It Might Not Work, But I Can’t Lay This Many With The Chiefs

Raiders vs. Chiefs, 3:00 ET

Raiders vs. Chiefs, 3:00 ET

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and you are enjoying all the leftovers and warm memories from being with family. And, if you don’t like being with family, I hope you are happy that it is over. Whatever works for you. We’ve reached Black Friday, the official start of Christmas shopping – and you can tell your wives and girlfriends that now is the right time for Christmas decorations, not right after Halloween! Football has given us a bit of joy for today as we have the Raiders taking on the Chiefs in the middle of the day.

Someone told me the other day the Raiders are the worst team in football. I don’t think I agree with that, but they are really bad. They are just 2-9 for the season and have now lost their starting quarterback as Gardner Minshew is out with a broken collarbone. Maybe the team will be better with someone else under center, but I kind of doubt it. They aren’t showing many signs of success on offense or defense. They’ve lost seven straight games, and have allowed at least 27 points in six of those seven games. Offensively, they’ve only scored 20 or more points twice in seven games. That’s a pretty terrible combination if we are being honest. They did face Kansas City recently, and played one of their better games. In that one, the Raiders lost 27-20, but at least it was a 1-score game, and they were within striking distance for most of the game. The Chiefs defense hasn’t looked good the past two weeks, so it is possible the Raiders can get something going, but I wouldn’t count on it. 

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 17: Jakobi Meyers #16 and Brock Bowers #89 of the Las Vegas Raiders celebrate with teammates after Bowers’ receiving touchdown in the third quarter of a game at Hard Rock Stadium on November 17, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)

If the Chiefs hadn’t won the past two Super Bowls, wouldn’t you consider this team a fake good team? They’ve won 10 games already this year, but it feels like they should be closer to a 8-3 or 7-4 team than they are 10-1. I suppose you can’t blame them, but it is a bit lucky that they’ve had the football late in games when they need it. Obviously it is skill that Patrick Mahomes can march them downfield and score, but they aren’t overly convincing. Their past four wins have all been one-score wins. Their one loss, they fell by nine points. Even after their most recent game, a struggle against the Panthers, Mahomes came out and said he wants to play in a blowout because he’s sick of the close games. The Raiders defense allows the fourth most points in the league, so maybe the Chiefs can get that blowout here.

I’ll spoil it a bit: I don’t think they get that blowout. The Chiefs are a good team, but this is not a team I feel comfortable backing to win by two touchdowns on a short week. I get it, the Raiders are bad, they are banged up, but they still have guys that can keep the game relatively close. If this was 10 points, okay, I could get there, probably. However, I’m taking the 13.5 points with the Raiders and not looking back. For the record, this didn’t work out for me well when I took points with Jacksonville, but the Lions are playing much better than the Chiefs. 

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