Going back to the days of the AFL, one of the fiercest rivalries in pro football has involved the Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs. And this has endured even as the Raiders franchise has been situated in Oakland, Los Angeles, or its current location, Las Vegas.
BetOnline patrons might be aware that the Raiders haven’t had a lot of success against the Chiefs, so they’ll be trying to erase some recent history in regular encounters that often involves a lot of bad blood.
Kickoff for this Monday night game at Arrowhead Stadium is 8:15 PM ET.
Derek Carr has not had great career highlights against the Chiefs. He’s had 16 starts against them and lost thirteen. His ratio of 24 TD’s to 17 INT’s is mediocre. And he’s thrown for only 6.3 yards per attempt. His passer rating in these games is a miserable 81.7. So that’s what you might call an obstacle.
You might say that the presence of Davante Adams, an All-Pro and Carr’s teammate at Fresno State, could change things. The duo set many records in the Western Athletic Conference, and Adams was anxious to team up with Carr again after several years with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay.
It’s clear that Adams is Carr’s preferred option. And indeed, going into this week’s games, he had been targeted more than any receiver in the league except one. But only 55.6% of those targets were completed. Las Vegas has something of a well-rounded offense, but they have had a lot of trouble completing drives with touchdowns.
In the NFL betting odds for this Monday Night Football game on ESPN, the Chiefs are the favorites:-
Kansas City Chiefs -7 (-115)
Las Vegas Raiders +7 (-105)
Over 51.5 Points -115
Under 51.5 Points -105
Aside from the history that works against them, the Raiders have a few fundamental disadvantages that aren’t very much in their favor. They are just 44.4% successful in scoring TD’s in the red zone, while KC is 73.7% in that department. Carr has had so much difficulty completing passes inside the opponent’s 20-yard line (13 of 34) that he sees a distinct edge in terms of the home team’s ability to make their drives count for something.
It also makes us a little nervous about recommending an “over” in this game. Simply put, Las Vegas leaves points on the table.
Coach Josh McDaniels, who is getting a second chance to demonstrate that Bill Belichick’s magic dust has been sprinkled on him (having failed in Denver before), would sure like to “establish the run” with Josh Jacobs. But the Chiefs have proven themselves to be uncharacteristically rock-ribbed up front, allowing opponents only 3.1 yards per carry. Generally, the combination of non-success on the ground, along with the opponent’s objective of trading points with Mahomes, has led to an unbalanced attack on their part, as they have run the ball just 31% of the time against KC.
We have to admit that even though Mahomes might have to nickel-and-dime it a little more here than he did in last year’s two meetings, we like his chances to carve up the Las Vegas secondary, particularly underneath, more than we do Carr. And seriously, with what he’s done (or hasn’t been able to do) against this foe, would he be a pony you’d put your money on? We’re going to lay the points.
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