Sun, Dec 26, 2010, 1pm EST, CBS
Line: Chiefs -5
Total: 41.5
The Kansas City Chiefs (9-5) realize they need to win their last two games in order to secure the AFC West division title, starting with this matchup against the Tennessee Titans (6-8) on Sunday. Kansas City took care of business last week with a 27-13 victory at St. Louis thanks to the return of starting quarterback Matt Cassel and the speed of running back Jamaal Charles. Cassel was back in action after missing the previous week’s 31-0 loss at San Diego
while recovering from an appendectomy. He completed 15 of 29 passes for 184 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and Charles rushed 11 times for 126 yards, including an 80-yard burst.
The Chiefs have played five of their last seven games away from home, going 4-3 straight-up and 3-4 against the spread. They are 4-2 ATS at home with the UNDER cashing in the last three games there. Charles has averaged 62.4 rushing yards in 21 career home games.
Tennessee’s run defense did a great job bottling up Houston running back Arian Foster in a 31-17 win over the Texans last week, holding him to a season-low 15 yards. The Titans have held their last two opponents to an average of 58.5 rushing yards after giving up an average of 123.4 in their previous 12 games.
Meanwhile, Tennessee running back Chris Johnson has rushed for over 100 yards in back-to-back games for the third time this season. Johnson has also scored touchdowns in consecutive games but has not rushed for more than 100 yards or scored in three straight games this year. He totaled 130 yards on 24 carries against Houston and will be facing a Chiefs defense that is giving up 107 yards per game on the ground.
The Titans snapped a six-game losing streak with their latest victory and still have a slim chance of making the playoffs but need both Indianapolis and Jacksonville to drop their last two games to get in. They have covered their last two games after going 0-5 ATS in their previous five and won both of the last two meetings with Kansas City SU and ATS. The OVER is 3-0 in the last three games between the teams.
