Raiders vs Chiefs | Prediction & Pick

vs.

Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
Sunday, January 2, 2010  at 1:00 PM EST on CBS

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Kansas City jumped out to an early 31-7 halftime lead against Tennessee last week and won the game 34-14.

With San Diego losing in an upset to Cincinnati, Kansas City is now the West’s playoff representative. The turnaround from last year is a storybook one, as the Chiefs went 4-12 last year, and with this game will seek to improve their seeding in the first round.

Normally a rushing offense, Kansas City relied on QB Matt Cassel to carry a little more of the load than usual. Cassel responded with 24 completions and 314 yards for a trio of touchdowns.

RBs Charles and Jones still combined for 128 yards but failed to score. All systems seem to be a go for the Chiefs and with San Diego out, a huge weight has been lifted from their shoulders. Oakland meanwhile lost to the Colts, as Peyton Manning single handedly kept playoff hopes alive in Indianapolis. Not his best game, he threw a pair of interceptions to reach his high point since 2002 (17), but as a true leader does he found a way to win.

On third and two, he managed to stop the clock on a 27-yard run. He would finish with 16 completions on 30 tries for 179 yards and three touchdowns, as the Oakland secondary faded down the stretch.

The Raiders have stumbled a bit since their bye week and will be looking to even their record to end the season.

These two ground pounders will be doing what they do best, but KC showed they have a few tricks up their sleeves last week with Cassel’s performance. Look for the Chiefs to run enough to keep their legs loose while letting Cassel show off his arm a bit as well, at least enough to remind their playoff foes to think about it.

The odds makers have the Kansas City Chiefs as a -4 point favorite with an over/under of 43.5.

PREDICTION: Kansas City

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Oakland Raiders Betting Trends:

• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Oakland’s last 5 games
• Oakland is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
• Oakland is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
• Oakland is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road

Kansas City Chiefs Betting Trends:

• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kansas City’s last 6 games
• Kansas City is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
• Kansas City is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
• Kansas City is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games when playing Oakland