by Ian S. Palmer
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The Kansas City Chiefs pay a visit to Houston on Saturday, January 9 to battle it out with the Texans in an AFC playoff showdown at NRG Stadium. Kansas was the hottest team in the league over the final 10 weeks by winning each end every game for a franchise record after starting the season at 1-5. Their 11-5 record was good for second place in the AFC West behind the 12-4 Denver Broncos and a wildcard playoff spot. They wrapped up their season with a 23-17 home victory over the Oakland Raiders last Sunday.
Chiefs vs Texans – 5Dimes NFL BETTING LINE:
- 5Dimes Sports currently lists the Chiefs at -3 at -130 with the Texans +3 at +110 and the over/under at 40 points with both at -110
Chiefs vs Texans Betting Trends:
Kansas City Chiefs:
- Season record: 11-5 straight up, 8-8 against the spread
- Current Streak: Won 10 straight games
- Kansas City is 7-3 against the spread in their last 10 games
- Kansas City is 5-0 straight up in their last 5 games
- Kansas City is 4-1 against the spread in their last 5 games on the road
Houston Texans:
- Season record: 9-7 straight up, 9-7 against the spread
- Current Streak: won 3 straight games.
- Houston is 7-2 against the spread in their last 9 games
- Houston is 7-2 straight up in their last 9 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston’s last 6 games
The Texans managed to win the AFC South with a mark of 9-7 and clinched it with a 30-6 home win over Jacksonville in their final game. Houston and Kansas met each other in their season opener with Kansas leaving town with a 27-20 victory. Houston faced some injury problems towards the end of end of the season, but they’ve been hot at home with a 4-1 mark in their final five home fixtures. Meanwhile, Kansas has played well defensively by allowing more than 17 points only twice during their recent 10-game winning streak.
The Chiefs’ defense was boosted last weekend when Tamba Hali rejoined the squad and Justin Houston made it back to practice after sitting out the final five contests due to a knee injury. Even with Houston on the sidelines the pass rush recorded six sacks in their final outing against the Raiders. Houston finished the campaign with 7.5 sacks to lead his team while Hali chipped in with five. First-year cornerback Marcus Peters also had a solid season by leading the Chiefs with eight interceptions and a pair of them being pick-sixes. Kansas had 22 interceptions this season after just six last year.
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Chiefs’ quarterback Alex Smith hasn’t been at his best lately though with his top passing output in the last five games being 191 yards. He had three touchdown passes and 243 yards against Houston in the season opener tough. The backfield pair of Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware have been solid and the team ran for more than 150 yards against the Raiders. Kansas managed 32 carries for 97 yards in their meeting with the Texans this season. Kansas won their last four road games and covered the spread in each of them.
The Texans had a healthy J.J. Watt against the Jaguars last weekend as he managed to play without a cast on his hand. Watt was at his best with three sacks along with eight tackles, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble and the topped the league in sacks this year with 17.5 of them. Whitney Mercilus chipped in with 3.5 sacks last Sunday to along with a recovered fumble and a forced fumble. Andre Hal had an interception while Jonathan Joseph and Kareem Johnson also had big games.
On the other side of the ball, Houston wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins scored 11 touchdowns this season and was third-best in the league with 1,521 yards. He scored twice and had 98 yards against Kansas this year. Brian Hoyer was back at quarterback for the Texans final season game after missing the previous two outings. He threw for a touchdown and 249 yards last Sunday and was picked off once. However, he’ll likely be without left tackle Duane Brown against the Chiefs since he was injured against Jacksonville. Houston was 5-3 both straight up and against the spread at home this season while Kansas was 5-3 on the road.
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