The Kansas City Chiefs won a Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years when they hoisted the Lombardi Trophy last season. No team has repeated as a Super Bowl champion since the 2003-04 New England Patriots. The Chiefs will embark on their quest to become just the eighth franchise to win consecutive titles when they host the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday night in the 2020 NFL Kickoff Game at 8:20 p.m. ET.
Since Patrick Mahomes took over as the starting quarterback in Kansas City in 2018, the Chiefs have won four of five postseason games. They have also won four straight AFC West titles. Kansas City is a nine-point favorite in the latest Chiefs vs. Texans odds from William Hill after the spread opened at 10, while the over-under for total points scored is 54. Before locking in any Texans vs. Chiefs picks, make sure you see the NFL predictions from SportsLine's proven projection model.
The SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up over $7,000 for $100 players on its top-rated NFL picks since its inception five years ago. It also enters the 2020 NFL season on an incredible 96-65 roll on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season.
The model ranked in the Top 10 on NFLPickWatch in three of the past four years on straight-up NFL picks and beat more than 95 percent of CBS Sports office pool players three times during that span. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now, the model has set its sights on Chiefs vs. Texans. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the NFL odds from William Hill and trends for Texans vs. Chiefs:
- Chiefs vs. Texans spread: Kansas City -9
- Chiefs vs. Texans over-under: 54 points
- Chiefs vs. Texans money line: Kansas City -450, Houston +370
- KC: Chiefs have won nine straight since losing to Tennessee in Week 10 last season
- HOU: QB Deshaun Watson has thrown 26 touchdown passes each of the last two years
Why the Chiefs can cover
When the Mahomes era officially began for the Chiefs in 2018, they had a reputation for being easily dispatched when the playoffs began. Kansas City had one postseason victory dating back to 1993 before Mahomes was inserted as the starting QB. The Chiefs have gone 28-8 (including the postseason) under the guidance of the 2018 NFL MVP and Super Bowl LIV MVP.
Mahomes had 9,412 passing yards and 31 TDs in his first 31 games, the most in those categories for any quarterback during that career span. He is also the fastest to 7,500 career passing yards, having accomplished the feat in his first 24 games. The Chiefs return 18 of 22 starters from last year's Super Bowl-winning squad and added rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who is expected to be a quick and versatile contributor to their potent offense.
Why the Texans can cover
While Houston was panned for its offseason trade that sent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals, the Texans made corresponding moves to help Watson replace his top target. They acquired speedster Brandin Cooks from the Rams and signed veteran receiver Randall Cobb. While there's plenty of evidence that other key pieces on offense like David Johnson and Will Fuller V may not stay healthy all season, both will be in the Texans' starting lineup without any injury concerns on Thursday.
The Texans proved to be a tough team to blow out last season as well. In fact, they lost just three games by more than 10 points. One of those, the Week 17 loss to the Titans, came with several starters resting for the playoffs.
With Arrowhead Stadium allowing just 22 percent capacity in Week 1, the home-field edge for Kansas City should be mitigated, giving Houston a chance to keep this game within the spread.
How to make Chiefs vs. Texans picks
The model is leaning under the total, saying no running back accounts for more than 60 yards, and it also has generated an against-the-spread pick that cashes in well over 50 percent of simulations. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Chiefs vs. Texans? And which side of the spread is hitting well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Texans vs. Chiefs spread to jump on in the 2020 NFL Kickoff, all from the advanced model that is up more than $7,000 on its top-rated NFL picks, and find out.
