NFL Betting Free Picks: Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders

Added on Nov 03, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

Week 9 NFL betting features a matchup in the AFC West between a couple of surprising teams, the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs. Kansas City may be the most improved team in the NFL and currently leads the division while Oakland is in second place. The Raiders have managed to overcome yet another revolving door at quarterback to enter this contest at 4-4 after opening the season 1-3.

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders
November 7, 2010 1:15 PM Pacific

4-4 may not sound like much, but this is the first time since 2002 that the Oakland Raiders have been .500 or better this late in the season. We’re not sure that’s more a function of scheduling than overall improvement of this team. Oakland’s recent 3 wins in 4 games run have seen victories against the underachieving Chargers, the woeful Broncos on the road and the Seahawks–a team that has been good at home/bad on the road for a few years now. Oakland hasn’t dealt well with success in recent years–they’re 0-0 ATS after 2+ wins since 2008 since they haven’t *won* 2+ games since 2008. Before beating Seattle they’d lost 7 straight games following an SU win by an average margin of 17 PPG.

Yet the public loves to bet the Raiders–at least when they’re winning. While you’ve got to give them credit for taking advantage of their opportunities, we’re much more impressed with the solid football team that the Chiefs are building. They’ve rebuilt in the right way–starting in ‘the trenches’ and improving their offensive and defensive lines while building a strong running game. Kansas City is #1 in the NFL in rushing offense behind Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones while the Raiders are a bottom 10 rush defense. On the other side of the ball, KC has the #7 ranked rushing defense in the NFL. Matt Cassel may not be a great quarterback, but as the season has progressed he’s done well minimizing mistakes and letting the Chiefs’ running game move the ball and score points. The Raiders have been a horrible favorite for a number of years now–they’re 1-3 ATS laying points since 2008 and on a 1-12 ATS run overall as a favorite. Chiefs have dominated head to head play in Oakland–currently on a 13-5 SU/14-4 ATS run. We’ll gladly take the better team getting points and look for KC to win outright.

Bet Kansas City Chiefs +3 over Oakland Raiders