Kansas City Chiefs (10-3) vs. Houston Texans (1-11-1)
December 18, 2022 1:00 pm EDT
The Line: Houston Texans +14 / Kansas City Chiefs -14; Over/Under: 46.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans meet Sunday in NFL action from NRG Stadium. Kansas City is currently 10-3 overall. The Chiefs are coming off a win over the Broncos. As for Houston, they’re 1-11-1 and fresh off a loss to the Cowboys. Check back all season long for free NFL picks at Sports Chat Place.
Kansas City has recorded three losses so far to the Colts, Bills and Bengals. Outside of that, the Chiefs have taken out the Cardinals, Chargers, Bucs, Raiders, 49ers, Titans, Jaguars, Chargers again, Rams and Broncos.
In Sunday’s matchup versus the Broncos, the Chiefs posted a 27-14 edge by the break. Kansas City was outscored 14-7 from there but still won 34-28. Patrick Mahomes threw for 352 yards with three scores and three picks. Isiah Pacheco added 70 rush yards on 13 totes.
Over on the Houston side, they’ve got one tie versus Indianapolis and one win over the Jaguars. Otherwise it’s been losses to the Broncos, Bears, Chargers, Raiders, Titans, Eagles, Giants, Commanders, Dolphins, Browns and Cowboys.
Matched up against the Cowboys on Sunday, the Texans were up 23-17 going into the fourth quarter. Houston couldn’t hold it and ended up losing 27-23. Davis Mills threw for 175 yards and a pick; Dameon Pierce rushed for 78 yards and a TD on 22 carries.
The Chiefs are 4-1 ATS in the last five in Week 15 and 8-21-1 ATS in their last 30 versus the AFC. Kansas City is 0-5-1 ATS in the last six overall.
Meanwhile, the Texans are 3-0-1 ATS in the last four in Week 15 and 8-17-2 ATS in their last 27 in December. Houston is 1-4 ATS in their last five overall.
PICK: I’m going to lean toward Houston. Probably not touching this one in reality, though. The Texans had a rough finish against the Cowboys over the weekend, ultimately notching 327 total yards, two turnovers and 16 first downs. Houston was in a position to win down the stretch however, and it’s the closest margin of defeat they’ve had over their last four games.
As for Kansas City, they’ve played some nail-biter finishes this year. The Chiefs have seen four of their last six games decided by six points or fewer, and they’ve allowed some not-so-good teams (like the Jaguars) to get reasonably close. The line is pretty generouse, so if Houston plays another reasonable all-around game in this one I think they can get into a cover.
