The Kansas City Chiefs make a trip to Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, to battle the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday night at 8:20 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Kansas City has been on a roll since the Raiders were able to prevail against them in an eight-point victory on October 11th. In fact, Kansas City has won four straight since this contest while going 3-1 against the spread during this time. Nonetheless, the Chiefs were not able to cover as 10 point favorites in their last outing at home versus the Carolina Panthers. Las Vegas has also been on a roll as they have won three straight games entering this contest, with their last victory being a 37-12 shellacking over division foe Denver Broncos. Equally important is that the Raiders are also 3-1 against the spread in their last four contests, including covering as 3.5 point favorites versus the Broncos.
The Raiders’ win over Kansas City in early October halted a five-game winning streak for Kansas City versus their division rival. Nonetheless, Kansas City has covered the number in three of the last four matchups amongst these two teams while Las Vegas has covered the spread in two of the last three home games versus Kansas City. With that being said, Kansas City prevailed in a road contest versus Las Vegas in September 2019 while covering as 7 point favorites . Currently, Kansas City is favored by 6.5 points for this contest, down from seven points at the opening. The total stands as 56.5 points, which is up from 56 points at the opening.
Kansas City seeking payback
The offense for Kansas City has been nearly unstoppable as they have posted 30 points or more in six of their nine contests this season. In fact, they were able to post a total of 32 points at home in their only loss of the season to the Las Vegas Raiders earlier in the season. Patrick Mahomes and company enter this contest on a high as they were able to hold off a Carolina Panthers team in the final minutes at home in their last outing November 8th.And while the team continues to suffer from injuries up front to offensive lineman Mike Remmers, Mitchell Schwartz, along with Eric Fisher, who are each out indefinitely due to illness / back injuries, the team has gotten a bit healthier during the bye week as they plan to welcome back receiver Sammy Watkins , who has not played the past four games due to a hamstring injury. Watkins will certainly seek to increase the production for an offense that not only kicks out 32 points per game, but is averaging 409 yards total on the season, including 294 yards in the air.
Patrick Mahomes has been very efficient with in the pocket this season in completing 67% of his passes for a total of 25 touchdowns alongside just one interception. The quarterback has certainly been extraordinary the last two games for the Chiefs as he has racked up 788 yards while throwing nine touchdown passes during this time. Travis Kelce along with Tyreek Hill continue to put up huge numbers for the passing attack as Kelsey enters this contest seeking to obtain his third straight 100 + yard receiving contest while Hill has racked up four touchdowns total in his last two starts. Important to note that receiver Mecole Hardman is out indefinitely due to currently being under the Covid-19 protocol.
Mahomes and the passing attack was able to record 340 yards in the air versus the Raiders in their last matchup with the QB passing for two touchdowns to Sammy Watkins along with Travis Kelce in addition to throwing an interception. However, the Chiefs were not able to overcome an equally solid performance from Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, who also threw for over 300 yards while having three touchdown passes, in addition to running back Josh Jacobs, who recorded two touchdowns on the night.
In all, the Raiders posted just over 480 total yards in the last contest versus Kansas City as the Chiefs were consistently hit with big plays within the secondary in addition to being plagued by huge runs by Jacobs. Nonetheless, Kansas City's defense is currently giving up just 20 points per game this season, ranking them six in the league. Also, it should be pointed out that Kansas City's unit has a total of 15 turnovers on the year while giving up just 215 yards in the air per outing.
However, defensive end Taco Charlton has already been declared out indefinitely due to a leg injury while defensive end Alex Okafor is also questionable for this contest due to a hamstring injury. The Chiefs may be hurting within their defensive secondary as well as defensive back L’Jarius Sneed is questionable with a collarbone injury while cornerback Rashad Fenton is also questionable with an ankle injury. Finally, cornerback Antonio Hamilton is a game-time decision with the hamstring injury .
However, the Chiefs continue to have cornerback Bashaud Breeland along with safety Tyrann Mathieu within the secondary as they combined for a total of 11 tackles versus the Panthers. Furthermore, Mathieu leads the team in interceptions with two on the season. Also, with defensive end Max Crosby being a beast within the trenches this year in collecting a total of six sacks, expect the Chiefs to be up to the challenge versus Carr and the Raiders’ offense.
Jacobs continue his effectiveness on the ground for Raiders
Josh Jacobs has not only rushed for 100 + yards in two of his last three contests, but has also posted three rushing TD’s during this time. The Raiders were able to have a breakout game in last week’s matchup versus the Denver Broncos as they finished with 203 yards, with Jacobs leading the way with 21 rushes for 112 yards along with two touchdowns. Important to note that running back Devontae Booker also had sixteen rushing attempts for 81 yards along with another two scores for Las Vegas. Entering this contest, the Raiders possess the seventh-ranked rushing attack in the NFL averaging a tad less than 140 yards per game.They may indeed find some opportunities on the ground throughout this contest as Kansas City is ranked 29th in stopping the run in allowing 138 yards per game . However, it is important to note that the Raiders may be short-handed up front for this contest as tackle Sam Young along with Kolton Miller are each questionable with knee and ankle injuries.
It will be very interesting to see how the Raiders are able to perform within their passing attack versus a Kansas City secondary that has done well in defending the pass in allowing just 215 yards per game. Carr has been sensational for the Raiders this season in collecting 16 touchdown passes alongside just two picks while completing 70% of his passes. Darren Waller has been his favorite target on the outside as he has racked up 430 yards receiving along with four touchdown passes on the year while Henry Ruggs III has recorded 250 yards along with a touchdown for the year; However, it should be noted that Ruggs III has struggled in the last four games for the Raiders in putting up just 35 yards or less in receiving yards while Waller has had 50 yards or less in his last five starts.
Stats & Trends
- No Trends to report
- Home team is 6 - 2 ATS in the last eight meetings versus the Chiefs and Raiders
- Raiders are 4-0 ATS in the last 4 games after accumulating more than 150 yards rushing in their previous game
- Raiders are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 versus the AFC
- Raiders are 5-0 ATS in the last 5 vs AFC West
The Pick
While it is true that the Raiders have dropped two of their last three home games against the spread, overall, the fact is that the team showed an abundance of resilience in their last matchup versus the Chiefs as they were able to rally from a 21 - 10 deficit midway through the second quarter to outscore the Chiefs the remainder of the way thanks to some huge TD passes from Carr along with a big performance on the ground from Jacobs. And while the Chiefs may pull out a victory in this contest, the fact is that the Raiders certainly have much to play for as they only trail Kansas City by two games for the top spot within the AFC West Division.
With this being the case, one can certainly expect the home team to come out with a bit of fire for this contest. In all, I will gladly go against the grain in this contest to side with a team in Las Vegas that has certainly done well for themselves as of late both in terms of wins and losses as well as their success against the spread.