

But it’s been anything but, averaging just 20.7 points per game (18th in the NFL) and generating 278.3 yards per contest, third-worst in the league.

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In the Raiders’ two wins, they scored 26 and 45 points. In the four defeats, they’ve tallied between 10 and 17 points in each.

Carr missed a game with a back injury but was unproductive in his return last Sunday, throwing for 171 yards, one TD and two INTs in a 17-16 loss to the Chargers.  

Perhaps the Chiefs’ defense can prove to be an elixir. KC ranks 29th in yards allowed (378.2) -- though it’s a respectable 13th in points allowed at 21.7 per game, thanks in part to a plus-7 turnover differential. 

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KC, meanwhile, had its own issues in a 19-13 loss to the Steelers last week. The Chiefs managed just one first down and six yards of offense in the first half, before rallying to some extent after the break.

They still rank in the top five in yards and scoring and have the league’s leading rusher in Kareem Hunt (630 yards, 5.9 average).

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NFL game 10,000 times and comes up with final scores and player statistics.

Below are the projected numbers for Thursday night’s AFC West showdown. Projections are updated every 10 minutes.

Thursday, Oct. 19

KANSAS CITY AT OAKLAND, 8:25 P.M. ET

SportsLine Projection Model’s score: Chiefs 27, Raiders 21

Projected Statistics: Alex Smith throws for 267 yards and 1.66 TDs and Kareem Hunt runs 18.2 times for 92 yards for the Chiefs. Derek Carr returns to throw for 223 yards, 1.44 TDs and 1.07 INTs for Oakland.