The Kansas City Chiefs are not used to being out of the playoff picture, and they’re not out of it now. But as things stand with their 5-4 record, they are out there fighting for not only the division title but for a wild-card berth as well. For the latter, there are a lot of teams in the mix.
BetAnySports customers know that the Las Vegas Raiders have been through quite a bit of upheaval lately, and perhaps that took its toll as they were pretty flat in New Jersey in losing a 23-16 decision to the Giants last week.
Now the Raiders and Chiefs play in the first of their two annual blood battles, which is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. Eastern time on NBC.
The site is Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and if you are signed up with BetAnySports, you can get reduced juice, which helps you avoid laying the customary – 110, and we can stay right in the action with real real time wagering, courtesy of Ultimate Lines, Premier Lines and Super Lines.
Of course, the Raiders lost their head coach when Jon Gruden became embroiled in an email scandal, in which the NFL revealed some of his off-the-cuff comments as they were communicated to Bruce Allen, then general manager of the Washington franchise. Gruden wasn’t even working in the NFL at the time, but was a commentator for ESPN. He has sued the NFL for their disclosures, which cost him his job.
And then of course there is a Henry Ruggs situation. The second-year receiver out of Alabama got drunk and, in effect, committed vehicular manslaughter when he slammed into a motorist after going 156 mph. He’s been cut, and he’ll be spending some time in the legal system.
Las Vegas has Rich Bisaccia, who was the special teams coordinator, acting as interim coach. According to WINKA, as long as Derek Carr is involved with the offense, they’ve got a pretty good chance at productivity.
In the Sunday Night Football betting odds posted on this game by the folks at BetAnySports, the Chiefs are the favorite on the road:
Kansas City Chiefs -2.5 (-120)
Las Vegas Raiders + 2.5 (+100)
Over 52.5 points -110
Under 52.5 points -110
Between Patrick Mahomes and Derek Carr, it is Carr who has been more productive. It’s not that he has thrown for 2565 yd, it’s that he’s taking better care of the ball. Mahomes has been intercepted ten times, and turnovers have been something that have killed the Chiefs.
Kansas City is first in the NFL in yards gained on a per-drive basis, and they are the only NFL team that has converted more than 50% of its third-down opportunities. But they are only seventh in points scored per drive, so there is a bit of a disconnect there.
And that is documented in the turnover department, as KC has coughed it up on 21.4% of its drives. That’s unacceptable.
And Mahomes has been uncharacteristically shaky at times. Last week he threw for only 166 yards against Green Bay. Of course, his offensive line is not a solid proposition. And that goes back to before they played in the Super Bowl.
The Raider defense it’s not to be discounted. They’re in the top 10 in the yards per drive department on the stop unit, and even in defeat they held the Giants only 245 yards. This has been a big difference between this year’s team and last year’s.
According to SportsbookPayPerHead.com, both of these teams would probably like to run the ball a little more. As far as running play percentage is concerned, they are both down near the bottom of the league. But injuries have played a part in that, as Clyde eEdwards-Helaire has not been available for Kansas City, and Josh Jacobs has been in and out of the lineup for Las Vegas.
The good news for the Raiders is that Jacobs is back and he is more or less splitting time with Kenyan Drake, which means that the Silver and Black has at least the potential for a better running game than Kansas City.
And this just in — the Chiefs don’t stop anybody. Only one team, the Detroit Lions, have surrendered more yardage per drive then they have this season.
Carr likes to play Kansas City; he threw six touchdown passes against them in last year’s two meetings, completing almost 73% of his passes. He may not have Ruggs, but he has Hunter Renfrow and tight end Darren Waller, his two favorite receivers, and maybe there is something they can do with DeSean Jackson.
Is very tough for us to recommend laying points on the road with a team (KC) that turns the ball over with frequency and has a lousy defense. For those reasons, we are taking the points with the Raiders.
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