The Kansas City Chiefs (1-4) head to TCF Bank Stadium to play the Minnesota Vikings (2-2) this week. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct 18 and will air on CBS.
In its last game, Minnesota lost in a close one against the Broncos 23-20. Adrian Peterson had a great game running the ball in the loss, dashing 16 times for 81 yards and one TD. Mike Wallace also had a great game with 83 yards and a TD on eight catches. Kansas City also fell short, suffering a narrow defeat against the Bears 18-17. Marcus Peters led the defensive effort for Kansas City, recording eight tackles.
Minnesota is a three-point favorite against the Chiefs. According to the oddsmakers, the Over/Under (O/U) is currently at 44 points.
Sitting at 2-2 Straight Up (SU) and 3-1 Against The Spread (ATS), the Vikings will look to improve heading into Week 6. They should have success at home against the Chiefs, who have one of the worst scoring defenses in the league at 31.3 points allowed per road game. A focal point of Minnesota’s offense at home is the run game, which ranks first in the league with 181 rushing yards per home game. As for the Minnesota defense, a few key matchups could decide this game. The Chiefs will need a good game plan against the second-best home run defense in the NFL. The Vikings give up 64 rushing yards per game at home. The Vikings should attack Kansas City’s quarterback. The Chiefs are ranked 31st in sacks allowed on the road with 4.7 per away game. The Vikings hope to continue the trend of striking early against Kansas City’s defense during the first quarter, when it allows a league-worst 11.3 points per road game.
Across the field, the Chiefs head into Week 6 with records of 1-4 for both ATS and SU. There’s a good chance that Kansas City will rely on its passing attack against a defense that allows 282 passing yards per home game, ranking 26th in the league. Moving on to the Kansas City defense, there are certain areas where it measures up well against the Vikings. The Minnesota offensive line, which ranks 28th in the league with 3.2 sacks allowed per game, could be a weakness for the Chiefs to attack. The Vikings will have to stay focused in the second quarter against Kansas City. The Chiefs finish off the first half with intensity, averaging 10.6 points during the second quarter. Stalling drives due to penalties isn’t a common occurrence for Kansas City. They only average 36.3 penalty yards per away game, third-best in the league this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – Min, ATS Winner – Min, O/U – Under
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 5 games.
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 6 games at home.
Minnesota is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Kansas City.
Minnesota is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Kansas City.
Kansas City is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Minnesota.
Kansas City is 1-1 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Minnesota is 2-0 SU when leading after three quarters.
The Minnesota passing attack is ranked last in the league, while the Kansas City pass defense is ranked 27th. The Chiefs’ passing game is ranked just 21st, compared to the 12th-ranked pass defense of the Vikings.
Kansas City has allowed 31.3 points per game on the road, which ranks it only 28th in the league. Minnesota has scored 28.5 points per game at home (ranked seventh overall).
