Kansas City Chiefs vs Las Vegas Raiders: Betting Odds, Picks & Preview
On Sunday, Kansas City (4-0 SU, 3-1 ATS) will look to extend their franchise-record streak with a 14th consecutive win as they host Las Vegas (2-2 SU, 2-2 ATS). The Chiefs are setting the NFL on fire at the moment and rightfully enter the game as a double-digit favorite. With the Raiders defense leaking 30 or more points in all but one game this season, this could be another field day for Mahomes and co.
Line Movement
Last week didn’ see much action on either side with the line in favor of the Chiefs hovering around -12 most of the time, before settling at -12.5 at most sportsbooks. The total is at 55.5 at the moment after going as high as 58.5 during the week. The bookies obviously predict that subpar, by their standards, offensive performance by Kansas City against the Patriots was just a minor hiccup.
Las Vegas News and Thoughts
After two solid wins to start the season against New Orleans and Carolina, the Raiders returned to their old frustrating ways in the last two outings. Still, they did put up the good fight against in-form Buffalo but late fumbles from QB Derek Carr and TE Darren Waller denied them a chance to win. Their offense seems to be working quite well this season but it probably won’t be enough for a first win after 7 visits to Kansas City.
Other than that fumble, Carr had an excellent output completing 32/44 passes, with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions and John Gruden will be expecting more of the same. Raiders QB has been quietly very effective this season and could be a worthy DFS pick this week. RB Josh Jacobs is another good shout even though he’s facing one of the toughest defenses in the NFL. He was up against similar challenges in the last two weeks and had 3 catches in both games. An interesting wrinkle is that he seems to get more chances when the Raiders are trailing which is the most likely scenario in this game.
Kansas City News and Thoughts
The Chiefs took long to get humming last week against the Patriots playing without Cam Newton leaving many wondering if they’re already entering the cruise mode. Knowing Andy Reid that’s hardly the case and they will likely try to take control of this week’s game from the get-go. Patrick Mahomes didn’t have one of his signature games but has proven that even when not at his best, he still has more than enough to lead his team to victory. The defense, though, will face much sterner challenge this week as Derek Carr is a totally different animal than Patriots’ backup Brian Hoyer.
The DFS players should continue riding RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire even though he did’s impress against New England. Las Vegas defense is much more porous and has already allowed 8 running touchdowns and surrendered almost 140 yards on the ground. WR Tyreke Hill may not be putting in the superstar performance we expect of him, but his scoring streak continued last week. After managing to get it done against the high-end defenses in the last two weeks, he will be relishing a chance to go against the Raiders. Damon Arnette is most likely out again, making Hill even more valuable.
Betting Pick: Under 55.5
Most of the money seems to be on over, but in the last seven meetings between these two teams, 7 have gone under. Also, the Raiders’ last 14 divisional road games were under and we feel that this one will be no different. Derek Carr is capable of putting up points but Gruden knows that he has no chance in a high-scoring shoot-out and will try to slow things down. Chiefs are coming out of a shorter week due to the delay of the New England game and could be a bit tired.
