Thanks to a monster day out of Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs outlasted the New Orleans Saints in overtime in Week 3. They host the San Diego Chargers in Week 4 and the lines are tight.
Just how tight?
Well, the opening odds have the spread at a pick’em, while other outlets have the Chargers favored by a point on the road. Clearly sportsbooks are expecting a nail-biter at Arrowhead this weekend.
Things were looking grim for the Chiefs after the first two weeks. They were smacked around by both the Atlanta Falcons (40-24) and Buffalo Bills (35-17), and with New Orleans, San Diego and Baltimore coming up over the next three weeks, Kansas City fans had to be fearing the worst.
However, the Chiefs came into the Superdome and didn’t back down from the Saints whatsoever.
On a day when Matt Cassel failed to ignite the offense (he didn’t record a passing or rushing touchdown and finished with a rating of 65.3) it was up to Charles to deliver. And boy did he ever. Charles rushed 33 times for 233 yards and one touchdown and added six catches for 55 yards.
This weekend could prove to be much more tricky for Charles and company up against a pissed off Chargers team that’s coming off an embarrassing home loss to the Falcons.
San Diego ranks fourth in the NFL in stopping the run (67.3 YPG), so the Chiefs’ running game will have to be clicking on all cylinders here.
One would have to think the public will be all over the Chargers with their NFL picks for this game, but don’t sleep on the Chiefs. They always seem to play well against divisional opponents and should now be filled with confidence after a huge road win over New Orleans.
