Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
Has any team finished an NFL regular season at 14-2 but had both losses come to the same team? That seems unlikely, but it’s conceivable it could happen to the Super Bowl-favored Kansas City Chiefs in 2020.
Patrick Mahomes and company come out of their bye week at 8-1 and that lone loss was as a 12-point home favorite in Week 5 to the Las Vegas Raiders, 40-32. That was no fluke, either, as the Raiders were the better team that day and Derek Carr was frankly better than Mahomes. The Chiefs look for payback in the Sunday night game of Week 12 as they make their first-ever visit to Las Vegas. If Kansas City wins, the AFC West race is all but over. The Chiefs are -7 and have won nine straight AFC West road games.
Chiefs-Raiders could be an AFC playoff preview as could Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens in the early window Sunday. Tennessee visited Baltimore in the Divisional Round of last season’s playoffs and stunned the top-seeded Ravens 28-12 behind 195 yards rushing from Derrick Henry, who also threw a touchdown pass on a trick play. Baltimore was a 10-point favorite then and is -6.5 this time. Tennessee is 0-4 ATS in its past four on the road.
The New York Jets remain favored to NOT finish 0-16 this season, but that could switch if they fall to 0-10 on Sunday when they visit rookie sensation Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. The Jets by some miracle kept Coach Adam Gase employed during their Week 10 bye even though the team has been historically bad. Gase 100 percent will be fired after the season. The Chargers are -9 and 3-7 ATS in their past 10 at home.
Another bad team coming out of its bye is the Dallas Cowboys as they visit the Minnesota Vikings, another NFC club that has underachieved, but the Vikings are in the process of turning it around on a three-game winning streak. The Cowboys expect QB Andy Dalton under center after he missed the previous two games due to a concussion and COVID-19. Dallas is +7 and has the NFL’s worst ATS mark this season at 1-8.
The mismatch of Week 11 has to be the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers visiting the almost winless Jacksonville Jaguars. The only way the Steelers presumably lose that game is if they are looking ahead to a Week 12 showdown with Baltimore. Pittsburgh is -10 and 5-0 ATS in its past five vs. the AFC.
11 concludes on Monday night per usual with the Los Angeles Rams visiting Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a possible NFC playoff preview. The Bucs are -3.5 but 2-7 in their past nine night games.
