The Kansas City Chiefs (3-12) playoff chances went out the window a few month ago, but they can spoil the Denver Broncos (8-7) season if they win.  The Broncos playoff hopes are still alive, but if the Chiefs win then the Broncos are out.  It will be a big challenge though, especially since the Broncos are playing for the playoff lives.  The Chiefs’ defense will really need to bring it, and they will need a much better performance than what they have done most of this season.  If they give up their average of 380 yards, then the Broncos will likely blow them out.  They Broncos average 118 rushing yards per contest, and the Chiefs give up 161 yards on the ground, so they need to be prepared for the Broncos running the ball early and often.  The Broncos best offensive player Brandon Marshall has been benched though, so the Broncos’ passing game is not as big of a threat giving them even more reason to run the ball.

The Chiefs really need to take care of the ball on offense, as turnovers have hurt them all season long.  The Chiefs have lost five in a row, and a big reason why is quarterback Matt Cassel and his 9 interceptions in those games.  Jamaal Charles has been carrying more than his load for the Chiefs’ running game in the past three games, with 299 yards in the past three games.  The Broncos give up 116 rushing yards per game, so Charles should continue to have success.  If only the Chiefs can get a big day passing then they may win, but with the Broncos fighting to get into the playoffs I don’t think the Chiefs have much chance.

PREDICTION:  Kansas City Chiefs 10, Denver Broncos 28

The Kansas City Chiefs (3-8) are hosting the Denver Broncos (7-4) Sunday, and their defense better be ready to stop the run.  Broncos’ quarterback Kyle Orton is playing through an ankle injury and the Broncos have a strong running game, so I expect them to run the ball a lot.  The Chiefs have not been good at stopping the run, so it doesn’t bode well for the Chiefs.  Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter will be splitting the carries for the Broncos, and both are capable of 100-yard days.

The Chiefs offense is going up against a pretty strong Broncos defense.  The Broncos held the Giants to 6 points, so I don’t see the Chiefs having too much success.  The Chiefs offense averages less than 200 yards passing and less than 100 yards rushing, and the Broncos defense gives up less than 300 total yards on average, so the Chiefs are not going to get much out of Matt Cassel and Jamaal Charles.  This could be a blowout.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Kansas City Chiefs 7, Denver Broncos 28

The Kansas City Chiefs (3-7) have a big challenge Sunday against the San Diego Chargers (7-3) on the road.  Unfortunately for the Cheifs, the Chargers have one of the best passing games in the league and the Chiefs have been giving up over 250 passing yards per game this season.  That means Philip Rivers will probably put up some big numbers in the passing game.  The Chargers’ running game has been very solid lately, with LaDainian Tomlinson running the ball the best he has all season.  The Chiefs will need their best game of the season if they want to beat the explosive Chargers.

The Chiefs offense will have a hard time keeping up with Rivers and the Chargers’ offense.  The Chiefs lost by 30 points earlier in the season to the Chargers, and I am expecting a similar game.  Matt Cassel threw three picks in that game, his worst of the season.  The Chargers don’t have a great defense, but they do a good job in defending the pass and they seem to have Cassel’s number.  The Chargers are likely to build an early lead, so the running game probably wont be relied on too much for the Chiefs.  I’m expecting another blowout win for the Chargers.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Kansas City Chiefs 13, San Diego Chargers 31

The Kansas City Chiefs (1-7) will have a great opportunity to get their second win of the year against the Oakland Raiders (2-6) on Sunday.  They will be without Larry Johnson, who was dismissed from the team.  That means Kolby Smith and Jamaal Charles will most likely share carries.  Smith may even be the starter even though last week was his first action of the season.  The Raiders are giving up 161 rushing yards per game though, so both Smith and Charles could have big days.  Matt Cassel had a good game last week against the Jaguars, going for two touchdowns and 262 yards on 23/39 passes.  If Cassel has a similar game the Chiefs should win.

The Chiefs’ defense doesn’t need to worry too much about the Raiders’ passing game, and they should look to get some turnovers off of JaMarcus Russell.  Russell has been terrible for the Raiders this year and has thrown 9 interceptions, compared to only 2 touchdowns.  He has a huge arm though, so the Chiefs need to make sure they don’t get beat and they should be fine in their pass defense.  Darren McFadden is expected to return for the Raiders in this one, so he gives the Raiders’ backfield a more explosive option.  I’m not sure how many carries they will give him though, so the Chiefs should be ready for Justin Fargas and Michael Bush.  The Chiefs have the better offense, so I am going to go with them in this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Kansas City Chiefs 24, Oakland Raiders 20

The Kansas City Chiefs (1-5) are coming off their first win of the year against the Washington Redskins and are looking to ride that momentum into an upset win over the San Diego Chargers (2-3).  The Chargers are a much more talented team than their record shows, but things have not looked good for them lately and are coming off two straight losses.  The Chiefs’ defense is capable of keeping them in the game, but the offense will need to hold up their end of the bargain.  They will definitely need to put up more than 16.3 points they are averaging or they could get blown out.  The Chargers defense struggles at stopping the run, giving up 141 rushing yards per game, so Larry Johnson should get the Chiefs’ offense going.  The Chargers defense gives up over 27 points per game, so if the Chiefs’ offense comes to play they could get their second win of the year.

The Chargers offense is stacked, so the Chiefs defense will have a big challenge Sunday.  Although the Chargers running game has not been very good this year, I think they will be very effective against the Chiefs poor run-defense.  LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles are still a dangerous combo, and with the Chiefs giving up over 130 rushing yards per game they could rack up a ton of yards.  Then they also have Phillip Rivers and the Chargers’ passing game to deal with.  They are getting 284 passing yards per game and Rivers is an All-Pro quarterback, so I don’t think the Chiefs defense will be able to contain the talented Chargers’ offense.  I think the Chiefs will keep it close in the first half but wont be able to keep up for the full 60 minutes, so I see the Chargers winning pretty easily.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Kansas City Chiefs 17, San Diego Chargers 34

The Kansas City Chiefs (0-5) are still looking for their first win of the year, and they have a very good chance of that this Sunday against the Washington Redskins (2-3).  The Redskins have looked worse than the Chiefs lately and are coming off 20-17 loss to the previously win-less Carolina Panthers.  The Chiefs almost took down the Dallas Cowboys last week, but fell to them in overtime 26-20.  They looked great in the final drive of regulation against the Cowboys last week, as quarterback Matt Cassel led a 74-yard drive with only 2:16 on the clock.  He finished the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to send the game into overtime.  Cassel has played pretty well this year when he is healthy, going for 711 yards with seven touchdowns and two picks and a 59% pass completion.  Washington gives up only 171 passing yards per game, but I am expecting a good game out of Cassel.  There running game has been what has hurt the offense the most, as Larry Johnson has no touchdowns and is only averaging 2.4 yards per carry and has two fumbles.

The Chiefs defense needs to key in on Clinton Portis, who has been one of the few bright spots for the Skins’ offense.  Portis has rushed for 338 yards on 91 carries (3.7 avg).  Their pass defense is  terrible though, as they give up over 270 yards a game through the air.  Jason Campbell has been playing pretty bad for the Skins though, so if they can slow down Portis they may be able to get a gift or two from the inaccurate Campbell. His 67% pass completion is deceiving, as he is very capable of getting rattled and making a lot of mistakes.  He has six touchdowns and five interceptions so far this year.  I’m picking the Chiefs to upset the Redskins and get their first win of the 2009 season.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Kansas City Chiefs 23, Washington Redskins 21

The Chiefs might have the worst QB/head coach combination in the NFL so I have to side with the under here.  Despite having a good draft I don’t think the team will be any better on the field of play.  Remember, all was not good in the offseason as the Chiefs traded the best player (Jared Allen) on the entire roster.  Four wins in 2008 would be a miracle from God so bet the under.

Sure, the Chiefs were awful in the pre-season but guess what….those games mean absolutely nothing.  This number seems kind of low to me considering that the Chiefs are doing the right thing and starting Damon Huard at QB.  I also like the fact that they brought in Napoleon Harris and Donnie Edwards to help out the defense.  Look for this team to surprise some people and win 8-10 games in 2007.  Take the over.

The over/under for Chiefs wins in 9 1/2.  The Chiefs are currently 23-1 to win the Super Bowl and 10-1 to win the AFC.

Herman Edwards is not a very good coach and the team lacks depth all over the field, so I would bet on the under.

is the time to bet on the Chiefs.  The Chiefs have dominated this series against the spread, covering the last three at Arrowhead and seven of the last nine overall.  The Chiefs just have the Ravens number, plus Steve McNair might be hurt be then.

The Chiefs win big and cover the spread.