Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 295: Enemies in the Same District
In the AFC West, there are the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders, and Denver Broncos.

There is no doubt that the four teams are inseparable rivals in the same division; among them, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders stand out as the most prestigious rivals in the AFC West, and are also the most entangled, sharp and difficult rivals in the NFL Super Bowl era.

Since the founding of the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders have been in the same division, and even though the division allocations have been adjusted several times in history, the two teams have always been inseparable; but in fact, there was no strong atmosphere of hostility between the two teams until 1967.

That year, the MLB team Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland and evolved into the Oakland Athletics, causing Kansas to lose its professional baseball team. The gap was filled by the re-establishment of the Kansas City Royals two years later, which also led to a secret competition between the two cities of Kansas City and Oakland.

It was at this time, in the 1968 season, that the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders both had twelve wins and two losses in the regular season. The two sides met in the playoffs, and the winner would advance to the AFC Finals. As a result, the Oakland Raiders swept the Kansas City Chiefs with a score of "41:6", which marked the beginning of their life-and-death rivalry.

As time goes by, the hostility between the two sides intensifies.

In the 1970 season, the encounter between the two teams escalated into a physical conflict. Oakland Raiders defensive end Ben Davidson hit Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Lan Dawson's helmet with his knee when Dawson was running with the ball and getting the first down. This foul turned into a fight between the two sides.

Moreover, according to the rules of the game at the time, the Kansas City Chiefs' first attack was blown off, which directly led to their victory turning into a tie and ultimately ruined their entire season. The Oakland Raiders advanced to the playoffs on the shoulders of the Kansas City Chiefs.

This game prompted the league to change the rules. Davidson committed the first foul. Although the Kansas City Chiefs player punched first, which also led to the yellow flag, at least the Kansas City Chiefs' first attack should not have been blown off.

In the 1975 season, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Oakland Raiders 42:10. After each touchdown, the Kansas City Chiefs' mascot would run around the field. This led to the Oakland Raiders head coach losing his temper and beating the mascot after the game, and he also refused to apologize at the post-match press conference.

In the 1999 season, former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Rick Gannon led the Oakland Raiders to a buzzer-beater at Arrowhead Stadium, directly kicking the Kansas City Chiefs out of the playoffs.

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg in the long river of waiting time -

In the 2007 season, the Kansas City Chiefs ended the Oakland Raiders' nine-game winning streak; in the 2014 season, the Oakland Raiders defeated the Kansas City Chiefs to end their own sixteen-game losing streak.

You come and go, not giving an inch.

Every match between the two teams is full of sparks and blood. The most magical and incredible thing here is:
When they meet, their momentum and state are completely different. Even if they are at their lowest point, they can still burst out with incredible energy and pull their mortal enemy down from the peak.

Moreover, they always enjoy the pleasure of destroying their opponents on the road. The Kansas City Chiefs once won seven consecutive away games, and the Oakland Raiders once won six consecutive away games.

This year is no exception.

Even though the Oakland Raiders were stuck in the mud, they were particularly excited when facing the Kansas City Chiefs. Quarterback Carr and wide receiver Amari-Cooper both entered the Super Saiyan state, played their best performance of the season, swept away the haze, and ended the Kansas City Chiefs' six-game winning streak to start the season.

The Kansas City Chiefs' pain is the Oakland Raiders' joy.

The thing is that simple.

After meeting in Week 7 of the regular season, the Kansas City Chiefs suffered five consecutive losses in the next five games, while the Oakland Raiders rebounded strongly and won three games and lost two.

Judging from recent situation, the Oakland Raiders are actually the team in better shape. They will be visiting Arrowhead Stadium this week. Unlike other teams that are often easily suppressed in away performances, the Raiders team is collectively excited and ready to make a big move in Kansas City.

And for the Kansas Chief, life hangs on a thread—

Literally. This game is not only a revenge game, but will also determine the playoff trend of the American League West this season.

Currently, the three teams in the AFC West - the Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Oakland Raiders all have a record of six wins and six losses. Except for the Denver Broncos who are lagging behind with three wins and nine losses, they are all qualified to compete for the division championship, that is, the qualification to advance to the playoffs.

A win or loss is not only the difference between heaven and hell, it may even cause the team's season to take a complete turn. The winner will have seven wins and six losses and retain playoff hopes, while the loser will have six wins and seven losses and is likely to end the season early.

The pressure has reached an unprecedented level, especially for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Imagine if the Kansas City Chiefs' aggressive draft strategy this year sparked countless controversy and discussions, and as a result, they failed to win the playoffs, let alone make the playoffs? Those decisions would be a complete joke.

At the same time, the focus on Levi may also change——

Indeed, Levi's statistics are still excellent and his ability is still outstanding, but don't forget that Levi is a running back, a running back who has no credit but always takes the blame.

If it's a quarterback, linebacker, defensive end, wide receiver, etc., people will still praise them even if the team performs poorly; but what about running backs?
"After struggling for so long, I still couldn't help the team win."

“Since the results are the same and cannot be the key to changing the game, what is the difference between the first round and the seventh round?”

"It's better to choose a running back who is good, cheap and practical, and use the salary cap space to choose a wide receiver."

And so on.

Because in people's fixed ideas, other positions may become the key to changing the game, but running backs cannot, so the team should not spend too much on running backs. Look at Peterson, Tomlinson, Bell, etc., these top running backs were not able to help the team reach the Super Bowl.

The most direct one is Marshawn Lynch. In the final decisive moment of the Super Bowl at the beginning of the year, Carroll still refused to give the ball to the running back.

this is the truth.

If the Kansas City Chiefs really miss the playoffs, I'm afraid Levi will be the scapegoat.

All these factors added up, and the confrontation between the mortal enemies in the same district, which was already full of countless emotions, now rose to a whole new level.

At the touch of a hair.

Look, the game hasn't even started yet, but the two rivals can't wait to start a fight outside the court.

Everything starts with wide receiver Cooper.

This third-year wide receiver played a key role in the last victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. He obviously enjoyed the attention of the laser lights after the game and was eager to fight.

"Kansas's secondary defense is just a name for itself. They surrendered early. They really shouldn't have spent too much time training under the cheerleaders' skirts. They were already weak before they even got on the court."

(End of this chapter)