NFL Week 18: Chiefs vs Raiders Betting Odds

Chiefs Looking to Clinch Home Field Advantage

Riding a four-game winning streak, the Kansas City Chiefs will have a chance to secure the top seed in the AFC — and homefield advantage until the Super Bowl — as they visit the division rival Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday afternoon for NFL week 18.

After the scary events of Monday night’s Bills-Bengals game involving Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin and the subsequent postponement of that game, it remains to be seen if the game will be continued at all. As of Tuesday morning, Kansas City has a half-game edge over the 12-3 Bills. {UPDATE: The NFL has reported this game (Bills vs Bengals) will not be played this week. They have not given a timeline as to when or if it will be rescheduled.}

The Chiefs did struggle with the lowly Broncos last weekend but, as usual, Kansas City was able to overcome some lackluster play to beat an inferior opponent. The same can’t be said for the Raiders, who blew yet another double-digit lead en route to a tough overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

So, the Chiefs (who still have something to play for) are a logical 9.5 point spread favorite and a -450 moneyline favorite on the Chiefs vs Raiders betting odds.

“The over/under opened at 50 points but has been bet up to around 53.5 points with the public expecting Patrick Mahomes and co. to end the regular season with a bang. Usually, that’s a smart bet.”

Kansas City Chiefs (13-3) at Las Vegas Raiders (6-10)

Date & Time: Saturday, January 7th, 4:30 p.m. ET
Location: Allegiant Stadium; Las Vegas, Nevada
Streaming: Live Stream Sports


Mahomes Should Have Monster Game

What happens when an unstoppable force meets a very movable object? That’s basically the matchup between the Chiefs’ offense, which is first in scoring and yardage and boasts the NFL’s most dominant passing attack, and the Vegas Raiders’ defense. Las Vegas is in the bottom-third of the league in basically every key defensive category and the Raiders are particularly bad against the pass — they’re 29th in passing yards allowed and 28th in yards allowed per pass attempt.

With Patrick Mahomes putting up yet another incredible NFL season of through-the-air stats, it would take a miracle for the Raiders to hold him and the Chiefs’ talented skill-position group in check. Plus, Las Vegas doesn’t have much to play for right now other than pride and that likely won’t stop Mahomes from breaking his personal passing yards record for a full season (5,097 yards).

The Raiders gave up 500 yards of total offense to Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday (granted it was an overtime game). It’s safe to say that Kansas City won’t face a ton of resistance on that side of the ball; take that into account when looking over the Chiefs vs Raiders betting odds.

Can Stidham Provide Another Spark?

With longtime franchise quarterback Derek Carr seemingly having already played his last game in the black-and-silver, the reins of Josh McDaniels’ offense have been turned over to the 26-year-old Jarrett Stidham. Stidham put up good numbers in college at Baylor and Auburn but wasn’t able to do much in his first two NFL seasons in New England with the Patriots. Now, he officially has a chance to prove himself on a Raiders team that will have a glaring hole at quarterback this offseason.

Stidham played well against San Francisco’s elite defense, keeping Las Vegas in the game despite throwing a pair of interceptions. He wound up tossing for 365 yards in the air with three touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough to overcome big games from Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk. Stidham’s task shouldn’t be as difficult against Kansas City, which has a pretty middling defensive unit.

Jacobs Looking to Finish Stellar Season Strong

One consistent bright spot in an otherwise extremely disappointing Raiders season has been Josh Jacobs, who is comfortably leading the NFL in rushing yards through 16 games with 1,608. He is 160 yards ahead of the current No. 2, Nick Chubb, which shows just how effective and consistent Jacobs has been from the get-go despite all of the other issues Las Vegas has had.

While he hasn’t gone over 100 yards in any of his last four games after doing so with regularity throughout much of the season, Jacobs has still been relatively productive even with a marked decline in his touches. Of course, Las Vegas could decide to limit his workload in the hopes of losing on Saturday to improve its NFL draft positioning but, with Josh McDaniels hoping to end the season on a positive note, it’s not a foregone conclusion that the Raiders will just lay down.

And, if they don’t, look for Jacobs — against a Kansas City defense that’s just 15th in yards allowed per rush — to have a big game. He’s the wrench in the one-sided Chiefs vs Raiders betting odds.

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