Derek Carr & Oakland Raiders visit Alex Smith & Kansas City Chiefs in first-place showdown on NBC's 'Thursday Night Football'

NBC continues its coverage of "Thursday Night Football" this week with an AFC West first-place showdown, when Derek Carr and the AFC-leading Oakland Raiders (10-2) host Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs (9-3) at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. ET with "Football Night in Kansas City" on NBC.

The Raiders are the hottest team in the AFC, riding a six-game winning streak into their "Thursday Night Football" clash against the division-rival Chiefs. Oakland's resurgence is led by third-year QB Derek Carr, who is tied for fourth in the NFL in passing yards (3,375), and boasts a 24-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Oakland leads the AFC with 28.8 points per game, and is coming off a 38-24 win against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday after erasing a 24-9 deficit in the third quarter.

The Oakland offense heads into Kansas City to face a Chiefs defense that has helped propel the team to a 9-3 record, and a 7-1 mark in its last eight games. Kansas City's defense has scored an NFL-high five touchdowns, is tied for the league-lead in fumble recoveries (11), and tied for second in interceptions (14). Defense was the story in the Chiefs' 29-28 win against the Falcons in Atlanta, led by DB Eric Berry. Berry had an interception return for a touchdown, as well as a "pick-two," intercepting QB Matt Ryan on a two-point conversion late in regulation to retake the lead for Kansas City.

The Chiefs defeated the Raiders in Oakland in Week 6 by a score of 26-10. Kansas City RB Spencer Ware had a career-high 131 rushing yards in the win, while Smith completed 19 of 22 passes for 224 yards. The Chiefs are 6-1 in their past seven meetings with the Raiders.