A young Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs will be in a due with veteran gunslinger Philip Rivers of the Los Angeles Chargers. Will the Chiefs get to a 1-0 record right out of the gate? Or will the Chargers tame Kansas City this Sunday?
In the NFL Futures odds, the Chiefs are +225 to top the AFC West, while the Chargers are the chalks to do it with a price of +140.
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Betting Preview for the Kansas City Chiefs vs Los Angeles Chargers NFL Season Week 1 Game on September 9, 2018
Where: StubHub Center, Carson
When: Sunday, September 9, 2018, 4:05 PM ET
Line: Kansas City Chiefs (+3.5) vs Los Angeles Chargers (-3.5) – view all 2018 NFL lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
Betting on the Kansas City Chiefs (+3.5)
It’s a new era for the Chiefs. Gone are the days when Alex Smith was throwing short, calculated passes downfield. He’s now replaced by second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who who has a penchant for launching deep passes. The Chiefs are hoping that Mahomes’ bold ways will even bring out more from Tyreek Hill, who paced Kansas City with 1,183 receiving yards to go with seven touchdowns. Together with Hill in the receiving corps is tight end Travis Kelce, who is one of the best in the league in his position. In 2017, Kelce caught 123 passes and converted it into 1,038 yards and eight touchdowns.
Kareem Hunt, meanwhile, will take care of things in the backfield a season after pacing the NFL in rushing yards as a rookie with 1,327 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He should be able to find gaps to burst through against the Chargers’ defense that allowed the second most rushing yards in 2017.
The Chiefs are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games against the Chargers.
Betting on the Los Angeles Chargers (-3.5)
The Chargers are going to miss Hunter Henry for likely the entire season after the tight end suffered a serious knee injury in the offseason. Henry’s bad luck has paved the way for the Chargers to re-sign 38-year-old Antonio Gates. Gates may have lost some speed and hops, but he is still 6-foot-4 and makes for a tasty target in the red zone. Together with 6-foo-t4 Mike Williams and 6-foot-2 Keenan Allen, Gates will form a trio of tall targets for quarterback Philip Rivers, who had a sterling 2017 campaign with 4,515 passing yards and 28 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions.
The Chargers’ passing attack will be complemented by running back Melvin Gordon and the team’s backfield that averaged 99.7 rushing yards per game in 2017. That’s expected to improve with the arrival of center Mike Pouncey via free agency and the return of a healthy Forrest Lamp at the center position.
The Chargers are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Kansas City wins, 27-23.
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