Kansas City Chiefs (0-0) vs. Arizona Cardinals (0-0)
August 20, 2021 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: Arizona Cardinals +2.5 / Kansas City Chiefs -2.5 ; Over/Under: 37
(Get latest betting odds)
The Arizona Cardinals and the Kansas City Chiefs do battle on Friday, August 20th in week 2 NFL preseason action at University of Phoenix Stadium. This will be the second week of preseason activity for both teams. Kansas City played the 49ers last Saturday. In that one, the Chiefs eked out a three-point win. As for the Cardinals, they eked out a three-point win over the Cowboys in their first game. Check back all season long for free NFL picks at Sports Chat Place.
Kansas City nearly made it back to the top of the mountain in 2020, finishing 14-2 on the season and in first place in the AFC West. The Chiefs dispatched the Browns in the Divisional Playoffs and the Bills in the AFC Championship before falling in the Super Bowl to the Buccaneers 31-9.
On Saturday in the first preseason game versus the 49ers, the Chiefs were down 9-7 at the half but rallied for an eventual 19-16 victory. Anthony Gordon got most of the work at QB in that one, finishing 11-of-17 for 79 yards. Jerick McKinnon put up three carries for 19 yards as well.
Over on the Cardinals’ side, they finished .500 on the season last year, going 8-8 overall. Though it was an improvement from Arizona’s 2019 record (5-10-1), the Cardinals still finished third in the NFC West and didn’t qualify for the playoffs.
Arizona’s preseason got off to a nice start last week, as the team notched a 19-16 win over the Cowboys. Arizona had a 10-6 lead going into halftime and was able to hang on. QB Chris Streveler got most of the work on 12-of-24 passing for 107 yards.
The Chiefs are 1-4 ATS in their last five road games and 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games overall. Kansas City is 1-9 ATS in their last 10 on grass and the home team is 5-1 ATS in their last six meetings.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are 2-7 ATS in the last nine overall and 1-4 ATS in the last five on grass. St. Louis is 1-4 ATS in their last five home games and the over is 5-1 in their last six on grass.
PICK: I’m probably going to take a stab on Arizona in this one. Of course it’s tough to gauge a preseason game, but we’ll likely see more marquis names out on the field in this second week. The Cardinals were outplayed by the Cowboys in a few key areas during their first game, notching just 157 passing yards and losing the time of possession battle. That said, Arizona did have a pretty decent running game going with 168 yards. As for the Chiefs, they were a little tepid on offense in their first outing, notching just 74 yards and going 5-of-16 on third down. KC should show some more muscle in the first half here but I still like the Cardinals on a cover.
