Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans – 9/10/20 NFL Pick, Odds, and Prediction
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans - 9/10/20 NFL Pick, Odds, and Prediction
2020-09-10 20:20:00 EDT
The Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs meeting Thursday in NFL action at Aritemhead Stadium to kick-off the 2020 NFL season.
The Houston Texans are coming off a 10-win season that ended in the second round of the playoffs to these Chiefs, losing by 20 points and blowing a 24-point lead. The Texans always have a chance at victory with a healthy Deshaun Watson on the field, but it may take some time getting used to not seeing a 1,000-yard rusher in Carlos Hyde or one of the top receivers in DeAndre Hopkins. A trio of wide receivers in Will Fuller V, Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb is more than respectable, but none of those guys win matchups like Hopkins and it takes a security blanket away from their star quarterback. The key to this Texans offense is hoping running back David Johnson can return to what he was back in 2016, as he’s battled injuries the last three years. Defensively, the Texans return their top-three tacklers from last year and have a healthy J.J. Watt, which is obviously the most important part on this side of the ball. The Texans were 28th in the league last season in yards allowed per game and a lot of that had to do with a secondary that just couldn’t get on the same page. Cornerbacks Bradley Roby and Gareon Conley need to set the tone early with their second seasons in Houston.
The Kansas City Chiefs ended their season on a nine-game winning streak that resulted in them winning their second Super Bowl title in franchise history. The Chiefs will once again have one of the scarier offenses in the league led by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who threw for more than 4,000 yards and 26 touchdowns last season. The Chiefs have all of their weapons back in Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins, and running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire has to be considered a favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year with his explosive running ability and his good hands. The Chiefs offense is special and its a big reason why many believe they have the pieces to repeat as champs. Defensively, the Chiefs return their top-seven tacklers from last season and that doesn’t include a defensive line duo of Frank Clark and Chris Jones that combined for 17 sacks last season. The Chiefs defense could be better at stopping teams from moving the ball, but they create enough plays in the backfield and force enough turnovers (16 interceptions) that makes them a respectable unit and creates the balance needed to bring home the hardware.
The Texans are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games on grass and 2-8 ATS in their last 10 Thursday games. The Chiefs are 6-0-1 ATS in their last 7 home games, 23-9-1 ATS in their last 33 vs. AFC and 9-1-1 ATS in their last 11 games overall. The under is 4-1 in Texans last 5 road games. The over is 5-2 in Chiefs last 7 Thursday games. The road team is 9-3 ATS in their last 12 meetings.
When the Chiefs and Texans met back in January, they produced a combined 82 points and over 700 passing yards. When they met in October of last year, the Chiefs and Texans combined for 55 points and over 500 passing yards. The Kansas City Chiefs should win this game because of overall depth on both sides of the ball and a massive coaching advantage, but it feels like both defenses are going to have issues slowing the other offenses down led by two young, star quarterbacks. I also expect the offenses overall in this league to have a leg up due to the lack of proper preparation for the season.
Give me the over in the NFL season opener.