Week 15’s game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints could very well serve as a Super Bowl preview, as both teams are favorites to win their respective conferences. Who wins this juggernaut meeting on Sunday?
The Chiefs remain a one-loss team after they avoided getting upset by the Miami Dolphins during a 33-27 road win in South Beach last Sunday. Putting up 33 points against the stingy Dolphins defense was just another testament to the quality of Kansas City’s attack that is second in the NFL with 31.0 points per game and tops with 429.2 total yards per contest. Travis Kelce acted as the Messiah for Kansas City in the Dolphins game, as he caught eight passes for 136 yards and a touchdown. Kelce is going to be a tough cover for Saints defenders. No team has really been able to slow down Kelce this season, thus far. He has 1,250 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 90 catches this year. Kelce is also feeding off the field-stretching ability of Tyreek Hill, another huge problem for opposing defenses. Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs’ defense has been shaky, but Patrick Mahomes and company are just so good that they can overcome everything with their offense.
The Chiefs are 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 games away from home.
The Saints did not hold their end of the bargain heading into what could have been a matchup in Week 15 between two teams on lengthy win streaks. The Saints loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on the road in Week 14, 24-21. That being said, the loss to the Eagles does not seem to devalue the image of New Orleans as a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Kansas City’s defense, as mentioned, has been unstable this season. The Chiefs’ third-down defense is only 20th in the league, which plays into New Orleans’ third-down offense that is third in the NFL. The Saints’ success rate on third downs is at 46.55 percent this season. They are also seventh in the league with 28.3 points per game, With a dynamic quarterback under center in Taysom Hill, who’s filling in for the injured Drew Brees, the Saints can get even more creative in finding ways to puzzle Kansas City’s stop unit that allowed 287 passing yards to rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa last week.
The Saints are 2-0 against the spread in their last two games at home.
