Two winless teams meet in Week 2 of the preseason this Friday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the Kansas City Chiefs and the Atlanta Falcons prepare for an intriguing showdown. The Chiefs (+1,500 to win the AFC) are using the preseason to determine the identity of their defense that lost a number of key pieces over the offseason, while the Falcons, who are +1,100 to win the NFC, will look to sort out any remaining positional battles while gauging their readiness for the regular season.
Coming off a 17-10 home loss to the Houston Texans last week, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will look to notch their first win in the preseason this coming Friday on the road against the Falcons. The Chiefs have won four of their last six preseason games away from home while going 4-1-1 ATS in that span. Mahomes appeared briefly in the game, completing just five of seven passes for 33 passing yards. Instead, it was Chad Henne, Chase Litton, and Matt McGloin who did most of the work under center and it could be the same script again in the upcoming Falcons game. On defense, the Chiefs can’t be content with the play of their secondary, as Texans QB Brandon Weeden went 9-of-11 for 97 yards and two touchdowns. The Chiefs lost five of their top six cornerbacks from last year with regards to playing time, including Marcus Peters, who is now with the Rams, so the safeties’ and the cornerbacks’ groups will have to recover if Kansas does not want to get abused on the air again.
Betting on the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta’s offense in Week 1 was never going to be something to write home about with Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman, and Tevin Coleman either not playing or were hardly used at all. Still, it was disappointing to see the Falcons put up a donut in a 17-0 road loss to the New York Jets. Rookie wide receiver will have to show and prove he learned at least a couple of lessons from Jones, a fellow Crimson Tide product, after snaring just one catch that resulted in a loss of two yards. Meanwhile, safety Damontae Kazee showed some life on the other end of the field with 11 tackles (nine solo). Kazee was all over the Jets’ offense like sauce on spaghetti, but even with his fantastic performance, the Falcons will still have to find a way to move the chains consistently, especially on the ground, where they racked up just 49 rushing yards.
The under is 4-0 in Atlanta’s last four preseason games.
