There’s a crucial AFC West game on tap on Christmas Day as the Denver Broncos head east to visit the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Both teams are still trying to sew up a playoff spot after losing last weekend. The Broncos were 16-3 losers at home to New England last Sunday to remain in third place in the division at 8-6 while the Chiefs are in second place at 10-4 after dropping a 19-17 decision at home to Tennessee. These two teams met on November 27th with Kansas winning 30-27 in Denver.
Broncos vs Chiefs – Pinnacle NFL Betting Line:
- Pinnacle lists the Chiefs at -4 points at -105 with the Broncos +4 points at -105, the over/under is 38 points with both at -105
Broncos vs Chiefs Betting Trends:
Denver Broncos:
- Season record: 8-6 straight up, 8-6 against the spread
- The Broncos are 13-6 in their past 19 contests
- The Broncos are 2-4 against the spread in their past six games
- The total has been under in four of the Broncos’ past five outings
- The Broncos are 2-4 in their past six encounters
- The total has been under in five of the Broncos’ past six road games
- The Broncos are 10-5 on their past 15 road trips
- The Broncos are 7-2 in their past nine meetings with Kansas City
- The total has been under in four of the Broncos’ past six games in Kansas City
- The Broncos are 5-0 in their past five games in Kansas City
Kansas City Chiefs:
- Season record: 10-4 straight up and 7-7 against the spread
- The total has been under in eight of the Chiefs’ past 10 contests
- The Chiefs are 8-2 in their past 10 outings
- The Chiefs are 1-4 against the spread in their past five home games
- The total been under in five of the Chief’s past five home games
- The Chiefs are 11-2 in their past 13 home games
- The Chiefs are 2-7 in their past nine games against Denver
- The Chiefs are is 1-6 against the spread in their past seven home meetings against Denver
- The total has been under in four of the Chiefs’ past six home outings with Denver
- The Chiefs are 0-5 in their past five home encounters with Denver
Denver Broncos – A Closer Look:
The Broncos’ hopes of reaching the postseason are fading as their recent 16-3 loss to the Patriots means they’ve gone 2-4 in their past half dozen outings. The only teams they’ve managed to beat in that stretch have been New Orleans and Jacksonville. Denver needs to beat Kansas this weekend and then at home against the Oakland Raiders to make the playoffs and also get some help from some outside sources. It’s going to be tough to beat Kansas on the road, but Denver has gone 6-1 straight up and against the spread in their past seven trips to Arrowhead Stadium.
The Denver defense means they always have a chance to pull out a victory or at least keep a game within reach, but they’ll need to get the offense on track. The Broncos haven’t allowed more than 16 points against in their past three games and they kept Tom Brady in check last week as he had his worst outing of the campaign. Brady gained just 188 yards in the air by going 16 for 32 in passing and didn’t have a touchdown pass. The Denver offense has struggled lately though with three turnovers and 10 points recently against Tennessee three more turnovers against New England.
Kansas City Chiefs – A Closer Look:
Kansas was cooled off by Tennessee last weekend with a 19-17 home defeat. The Kansas defense forced a trio of turnovers, but couldn’t capitalize on them and the offense struggled in the red zone. At 10-4, they’re a game back of Oakland and their chances of winning the AFC West took a tremendous backwards step. On the bright side, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin put in his best performance of the season with 82 yards on six receptions. They were both high marks for the season for him after struggling with an injury earlier on. Rookie Tyreek Hill wasn’t at his best though as he didn’t catch a pass for the first time in the current campaign.
However, he did manage to chip in with a 68-yard rushing score against the Titans. Hill should be confident against the Broncos though since he scored a return, receiving and rushing touchdown against them in their last meeting, becoming the first NFL player to achieve the feat since Gale Sayers a few decades ago. The Kansas defense struggled with the Broncos in their first meeting of the season, but the Denver offense has been pretty quiet lately with just 13 points in their past two contests. In addition, the Kansas defense has held the opposition to less than 20 points in each of the past two weeks. Kansas City has gone 8-2 in the past 10 games at Arrowhead, but is only 2-8 ATS in that stretch.
Next up for both teams:
- Denver is at home to Oakland on Sunday, January 1st
- Kansas City is away to San Diego on Sunday, January 1st