Chiefs vs. Patriots Point Spread: NFL Week 6 Odds, Prediction
NFL fans may want to get used to the Patriots playing in prime-time because they are ratings gold thanks to their century of success and the league’s biggest star in Tom Brady. New England already played on Sunday night once – losing in Detroit in Week 3 – and has three more prime-time games scheduled. There’s also the (pretty good) chance of a late-season game being flexed to Sunday night.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Patriots opened the season as Super Bowl favourites per usual, but they are now barely favoured to win the AFC crown again as Kansas City has hugely closed the gap with its red-hot start. Wouldn’t surprise anyone if this matchup were replayed in January in the AFC Championship Game. The winner Sunday would thus hold a potentially big head-to-head tiebreaker for possible home field in that game.
Kansas City has won two of the past three meetings (loss was in playoffs following 2015 season) and both victories were by at least two touchdowns. The Patriots as defending Super Bowl champions hosted the 2017 Kickoff Game but were shocked by the Chiefs 42-27. Alex Smith torched that New England defence for 368 yards and four touchdowns. The Pats won’t have to worry about Smith this time as he’s with the Washington Redskins. His replacement, young Patrick Mahomes, is the early-season MVP favourite.
K.C. and New England have split the past 10 meetings against the spread.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs were supposed to be challenged by the NFL’s top-ranked defence on Sunday, but they remained the AFC’s lone unbeaten team with a 30-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mahomes threw for 313 yards and ran for a score. Kansas City’s beleaguered defence did allow 502 yards but also forced five turnovers. One interception was returned for a score by Chris Jones.
A handful of Chiefs left injured, though, including starting right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. He suffered a broken fibula and could be done for the year. Duvernay-Tardif is notable as the first medical doctor to play in the NFL and grew up in Montreal. He played collegiately at McGill University.
New England Patriots
The Patriots are on extra rest as they beat the visiting Colts 38-24 on Thursday night. Brady threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns to become the third player with 500 career TD throws – the Saints’ Drew Brees could also join that club Monday. It was Brady’s 226th career win, tying him with Colts kicker and former Patriot Adam Vinatieri for the most in league history.
Rookie Sony Michel had another strong game with 98 yards and a score on 18 carries, while receiver Julian Edelman made his season debut off suspension and had seven catches for 57 yards.
