Raiders report: At least 2 defensive players to miss Chiefs game
Raiders report
Schedule
All practices at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, unless noted:
■ Saturday — Off
■ Sunday — vs. Kansas City Chiefs, Allegiant Stadium, 5:20 p.m.
■ Monday — Off
■ Tuesday — Off
■ Wednesday — Practice, 11:30 a.m.
■ Thursday — Practice, 11:30 a.m.
■ Friday — Practice, 11:30 a.m.
■ Saturday — Off
■ Sunday — vs. Cincinnati Bengals, Allegiant Stadium, 1:05 p.m.
Quote of the day
Sunday’s Raiders-Chiefs game could be massive for the AFC West standings.
But every matchup between the longtime rivals is huge regardless of whether potential playoff spots are on the line.
Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia said former defensive back and current team employee George Atkinson often is asked to educate the newer Raiders about the meaning of the rivalry.
“Younger players coming in are mostly focused on what they’ve been through and what they’ve seen,” Bisaccia said. “We’re fortunate enough to have George here. He’s been through a lot of those games, and he does a great job with our young guys. He’s spoken to our teams many times about what it means to play the Chiefs and what the rivalry is all about.”
This game has the additional significance of the playoff race.
“Divisional games are something we always talk about,” Bisaccia said. “The best chance to get in the playoffs is to win your division, and we’re back playing at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s a historic rivalry, and we’re all aware of that. But it’s a game for us where we’re coming off a game we lost, so we’re just excited about the opportunity to play football again.”
Injury report
Safety Tyree Gillespie (hamstring) and linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski (ankle) will miss Sunday’s game, according to Bisaccia.
Kwiatkoski’s absence opens the possibility of veteran K.J. Wright taking on more of a role against the Chiefs.
He was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday by a shoulder injury but had a full practice session Friday and isn’t on the injury report.
It also could be an opportunity for Marquel Lee or Divine Deablo to get more snaps on defense.
“K.J. has been repping there a bunch,” Bisacccia said of the backup middle linebacker position. “He’s played all three (linebacker) spots for us. Marquel was up last week, and Divine has been playing really well on special teams.”
Cornerbacks Amik Robertson (hip) and Keisean Nixon (ankle) are listed as doubtful.
The Chiefs will be without tackles Mike Remmers (knee) and Lucas Niang (ribs). Andrew Wylie is expected to start at right tackle and be largely responsible for blocking Maxx Crosby, a former college teammate.
Starting cornerback L’Jarius Sneed is questionable with ankle and wrist injuries.
Keep it simple
Bisaccia said there are no plans to alter the team’s routine despite playing on “Sunday Night Football.”
“If we were on the East Coast and it was 8 or 8:30 p.m., it would be a little different (because of the time change),” he said. “But we’ve kept everything the same going into this game.”
Red zone
The red zone often has been a stop sign for a Raiders offense that has settled for too many field goals.
Bisaccia hopes to improve in that area after scoring just one touchdown and settling for four field-goal attempts in six trips last week in the loss to the New York Giants.
“We moved the ball up and down a bunch and got ourselves in field position that we thought was advantageous to us,” he said.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-Journal
