Between Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson, Jamaal Charles, Priest Holmes and several others along the way, the rivalry between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs has seen plenty of elite running backs
over the years. This Sunday, the Raiders’ rookie running back Ashton Jeanty gets a chance to make his first stamp in the book between the two organizations that despise each other.
Also, Las Vegas enters Week 7 as a significant underdog on the road while Kansas City and quarterback Patrick Mahomes have been picking up steam lately. The Chiefs have won three out of their last four games and Mahomes, unsurprisingly, is a big reason for that with 1,069 passing yards and nine touchdowns to one interception during that timeframe.
Probably the best way for the Silver and Black to keep the Chiefs’ offense and quarterback in check is to establish the run and play ball control. The good news on that front is that Jeanty has also been heating up recently, totaling 350 yards and four touchdowns from scrimmage over the last three weeks. Additionally, Kansas City’s run defense has struggled so far this season.
Through six games, the Chiefs rank 19th in rushing yards allowed per game (119.2) and 26th in opponent rushing yards per carry (4.7), according to TeamRankings. They also hold the fourth-worst run defense grade from Pro Football Focus (56.3) as a team.
Considering Jeanty is coming off his biggest workload to date with 25 touches (23 rushing attempts and two catches) in a win against the Tennessee Titans, and head coach Pete Carroll saying this week that he’d like to see that trend continue, the rookie should be a focal point of offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s game plan.
So, Jeanty’s debut against the Chiefs will be the focus for this week’s gameday topic in The FEED. The game kicks off at 10:00 a.m. PST and will air on CBS (check your local listings). I look forward to talkin’ some ball with y’all!
