NFL Betting – Kansas City Chiefs at Chicago Bears

Neither team is as dominant this season as they were in 2018, and only one is moving on to the playoffs. The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up their fourth straight AFC West title two weeks ago and will continue to the postseason for a fifth consecutive year. A preseason Super Bowl favorite, the Chicago Bears were eliminated from playoff consideration with a loss to hated rival Green Bay last week, though some of the heat on Mitchell Trubisky has cooled with better outings over the last few games. Kansas City can still get a top-seed and a first-round bye so there is plenty to play for.

Kansas City Chiefs at Chicago Bears

Date and Time: Sunday, December 22, 2019, 8:20 p.m. ET

Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL

Opening NFL Odds: Kansas City -4, O/U 45

Chiefs at Bears TV Coverage: NBC

Odds Analysis

Kansas City hit the board as a 4-point favorite and that number quickly rose to -6 with the backing of the betting public. Following a loss to the Titans in Week 10, the Chiefs have been on a heater winning four in row SU and ATS, including wins over every division foe and a big one at New England as a 3-point dog. The Chiefs are 6-1 SU and 5-2 ATS on the road this season. Chicago had its three-game winning streak stopped and failed to cover the closing line for the fourth time in five games with a 21-13 setback at Green Bay. The Bears are one of the worst bets in the NFL with a 4-10 ATS record. They have won three straight at home going 2-1 ATS in those contests. The total dropped to 44.5 after opening at 45.

Kansas City Chiefs

Back in the playoffs for the fifth straight year and for the sixth time in seven seasons under Andy Reid, the Chiefs are looking at the big picture. That means getting to the Super Bowl for the first time since before the merger. Though it didn’t benefit them last season with a home loss to New England in the AFC Championship, you can bet locking down a first round bye is something the Chiefs are looking at.

With some help the Chiefs can get the top-seed in the AFC. They beat Baltimore back in Week 3 to hold the tie-breaker. While Patrick Mahomes takes every headline, the defense has been as strong as ever over the last month. During their winning streak the Chiefs yielded an average of 11.3 points while holding two opponents to under 10 points. They added a good one in Terrell Suggs this week after injuries to Emmanuel Ogbah and Alex Okafor thinned the group.

Certainly not as explosive as last season, the Chiefs can still put up points. They slapped 23 on the Broncos last week in a blizzard and average 28.1, the fourth-highest total in the league. Mahomes has thrown for 3,606 yards and 23 touchdowns, but more importantly he’s been intercepted only four times and taken 16 sacks. He will give the Bears fits with his ability to extend plays.

Chicago Bears

Entering the season with Super Bowl aspirations, the Bears are back to being the Bears. They were eliminated with a loss to the Packers last week and haven’t reached the postseason in consecutive years since 2005 and 2006. At least Trubisky isn’t getting railed by the media any longer and the Bears have something to look forward to next season. And you can bet there will be some incentive since Trubisky was drafted eight spots higher than Mahomes in 2017.

Trubisky threw 53 passes against the Packers completing 29 for 334 yards with a pair of interceptions. Falling behind 21-3 forced a change in the game plan and while the numbers weren’t spectacular Trubisky looked poised and confident, something that wasn’t present earlier in the year. Over the last four games he’s completed 65 percent of his passes for 1,194 yards with eight of his 17 touchdowns. He’s also been intercepted six times, so he clearly hasn’t worked out all the kinks.

The Bears have the third-ranked scoring defense but will be without stud linebackers Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith after they were placed on injured reserve, putting a smile on the face of Mahomes. Injuries have kept the group from being as good as it was last season, but it still ranks in the top-10 and will come after the Chiefs.

Bet Chiefs at Bears at BookMaker.eu

Matt Nagy coached under Reid for a few seasons before taking the Bears gig and this is the first regular season meeting between them as opposing coaches, so I doubt one side is going to have an advantage in that regard. The Chiefs have the edge in talent, especially on offense, and they should escape with a victory in a game that falls below the point total.

NFL Score Prediction: Kansas City 23, Chicago 16

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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com