The Baltimore Ravens put their three game winning streak on the line as they travel to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Ravens will look to hand the Chiefs their first home loss of the season while Kansas City hopes to remain unbeaten at home this season.
The Baltimore Ravens looked like they were going to miss the playoffs again after a 4-5 start to the season. But with the Steelers falling apart, the AFC North division title is suddenly within reach and a victory over the Chiefs on Sunday could potentially put them on top of the division.
During this three game win streak, the Baltimore offense was run by rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson. The 21 year old Louisville product has completed 59.7% of his passes for a total of 540 passing yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Jackson has also rushed for over 400 yards this season and has scored three rushing touchdowns. Jackson took over from Joe Flacco who threw for 2,465 yards with 12 scores and six pickoffs before being displaced by Jackson.
When the Kansas City Chiefs let go of starting quarterback Alex Smith in order to promote second year man Patrick Mahomes to the position, they raised plenty of eyebrows. But that move has turned out to be a stroke of genius as Mahomes has turned in a spectacular season and the Chiefs have won 10 out of their first 12 games of the season, on pace to finish with the best record in the AFC.
Mahomes has thrown for 3,923 passing yards with 41 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions on the season. Mahomes ranks second in the league with his 12.3 yards per completion average. He also has the highest total quarterback rating at 84.3% and for sure, the Chiefs will look to Mahomes to deliver again versus a Baltimore team that will be going all out for the win.
The Ravens are 3-2 SU in their last five games played. Baltimore is an even 3-3 SU in six road games this season. The Chiefs are 5-1 SU in their last six games played and are 5-0 SU in their last five games at home. Head to head, the Ravens are 4-1 SU in their last five games against the Chiefs and 4-2 SU in their last six road games against Kansas City.
The Ravens have won their first three games with rookie Lamar Jackson as starter. But Jackson left Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons with a suspected concussion and is considered as questionable for this game. If he is a no-go, expect former starter Joe Flacco to reclaim his old starter role.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs are playing very well right now and have one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Patrick Mahomes who is running their offense like a well-oiled machine. No question Kansas City is playing better than Baltimore and they also have more talent around Mahomes than the Ravens have around Jackson. We’re picking the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Baltimore Ravens on 12/9/18.
Baltimore is 2-4 ATS in their last six games played. The Ravens are 3-3 ATS in six road games played this season. Kansas City is 1-3-1 ATS in their last five games played and are 6-3 ATS in their last nine games at home. Head to head, the Ravens are 4-2 ATS in their last six games against the Chiefs.
The Chiefs have been dominant at home this season. Not only are they 5-0 SU at Arrowhead, Kansas City also outscores its opponents at home more than any other team in the league at 16.22 points per game. I like the value of the Ravens here with a free touchdown but we’ve seen Kansas City play good defensive teams this season and still put up points on the scoreboard. Baltimore’s defense is for real but I think the Chiefs have too many weapons for them. Prediction: Chiefs -7
The total has gone under in seven out of the last 10 games played by the Ravens with an average combined score of 40.4. The under is also 4-1 in Baltimore’s last five road games. Head to head, the under is likewise 6-1 in the last seven game between these two teams in Kansas City.
Although we know that Kansas City is an offensive powerhouse, the Chiefs are an under machine at Arrowhead. The total has gone under in nine out of the last ten home games for the Chiefs with an average combined score of 45.2. On the other hand, the Ravens’ defense has led the way for them. On the road, Baltimore has allowed their opponents to take the field for offense for only 27:19 of playing time which is the best in the NFL right now. I’m going with the under here. Prediction: Under 53.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
