As the 2011 NFL season heads into Week 16, several key matchups across the league could have an effect on the overall NFL Playoff picture. Of all of the games in Week 16, one that will prove to be one of the most significant will take place in Kansas City as the Oakland Raiders visit the Chiefs. Heading into Week 16, both the Raiders and the Chiefs have outside hopes of making the playoffs, but both teams will need a win in order to make it. Through 14 games of the NFL season, the Oakland Raiders have a record of 7-7 while the Chiefs have a record of 6-8. Both teams could still technically make the playoffs, but they trail the Denver Broncos, who have a record of 8-6. Both the Raiders and the Chiefs have had an up and down year so far. After starting the season with a record of 7-4, the Oakland Raiders have dropped three straight games, which have brought their record back down to .500. During that span, the Raiders lost two blowouts to the Miami Dolphins and the Green Bay Packers. Last week they suffered a heart breaking loss to the Detroit Lions, who managed to make a 98 yard drive within the last minutes of the game to score a game winning touchdown. Entering the season, many people expected that the Raiders would have a significant amount of success. However, a large amount of injuries on their offensive side of the ball have prevented the team from coming together. Their starting quarterback to start the year, Jason Campbell, was lost for the year in Week 6 of the season. However, the Raiders were able to trade for veteran quarterback Carson Palmer, who has been inconsistent so far this year. Due to their shaky quarterback play, the Raiders have relied on their offensive running attack, which has been led by Darren McFadden and Michael Bush. In just 7 games this year, McFadden has been dominant as he has ran for 614 yards and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. While he has been set back by injuries, most experts expect him to get a decent amount of carries against the Chiefs this week. Filling in for McFadden in the meantime has been Michael Bush, who has amassed over 800 yards and has gotten into the end zone eight times this year. The Raider should have a pretty easy time running the ball against KC as the Chiefs have the 24th ranked running defense. Of all the teams in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs may have been the most inconsistent. The Chiefs started the season off 0-3, then won four straight, which was then followed by three straight losses. In that four game winning streak earlier in the year, the Chiefs were extremely dominant against the Raiders as they beat them by a score of 28-0 in Week 7. Part of the inconsistency has been due to significant injuries all season long. Earlier in the year the Chiefs lost their star running back, Jamaal Charles, and quarterback Matt Cassel to season ending injuries. However, the Chiefs have been able to recover due to the successes of backup running backs Jackie Battle, Dexter McCluster, and Thomas Jones. The Chiefs also were able to sign quarterback Kyle Orton after he was placed on waivers by Denver. The Raiders appear to have not had a worse time to head into Kansas City. The Chiefs have appeared very good ever since acquiring veteran quarterback Kyle Orton a few weeks ago. In fact, last week the Chiefs beat the Green Bay Packers by a score of 19-14, which was Green Bay’s first loss of the season. The Raiders weak overall defense, which is ranked 27th in the NFL, should help the Kansas City offense continue to excel.