It sounds simple enough – take care of the football and force turnovers, and the odds are you'll find yourself in the "W" column at the end of the day.
It's a fundamental of the game that's preached at every level, and for good reason, as nine of the 10 teams ranked highest in the NFL in turnover differential have a winning record.
The Kansas City Chiefs rank No. 2 on that list with a plus 12 differential, behind just the undefeated Carolina Panthers plus 16, but over the past five weeks, they're boasting an even more impressive plus 14; so it's no surprise that each of those five games has ended in a Kansas City Chiefs win.
"They're a great defense," defensive end Khalil Mack said about the Chiefs. "From what I can see, everybody is in position. They're working together."
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Perhaps even more impressive than the fact that the Chiefs defense is now forcing turnovers in bunches, is that their offense hasn't turned the ball over once during the course of their five-game winning streak – a trend that defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr., hopes to buck Sunday afternoon.
"We work hard and talk a lot about takeaways, find different ways how to get the ball out, find different ways to get an edge to get in front of the ball and make plays," Norton said. "They've done a really good job of protecting the ball and we'd like to continue to improve our ability to take the ball away. So it's going to be a really good challenge for us."
Mack, who has forced one fumble and leads the team with seven sacks in 2015, echoed his defensive coordinator's sentiment and believes that the bunch turnovers are close for the Silver and Black.
"We have to keep working," Mack said. "That's the grind, man. You have to keep working to get better every week."
After forcing a pair of turnovers last Sunday against the Titans, the Raiders first in two weeks, Mack is hopeful that the trend can continue at home against the Chiefs.
"It's always important," Mack said. "It's important every week. That's what you want to do, win the turnover battle and [the Kansas City Chiefs] have been doing that the past five weeks. It's going to be a great, great challenge for us."
He continued, "That's still going to be the goal this week, definitely getting the ball back in our offense's hands."
