Sunday NFL Betting – Can Chiefs Survive Without Cassel?
The Kansas City Chiefs are in the driver’s seat in the AFC West but the team lurking behind them is the team that has won the division in the last four seasons: the San Diego Chargers. With a win, the Chiefs can basically clinch the division but a loss pulls the Chargers within one game of first place.
VIEW OUR TOP CAPPERS PICKS FOR THIS WEEK’S FOOTBALL MATCHUPS —–>
Go Inside This Matchup With Our NFL ATS Stats —>
Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers
Venue: Qualcomm Stadium
TV: CBS
Odds: Chiefs +7, Chargers -7
Total: 46.5
Bet Now at JustBet.com —>
The biggest news of the week was the impromptu appendix surgery to Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel. He has missed several practices and it doesn’t look like he’s going to be able to play on Sunday.
How Can Kansas City Win?
Run the football.
Sure, Cassel is out but the Chiefs still have the No. 1 running attack in the NFL and the Chargers run defense is heavily overrated. The stats might say they have the No. 1 defense in the NFL and the No. 5 overall unit but the Oakland Raiders proved otherwise last week.
The Raiders racked up 251 rushing yards on the Chargers and time and time again, when San Diego needed stops, they couldn’t get them. On top of that, the Chargers only mustered 13 points at home.
Kansas City is growing into the new New England. They play good defense, they don’t turn it over, they are underrated each and every week, but they are efficient on offense and get the job done. Don’t be surprised if their backup quarterback, Brodie Croyle, plays far better than expected.
How Can San Diego Win?
Stop playing so sloppy. Everyone knows that the Chargers are among the most talented teams in the NFL Last week, the Chargers had a couple of very costly turnovers that gave the Raiders the momentum early in the contest and they could never regain traction. The exact opposite has to happen this week.
The Chiefs are without their starting quarterback, who just so happens to be the AFC Player of the Month in November. That’s a key loss. Now they’ll be able to key in on Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones out of the backfield and really force the Chiefs hand.
More importantly, if the Chargers can get a lead and force the Chiefs to rely on the pass more, then the Chargers will be in their comfort zone and the Chiefs will not.
Outlook
Croyle is likely to be under center and don’t expect a significant drop-off. Cassel is having a good year but the Chiefs don’t really rely on the pass anyways. Their passing game ranks 25th in the NFL and they just use it to move the sticks and keep the pressure off of their running game.
The Chargers really need this game and they’ll show up. But they are still sloppy and the Chiefs will have a huge edge on special teams. It might be a surprising pick but take the Chiefs plus the points to keep it close, yet lose.
Trends:
Over is 12-3 in KC last 15 games in Week 14.
Over is 7-2-1 in SD last 10 games in December.
SD are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games in December.
Under is 5-2-2 in SD last 9 games in Week 14.
Pick: Chiefs +7
GRAB A 45% Deposit Bonus at JustBet.com Today. Deposit a minimum amount of $100 , maximum $2500 and get a 45% Free-Play. CLICK HERE NOW!
Dave Golokhov has written for BETUS Sportsbook, Sportsfanmagazine.com, FOX, Askmen.com, Sports-central.org, and the FOXSports.com Funhouse.
