Cleveland Browns (0-0) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (0-0)
September 12, 2021 4:25 pm EDT
The Line: Kansas City Chiefs -6.5 / Cleveland Browns +6.5; Over/Under: 53.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Kansas City Chiefs meet the Cleveland Browns in week 1 NFL action from Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday afternoon in KC.
The Cleveland Browns will try to take another step forward under second-year head coach Kevin Stefanski, looking to make the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since 1988-89. It’s the usual cast of characters for the Browns, as Baker Mayfield leads the charge under center while Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt make up arguably the most dangerous 1-2 punch in the entire NFL at running back. Odell Beckham Jr. appears to finally be healthy and Jarvis Landry had a fantastic year in 2020. The Browns’ defense remains loaded, with Jadeveon Clowney and Myles Garrett up front, while Mack Wilson sits in the linebacker level and Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit make up a strong pairing in the Cleveland secondary.
The Kansas City Chiefs will look to seal the deal after falling just short in 2020, losing out to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs will be trying to become just the 4th team in NFL history to play in three straight Super Bowls. Patrick Mahomes is back at QB, but what else is new. The atter is simply will he be healthy after dealing with a toe issue in the Super Bowl. Clyde Edwards-Helaire is backed up by Jerick McKinnon in the running back group while Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman and Travis Kelce make up Mahomes’ main targets in this Chiefs’ offense. Defensively, Frank Clark and Chris Jones lead the pass rush while rookie Nick Bolton should fit right in at linebacker and the secondary is consistent as always under Andy Reid.
Cleveland is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games and 4-12 ATS in their last 16 games against the AFC while the over is 5-1 in their last 6 games on grass. Kansas City is 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games overall and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 home games while the over is 6-0 in their last 6 week 1 matchups.
This is not a good idea if you’re planning on stepping in front of the Kansas City Chiefs’ revenge tour bus. A loss like the one in the Super Bowl last year only fuels guys like Patrick Mahomes going forward, and that’s a dangerous thought. With that said, I think Cleveland has enough pieces to hold their own here, so I’ll lean towards the over. I’m not sure what else to make of this game as I want to see how Mahomes has progressed from that toe injury and I think Cleveland has enough going for themselves to stay in this one and push us to a high-scoring affair.
