3 Incredible Week 13 Performances, How to Beat Oakland in Week 14

(Pass formation) TWO-POINT CONVERSION ATTEMPT. 2-M.Ryan pass to 81-A.Hooper is incomplete. ATTEMPT FAILS. DEFENSIVE TWO-POINT ATTEMPT. 29-E.Berry intercepted the try attempt. ATTEMPT SUCCEEDS.

That's how it looks in the official scoring summary for last Sunday's game in the Georgia Dome, but the video takes us a step closer to understanding the uniquely grand moment Chiefs Kingdom just experienced. Let's take another step back and try, before moving on to Raider Hatin' time, to appreciate that historic moment, as well as others that made this last exhilarating KC win possible.

The Chiefs needed at least three incredible performances to claim their second-straight win over a playoff team in unlikely, nail-biting fashion. The first and most ESPN Films-worthy performance of the week came from Eric Berry. Upon returning to his home turf in Atlanta for the first time since traveling there for chemotherapy treatment, Berry changed the game with a pick-six moments before halftime and a late-game pick-two that stood as the Chiefs' one-point margin of victory.

Despite the purely poetic eight points put up by Berry, KC still needed help from their offense. Actually, the Chiefs are scoring about half their points via special teams and defense, but every team needs their offensive playmakers to make plays on occasion. A 418-yard, 28-point day for the Falcons offense made a solid game from KC's offense essential. Thankfully for Chiefs Kingdom, Alex Smith played perhaps his most complete game of the season.

The #2 and #3 incredible individual performances from last Sunday's win go hand-in-hand, as Smith and Travis Kelce spent the afternoon playing like the planet's best tight end-QB duo. Kelce caught eight of Alex's 21 completed passes and accounted for 140 of Smith's 270 passing yards. Criticism of KC's franchise QB has been so heavy, so recent and so justifiable that it makes his stellar performance last week feel almost surreal. Kelce's output, although impressive, looks much more believable, especially when measured by his recent success; this is his third-straight game with over 100 receiving yards. Tonight, in the bitter cold of a Kansas City winter that just arrived in earnest, short passes to Kelce could be the Chiefs' bread and butter.

This one could be ugly, but mostly for the right reasons. If you haven't heard, it's expected to be brutally cold at Arrowhead. Wind chill is expected to range anywhere from five to 15 degrees Fahrenheit for tonight's game. I'll just leave this tweet here...

Derek Carr in 3 road games in temps below 50
DEN '14 18/36 158 YDS 1/1
DEN '15 12/29 135 YDS 2/0
KC '15 21/33 194 YDS 1/1
52% CMP 4.96 Y/A

— Heath Cummings (@heathcummingssr) December 6, 2016

Okay, those cold-weather numbers come against two stout defensive teams in the Broncos and, you know, our Chiefs. With that in mind, I still don't know how well Carr or the vast majority of quarterbacks can fare in this certain context. It's tough to envision anybody playing well in a road game in the record-breakingly raucous Arrowhead Stadium in temperatures well below freezing against a 9-3 Chiefs team coming off back-to-back stunning, swag-inducing comeback victories over playoff contenders. He may still become the MVP, but Carr will be an underdog at Arrowhead tonight.

The chilly weather could limit both team's passing attacks, but it won't make stopping the run any easier on Kansas City. Oakland enters Week 14 with the NFL's seventh-highest average for rushing yards per game. This is the highest-ranked running game on KC's regular season schedule. Oakland's defense should see a lot of Spencer Ware, too, which means a constantly running clock will limit snaps and make this more of a lower-scoring affair than if it were played in Oakland today.

Unpredictable play from Kansas City's offense also helps to make this game, well, unpredictable. After three weeks of scoring less against their opponent than the average points allowed by that opponent, KC scored more than that average in their last two games. It's hard to know which Alex Smith will show up tonight, but he and the rest of the offense seem to be trending in the right direction, especially with Jeremy Maclin now finally healthy enough to play.

I don't know if it'll be another timely interception from KC's secondary, a game-changing feat of athleticism from Tyreek Hill or a "welcome back, J-Mac" touchdown that will seal the victory for our Chiefs, but I still predict them to win a gritty nail-biter, 23-17. I really hope I can keep this as my desktop background for a while longer.

Doug LaCerte mocks the Raiders on Twitter @DLaC67, and he still uses Facebook.

3 Ways to Avoid Losing in Week 9

Our Kansas City Chiefs passed the halfway point of their schedule with a commanding victory last week, and the Vegas books expect another win for KC today. The Jacksonville Jaguars don't incite fear in many NFL locker rooms, so this week, the Chiefs' focus presumably rested less on how to win today's game, and more on how to simple not lose. KC just spent their week game-planning for a subpar opponent without their franchise QB or their two best running backs, but our Chiefs will once again have the advantage today at Arrowhead Stadium. A combination of KC's confidence and Jacksonville's ineptitude place’s the Chiefs’ focus less on winning today and more on letting their opponent lose.

The Jags beat the 1-5, Brian Hoyer-led Chicago Bears in a 17-16 Week 6 stinker. They also managed to beat the Indianapolis Colts by 3 points in Week 4. That is the unabridged list of victories claimed by Jacksonville this season. A disappointing loss lurks somewhere in Kansas City’s soft schedule. It's inevitable, but I don't think it's happening today. Here are three ways KC can avoid losing to the Jags:

1. Spread the ball around - Only seven NFL teams hold their opponent to fewer passing yards per game than Jacksonville. Despite that, only six NFL teams give up more points per game. We can expect conservatism from the Chiefs, but that won't necessarily translate to constantly running the ball. Without Spencer Ware or Jamaal Charles, KC will often defer to short passes and screens today. Successfully spreading the ball around to the healthy, trustworthy options will be what gives the Chiefs enough points to advance to Week 10 with another win. If Travis Kelce, Jeremy Maclin, Tyreek Hill and Chris Conley all finish the day with at least two catches, KC will have done enough offensively to once again avoid losing to an inferior team.

2. Put pressure on Blake Bortles - KC's +9 turnover ratio is second only to Minnesota's +11. Jacksonville ties with the Jets, who allowed 8 turnovers to KC in Week 3, for the league's worst ratio at -8. Only two QBs in the NFL have more interceptions than Bortles' 9, and he's been sacked 17 times through seven games. D.J. White is KC's only injured piece on defense, so the Chiefs should have fun attacking Bortles. If the emerging pass-rush for KC can raise their team average of 5.4 QB hurries per game, they'll limit Jacksonville's offense enough to ensure victory today.

3. Avoid disaster - The safest bet of the day may be for KC to improve that aforementioned turnover ratio, but it isn't necessary for a Chiefs win. The Jags defense will surely be on the lookout for moments to make a game-changing play, and they need more than just one to give themselves a chance to win. The Chiefs' only two losses came in the only two games when they turned the ball over twice or more. If the Jags can't force two or more turnovers today, you guessed it, Chiefs win, and we're on to Carolina with a kinda-sorta-tie for first place in the AFC West.

Doug LaCerte tries to use Twitter @DLaC67, and he's still on Facebook.