All eyes will be on Kansas City on Thursday night when the Chiefs host the rival Oakland Raiders in a battle for first place in the AFC West standings as narrow three-point home favourites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Kansas City improved to 8-3 last weekend with a 29-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons as 4.5-point underdogs to remain one game back of Oakland in the division ahead of the Raiders vs. Chiefs betting matchup at Arrowhead Stadium this week.
The Chiefs are on a 7-1 straight-up (SU) run and have won nine of 10 on home turf, but are also an ugly 1-7 against the spread (ATS) in their past eight home dates.
The Raiders have emerged as a force on the road, winning seven of their last eight while going undefeated ATS. Oakland’s success has been powered by an offensive explosion, racking up 30 or more points in five of their last six games including last week’s 38-24 win over Buffalo as three-point home chalk, and forcing the point total OVER in eight of nine.
However, the Raiders have struggled against Kansas City, going 1-6 SU and 2-5 ATS in their past seven meetings according to the OddsShark NFL Database.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions aim to extend their lead atop the NFC North with a fifth straight victory on Sunday when they entertain the Chicago Bears as eight-point favourites. The 8-4 Lions hold a two-game lead over the struggling Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers, and would take a massive step towards clinching their first division title since 1993 with a win.
The 3-9 Bears are coming off a 26-6 win over San Francisco as one-point home underdogs, but are winless SU in six on the road and have failed to post consecutive SU wins in almost 13 months.
The Dallas Cowboys became the first team to clinch an NFL playoff berth last weekend, and can lock up the NFC East crown with a win when they battle the New York Giants on Sunday night as three-point road favourites.
The Cowboys have won 11 straight since opening the season with a 20-19 loss to New York as one-point home underdogs, but have failed to cover in their past two outings. New York’s recent six-game SU surge was halted by a 24-14 loss in Pittsburgh last weekend, but the Giants are unbeaten in four at home, going 3-1 ATS.
And losers in six of seven, the Vikings visit the Jacksonville Jaguars as 3.5-point favourites this week, while the Packers search for a third straight win as they host the Seattle Seahawks as three-point underdogs, and the Steelers visit the fading Bills as two-point betting favourites.
