Las Vegas @ Kansas City preview

Oakland at Kansas City

Last Meeting ( Dec 2, 2018 ) Kansas City 40, Oakland 33

After squandering chances to secure the AFC West title over the last two weeks, the Kansas City Chiefs will try to lock down the top seed in the conference when they host the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. The Chiefs can clinch home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with a win, but they could slide all the way to the No. 5 seed with a third consecutive loss.

Kansas City's four defeats have been by a total of 14 points, including a 29-28 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers and a 38-31 setback at Seattle over the last two weeks. The late slide has wiped out the Chiefs’ margin for error, as they’re tied with the Chargers - who wrap up the season at Denver on Sunday - but hold the tiebreaker in the race for the division title and top seed in the AFC. “I think everyone is excited for the opportunity to get to play a division opponent and a rival … and to get to play it at Arrowhead,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes told reporters. “We want to make sure we get to stay here the rest of the way out. We know that if we can come together and play like we know we can, then we can make a run at this thing.” The Raiders will try to play spoiler against a second straight division rival after their 27-14 win over Denver on Monday ensured the Broncos will have a losing record for the second year in a row.

TV: 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Chiefs -13.5. O/U: 52.5

ABOUT THE RAIDERS (4-11): Oakland won last week in spite of another sub-par effort from the league’s 28th-ranked scoring offense, which totaled fewer than 300 yards for the sixth time this season. Derek Carr has had a decent season - he needs 136 passing yards for his first 4,000-yard campaign and has thrown 19 touchdown passes against eight interceptions - but the ground game is among the league’s worst. Oakland’s defense has had a rough season, especially against the run, but has played better of late and the secondary has been excellent over the last two games.

ABOUT THE CHIEFS (11-4): Kansas City’s high-powered offense hardly has missed a beat since running back Kareem Hunt was released, as Damien Williams has picked up the slack to complement Mahomes and the league’s best passing attack. Mahomes (4,816) is poised to surpass 5,000 passing yards and leads the NFL with 48 touchdown passes – tied for the fourth-most in NFL history. Kansas City’s defense is its biggest liability as the squad has struggled to stop both the run and the pass despite a strong pass rush led by Chris Jones, who has recorded a sack in an NFL-record 11 consecutive games.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Chiefs TE Travis Kelce (1,274) needs 54 receiving yards to break Rob Gronkowski’s NFL record for a tight end set in 2011.

2. Kansas City WR Tyreek Hill (1,378) needs 14 receiving yards to eclipse the franchise mark set in 2000 by Derrick Alexander.

3. The Chiefs have won seven of the last eight meetings, including a 40-33 triumph at Oakland in Week 13.

PREDICTION: Chiefs 34, Raiders 23