The struggling Las Vegas Raiders are on the road to battle the Kansas City Chiefs, who’ve won five in a row. Is this a recipe for disaster for the Raiders, or is an upset in the cards? Let’s take a look at the Las Vegas Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs Week 14 matchup, the NFL odds, and make a pick and prediction.
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs pick, prediction | Week 14
- Spread: Chiefs -9.5 (Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Moneyline: Chiefs -425, Raiders +320
- Over/Under: 48.5
If it weren’t for the dramatic overtime win against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 12, the Raiders would be on a five-game losing streak, including a burial from the Chiefs in their first matchup of the season. In a game that seemed to ignite Kansas City, Las Vegas looked way off the pace and simply unable to keep up with their division rivals.
[bet-promo id=”174860″ ]Despite their best efforts, Derek Carr and the Raiders are battling obscene amounts of adversity this season. Plus, their lack of depth and star power is catching up to them. Darren Waller is the best thing about the franchise currently and was missing in Week 13 with a knee injury (one that knocked him out of the game the week prior).
He currently has a day-to-day status for the Chiefs game this weekend. We’ll need to keep an eye on that — the Raiders will need him badly if they want to keep up with Patrick Mahomes. If the Raiders could pull off a win, they’d only be one game back from the Chiefs in the AFC West.
The Chiefs have their swagger back
As for Kansas City, a slow start to the season had them bottom of the division at one point, while the Raiders sat at the top. But the tables have turned, and the Chiefs now find themselves a game ahead of the Chargers and two games ahead of the Broncos and Raiders.
A win this Sunday would increase the gap and help them hold the top spot with Justin Herbert and the Chargers knocking on the door.
The Chiefs’ defense has summoned itself into action this season, becoming the difference in their games while the offense has struggled at times. This is somewhat of a surprise, considering it’s been the total opposite for multiple seasons now.
The Chiefs are missing a couple of pieces on the offensive line, and I’d argue they need another weapon for Mahomes, with teams now regularly doubling Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. Having Clyde Edwards-Helaire back has been a positive, but Kansas City still has work to do if they’re going to make a deep playoff run.
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs betting trends
The Raiders have lost four of their last five against the spread (ATS), with the first matchup against Kansas City only being a 2.5-point margin. Now stretched to 9.5, I’d imagine the first result ending 41-14 had something to do with the wide change. But the Raiders are struggling, and I can’t imagine it’s going to get any easier for them this weekend.
The Chiefs are more of a question mark this year than years past. However, they’ve won and covered the spread in all three games in the last three weeks. The streak is a combination of the offense finding some form and the defense shutting out their opponents.
Kansas City has only allowed 9 points in their last two matchups against the Broncos and the Cowboys, two teams who’ve been able to score fairly well this season.
That said, the Chiefs have only managed to hit the over once in their last seven games. They’re on a peculiar run of low-scoring contests, the total opposite of what we’ve grown to expect from the Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes era of Kansas City football.
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs prediction
This is not a friendly matchup for the Raiders. They’re struggling as it is, and heading into Kansas City, who are in the opposite form, is a disaster.
I can see this one getting away from Las Vegas in a hurry. Still, I don’t expect the Chiefs to put up quite as many points this time. I’d be wary of the over/under on this one, but I like the Chiefs to cover.
Prediction: Chiefs 27, Raiders 14