Raiders Week Becomes Bounce-Back Week for KC

Sunday stunk, so much so that my heart still stings as I try not to envision that ball bouncing off Phillip Gaines' face mask. Thankfully, there is no greater way to forget about gut-wrenching defeat than remembering that it's Raiders Week. It's a short week this time, sure, but the hate is still strong, and the stakes are high for both teams in this delicious rivalry. Here are this week's three quick predictions:

1. Trust Andy Reid, you guys. He's earned it. I know Sunday's game was brutal, but all that success doesn't just go poof and disappear after one ugly defeat. Andy and his shovel-passin', screen-happy offensive style developed a deep-pass threat this season that made KC's offense look impressive in all-but-one game so far this year. Last week was not a return to form. It was a momentary stumble. I think. I hope. I predict that the Chiefs will rip off a gain of at least 55 yards that helps the Kingdom remember just how lucky we are this year.

2. Let's also not forget that Alex Smith is enjoying the best year of his career to this point. This is largely because his rediscovered running skills force defenders to decide between crashing on the QB or staying on their man. He's not just extending plays - he's making big plays happen by threatening defenses with his legs. For whatever reason, that was extremely limited in the game-plan last season, but fans in KC should be ecstatic to see this happening consistently this time around. Alex ran for just 134 yards last season, and he's already racked up 121 through six games this year. I predict that Smith will surpass his rushing yards total from last year tonight.

3. The Raiders' season to this point has been...inconsistent. Oakland put up 45 in a win against the New York Jets in Week 2, then turned around the next week and scored just 10 against Washington. The Baltimore Ravens' average points/game of 19 is 24th in football, yet they scored 30 against Oakland in Week 5. A healthy Derek Carr has fans in Oakland hyped for this one, but the Chiefs' dominance over Carr throughout the Andy Reid era is well-documented. It could develop into an ugly, chippy game tonight, but the Chiefs will win and cover their 3-point spread. KC wins 26-20, and peace returns to Chiefs Kingdom.

Doug LaCerte didn't get much better about neglecting his Facebook page or Twitter @DLaC67. He'll do better eventually, maybe.