To say the AFC West is up for grabs doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. All four teams enter Week 10 with five victories making games within the division even more important. The weekend closes with a bitter matchup between longtime rivals the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday Night Football. The Raiders are coming off an upset loss to the Giants last week that prevented them from taking sole possession of the division lead. Patrick Mahomes continues to struggle but KC has won two straight and three of four to climb over .500 for the first time since Week 1. The Chiefs opened as a 3-point road favorite on the NFL betting line.
This regular season Week 10 matchup will take place on Sunday, November 14, 2021 at 8:20 p.m. ET at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, NV and will be televised on ESPN.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Kansas City Chiefs -2.5
Las Vegas Raiders +2.5
Total 52
Odds Analysis
A loss to the Giants as a 3-point favorite didn’t do much to persuade oddsmakers. Though the Raiders have one less defeat than KC and are tied with the Chargers for the top spot at 5-3, they opened as a 3-point dog. Their last two losses to Chicago and New York, who are both 3-6 entering Week 10 is hard to overlook. But there was some buyback dropping the line a half-point to Raiders +2.5 likely because they played KC tough last year winning on the road and falling by 4-points at home. Vegas covered in both games. The Raiders were spotted points five times this season going 4-1 ATS. Even when they were winning a lot of games the Chiefs had problems covering. They are 0-3 ATS in their last three games and just 2-7 ATS this season. Dating back to last season and including playoffs KC is 3-16-1 ATS in its previous 20 games.
Key Injury
They aren’t injuries, but they are impactful losses nonetheless. To say it’s been a turbulent season for the Silver and Black is an understatement. First they said goodbye to Jon Gruden after controversial emails from a decade ago surfaced. Last week the team released receiver Henry Ruggs III after he killed a person in a car crash. The 2020 draft class took another blow when Damon Arnette was released following some questionable decision making.
The absence of Ruggs is huge for a team that has the second-best pass offense and sixth-best unit in terms of total yardage. Ruggs was drafted for one reason and that was to give the club a threat that could stretch the field. And the move was working with Ruggs leading the NFL with 19.5 yards per reception. Sunday’s tilt with the Giants was the Raiders first since Ruggs’ accident and things didn’t go smoothly. Derek Carr said mistakes not emotions were the reason for the setback. Carr was responsible for all three turnovers throwing a pair of interceptions and losing a fumble. But you have to believe what happened will have a lingering effect.
Key Stat
You can’t mention this enough, especially since it’s been such a big part of the Chiefs this season. I’m talking about turnovers. There was some improvement last week when for the first time since the season opener the Chiefs did not commit a turnover. They still lead the NFL with 19 giveaways and are next to last with a minus-9 turnover margin. The biggest culprit has been Mahomes, who had thrown at least one pick in seven consecutive games until Sunday. He was intercepted in the game, but the play was nullified by a Green Bay penalty. He no longer leads the NFL in interceptions, but he’s close. Mahomes’ 10 picks are one behind Joe Burrow and Sam Darnold. It’s hard to say if his issues with the offense are causing the interceptions or the interceptions are bogging down the offense. Either way it’s been an issue that one clean game isn’t going to make go away.
Free ATS Pick
I keep expecting Mahomes and the offense to break out, but there appears to be a bigger issue. While the Chiefs continue to diagnose the problem they’ve gotten help from a defense that was one of the worst in football. After allowing an average of nearly 30 points over the first seven games the group surrendered a total of 24 the last two. They didn’t have to face Aaron Rodgers last week, which was a help, but the unit is more confident and current events surrounding Vegas will hurt them.
NFL Pick: Kansas City Chiefs -2.5
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
