Simulation Picks
Maximize Your Odds of Winning with SportsLine Model and Our Top-Rated Picks!
Maximize Your Odds of Winning with SportsLine Model and Our Top-Rated Picks!
Maximize Your Odds of Winning with SportsLine Model and Our Top-Rated Picks!
Expert Picks
It would be nice to believe the Chiefs have fixed all their problems in one week, but even if the offense is back to normal, it's tough to trust the Kansas City defense when facing one of the top attacks in the NFL. The Cowboys had their get-right game last week after a pitiful showing the week prior, and even without Amari Cooper, they have enough weapons to keep pace. Dallas under Dan Quinn is much-improved defensively and should be able to get the key stops necessary to win outright (worth a sprinkle). The Cowboys are 8-1 ATS this season with straight up wins in their last two as an underdog, both of which were road games. See if you can get +3 before kickoff.
At full strength, I think the Cowboys are the better team, but they are without the likes of Tyron Smith, Amari Cooper, Demarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory and Blake Jarwin. That's a lot. Kansas City is pretty healthy and gets Clyde Edwards-Helaire back. It's also quite the coaching mismatch between Andy Reid and Mike McCarthy.
The Chiefs have climbed off the mat, not so much because of the vaunted offense but a nasty defense. Yet they have seen nothing like the Cowboys, who seem to score at will. No other team ranks in the top five in passing and running the ball. Dallas is coming off perhaps the defensive gem of the season by holding Atlanta’s Matt Ryan to the lowest passer rating in his lengthy career. Telling ATS numbers: The Cowboys are 4-0 on the road while Kansas City is 0-5 at home.
The Chiefs dropped 41 points on the Raiders after scoring 36 in their previous three games combined, and the market believes that's enough to say the Chiefs are fixed. That's the only way to justify this line, as the Chiefs have to be considered even or better with the Cowboys as home-field advantage hasn't been worth anywhere near three points this year. But the Cowboys have been excellent all year aside from the Denver game, and they represent a much bigger test for the improved Chiefs defense than anything they've seen during their latest run of quality. I think this line has no business being north of pick 'em, so I'll take the extra points of value here.
What a matchup this is between two electric offenses. I know folks may think that term doesn't describe the Chiefs' unit this year, but I still have hope that what we saw against Las Vegas wasn't an aberration, but more of a sign of things to come. What I also believe is that the Cowboys are a much better team on both sides of the ball than Kansas City and will be able to go into Arrowhead Stadium and get a win.