NFL Week 9: AFC West best bets

The Kansas City Chiefs take on the Tennessee Titans at Arrowhead on Sunday Night. How should you bet on this game — and the other AFC West matchups?

Chiefs game lines

Coming off a bye week, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is a terrifying man. Dating back to his Philadelphia Eagles days, Reid has a 20-3 regular-season record following a bye. I believe this record will hold up. But I’m not fully convinced that Kansas City will blow out the Titans — as the spread suggests.

The Titans have only played two teams with winning records: the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills. They lost both games. But they still have running back Derrick Henry. That fact alone is enough to make me believe that the game will be closer than 13 points.

Titans (+12.5), Over 46, Chiefs Moneyline

Los Angeles Chargers game lines

While I very badly want to see the Atlanta Falcons beat the Chargers this week, I can’t see it happening. Both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams have been declared out for this game, leaving Joshua Palmer as their No. 1 wideout. But Austin Ekeler is too good to let the Falcons win. The Atlanta defense allowed D’onta Foreman to score three touchdowns on them. What will Ekeler do?

Chargers (-3.5), Over 49.5, Chargers Moneyline

Las Vegas Raiders game lines

This is the hardest Week 9 AFC West game to analyze. Both teams are awful. Neither can get any traction on offense. But we can look at the transitive property to make an estimate about how it will go. The Jacksonville Jaguars played the Broncos in Week 8 and lost 21-17. Meanwhile, the Raiders beat Denver 32-23 in Week 4. With the Las Vegas pass rush, I could see this game getting out of hand for Jacksonville. It’s just a matter of whether or not the Raiders can get their offense going. On the other hand, the New Orleans Saints just shut out the Raiders by doing nothing but run the ball. Can the Jaguars’ Travis Etienne do what the Saints’ Alvin Kamara did? Maybe. We’ll see.

Jaguars (+1.5), Under 48, Jaguars Moneyline

Denver Broncos game lines

In Week 9, Denver is on its bye. But that doesn’t mean the Broncos can’t still lose. After trading away Bradley Chubb, they’ll need to rework their defensive line. With Nik Bonitto as their best outside linebacker, they’ll get absolutely no pass rush.

Bye Week 21, Broncos 0

The AFC West race is weird. The Chiefs now have a 1.5-game lead, so I still don’t feel comfortable. But as we all know, Kansas City has the best team in the league.

As always... bet responsibly.