The Sunday action in the NFL concludes with the Sunday Night Football as always and this week we have a tremendous offering between two of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the league as the Baltimore Ravens host the Kansas City Chiefs in a massive AFC clash.
The Chiefs opened up their season with a win last week while the Ravens were touched off in overtime so you get the feeling this is a bigger match for the hosts than the visitors but with all four teams in the AFC West winning their first game that might not be the case.
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens were not short of issues going into their game against the Las Vegas Raiders last week and they came home to roost in a big way which will already be a concern for the Baltimore outfit. They have had issues with injuries to the running back position which might mean that there is going to be more of a focus on a passing game. Should that be the case then Lamar Jackson will need to tidy up his radar as it was well out of range last week.
The other problem which the Ravens had last week was key injuries to their defensive backfield. That cost them early in the end against the Raiders and you sense that is going to be a bigger issue this week with the Chiefs arguably having the most powerful offense in the NFL. It is hard to see how Baltimore can win this without getting into a shootout and you wonder whether they have the tools or the confidence to come out on top in such a battle.
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Kansas City Chiefs
There appeared to be no hangover to losing out in Super Bowl LV for the Kansas City Chiefs as they dominated the Cleveland Browns last week and will be looking to do the same to another side from the AFC North here. The Chiefs were every bit as potent on offense as you would expect them to be against the Browns and the more the new members of the offensive line acclimatise to proceedings the stronger they are likely to get.
As ever with the Chiefs the concern is on their defence and you wonder just how strong it is long-term, especially against the run, but at the same time the question is whether the Ravens have the offense to put it to the sword if it isn’t up to scratch. Orlando Brown will face his former team here and he is the man assigned the task of protecting Patrick Mahomes so the Ravens might be forced to regret that trade as early as the second week of the season.
Betting
I’m not an enormous fan of taking away sides to cover 3.5 points on the spread because it is more than the field goal which any away side is happy to win by but I sense that the Kansas City Chiefs are either going to win this going away or Baltimore Ravens will have controlled the clock insanely well to keep things tight. You could see a way the latter happens if the Ravens were at full strength in the running back position but they are anything but.
In fact, they aren’t overly strong in any position when you consider they have no fewer than 15 players in the IR list. It is hard to face the Chiefs with a full-strength squad let alone one missing so many. Lamar Jackson has it in him to make special plays but whether he can make enough of them to stay close here I have my doubts. I expect the Chiefs to get in front early in this match and I don’t see them waiting for the Ravens to stay close.
Tips
Back Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5) to beat Baltimore Ravens for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfair
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