The Kansas City Chiefs are once again headed to the Super Bowl, and this time, will be in the Las Vegas Raiders' territory.
Kansas City has essentially owned the AFC over the last five years, and while the Raiders have watched their biggest rival's success from within the AFC West, there have been eras when the Raiders had their own grasp of the division.
NFL Hall of Famer and Raiders legend Howie Long knows all too well what that dominance looks like, having been one of the premiere players on the Super Bowl XVIII title team.
On Thursday's edition of the "Up and Adams Show with Kay Adams," Long compared his 1983 Raiders defense to this year's Chiefs defense.
"It's kind of like the team that, in a sense somewhat, like we had back in -- when the film was black and white -- but it was Lester Hayes and Mike Haynes," Long said. "And we go into Washington, and Washington had set a record for offensive points that stood until the Cris Carter-Randy Moss Vikings, so it stood for quite a period of time. If you've got those two guys, you can do so many things creatively when you've got a Chris Jones, a defensive tackle, [George] Karlaftis -- he's a guy who really has come on -- and I think they've done an amazing job in the draft."
Long believes the main similarity between his 1983 Raiders defense and the Chiefs' defense is the cornerback duo (Hayes-Haynes and Trent McDuffie-L'Jarius Sneed).
"Lester Hayes and Mike Haynes didn't even have to get in the huddle. We knew what they were doing -- they were in Cover 1 or it was Cover 3, and that's it. They're man, they're not going in motion, they're not switching sides. And Washington, at that point, had a great receiving corps and they were dynamic offensively, and our defensive line matched up well.
"And I think this [Kansas City vs. San Francisco] is a really fascinating matchup."
From February 27 to March 4, 2024, the NFL Scouting Combine will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently hold the No. 13 overall pick.
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