With a Kansas City Chiefs Week 8 game scheduled against the Las Vegas Raiders, a lot of eyes will be on the NFL's current dynasty. Ahead of the Chiefs-Raiders game, we’ll be making our Chiefs Week 8 predictions.
For the Chiefs, it's an opportunity to stay undefeated. It's a great opportunity. Vegas is 2-5 and has lost three in a row as well as four out of its last five. The Raiders recently traded away star wideout Davante Adams and the team seems to be settling in for yet another rebuild.
Yes, Chiefs-Raiders is one of the NFL's most heated rivalries, but the Raiders may not have a ton of gas left in the tank. They'll be playing for pride, though, so that's something to keep an eye on.
Nevertheless, let’s move on to our Chiefs Week 8 predictions.
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Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes will throw three touchdowns
Patrick Mahomes has thrown for 1,389 yards this season with six touchdowns and eight interceptions. He's having a horrible season statistically. Think about it, this is three-time Super Bowl winner and two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes we're talking about and he's thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in 2024. He also hasn't thrown a touchdown in two games.
This is an unheard-of bad streak by Mahomes.
“I just don’t think it’s normal for what you’ve seen from us because there’s not a lot of passing touchdowns,” Mahomes said earlier this week, according to The Guardian. “There’s been a lot of turnovers, especially by me.”
The thing is, great players don't stay down for long. It's also telling that despite the turnover and bad throws, the Chiefs keep winning. This is a deep and championship-experienced team.
“I think it’s just showing the versatility of our team. It’s not just about me. It’s not just about the stats and the light show and stuff like that. It’s about playing team football,” Mahomes explained.
Mahomes and the Chiefs are due for a “get right” game, and this rivalry game against the Raiders is the perfect opportunity. Expect three touchdown passes from him.
New Chiefs WR DeAndre Hopkins will catch one of those touchdowns
Part of the optimism regarding a Mahomes bounce-back game comes from one of the shiny new toys he has to play with. The Chiefs traded a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who is no longer a superstar player but he still likely has plenty of gas left in the tank.
The problem for Hopkins is that he's been stuck on a listless Titans team this season trying to catch passes from Will Levis, who has made a name for himself in the wrong way this season.
Hopkins only has 15 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown this season, but last year, he caught 75 passes for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Chiefs are hoping 2023 was the norm for Hopkins and this season has been an anomaly. There's good reason to think that's the case, too, because Mahomes is easily the best quarterback Hopkins has ever played with and he's put up massive yards with guys like Matt Shaub and A.J. McCarron.
He'll instantly be Mahomes' favorite receiver and there's no reason to think that connection won't start right away. Some may think that head coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs may try to slowly work Hopkins in, but it doesn't sound like Reid is thinking that way.
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‘Why wait?” Reid said when asked if he'll play Hopkins against the Raiders, according to ESPN. “He's a good, veteran player and has seen just about everything over 12 years, and he's a good space player so he has a very good understanding how to work in space at the same time. He's a tough matchup because of his size, arm length, big body that knows how to play that in low post area very well.”
Expect Reid to draw up a touchdown play for Hopkins and expect Hopkins to deliver.
Travis Kelce will catch his first touchdown of the season
Travis Kelce has 28 catches this season for 245 yards. He hasn't yet found the end zone, which is really incredible when you consider the fact that he had 12 touchdown receptions in 2022. He's not that far removed from that season and he was a valuable piece of last season's Super Bowl run for Kansas City, but he just doesn't seem to have the juice in 2024.
Some of that is probably Kelce's jet-setting relationship with Taylor Swift (but let's not get into that) but the rest of it is the fact that 35 years old and clearly focused on other things in his life.
Still, Kelce is too good to be denied the end zone for another game in a row. It's a big game against a divisional opponent, and with Hopkins on the field stealing some of the spotlight, expect Kelce to be able to sneak into the end zone for his first touchdown of the season.
