Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos Prediction for Saturday, January 8th, 2022

The final week of NFL action has a bit of an odd schedule. We had no Thursday game to kick off the week and we don’t have a Monday night game either. The first game of the week will be the red hot Kansas City Chiefs taking on the ice cold Denver Broncos.

Denver will be hosting this game, but they have not looked good in recent weeks. They have lost three in a row and 4 of their last 5. They face a blazing hot Chiefs team, who have won 8 of their last 9 games.

Let’s take a closer look at the odds for this AFC West divisional matchup.

The Chiefs are coming into this one as a pretty big favorite at 10.5 points. The line for this game opened at 10 points, but a lot of bettors are rolling with the Chiefs in this one. About 90% of bettors have already taken the Chiefs, but I don’t think that comes as a big surprise to anyone.

The over is also pretty popular at around 75% at 44.5 points. That one can be a bit murky in a game that includes the Broncos. Broncos’ games have hit the under more than any other team entering Week 18 (12 out of 16 games, 75%).

You can find these exact odds on BetOnline, so head over there to place your bets.

Let’s get into why each team can win this game and my final prediction.

This one shouldn’t be too hard to understand. The Chiefs should be able to win this game considering how talented they are. They struggled a lot more than we are used to seeing earlier this season, but then they rattled off 8 straight wins.

Last week they lost a very good game against the Bengals, as they just couldn’t stop their passing attack.

Was there even a doubt @Real10jayy__ would win the Game Ball of the Week? ?@WilsonFootball | #RuleTheJungle pic.twitter.com/F2L9BZA9Gl

— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2022

This game with the Broncos should be pretty different considering the fact that they Broncos are a more defensive and run heavy team than an aerial attack.

The Chiefs moneyline is an extremely safe bet, but you get a terrible return on investment for the amount of risk. The (-475) odds are way too steep to want to bet on it, so the spread (-105) would be more of a recommendation for this game.

Kansas City is 4-1 against the spread in divisional games so far this season. Their matchup with the Broncos earlier this season was a 22-9 win in Week 13. In fact, the Chiefs have won 12 games in a row against the Broncos.

Denver has been struggling this season, mostly on the offensive side. Drew Lock is probably going to be the starter for this one again, as Teddy Bridgewater will miss another game after being placed on injury reserve.

Lock has been unimpressive as a Bronco and faces a very tough task this week. I think he is going to struggle yet again, as the Chiefs are not struggling really in any way.

Kansas City’s defense has been rock solid over the second half of the season and the offense as you know it, is amazing. I fully expect the Chiefs to win this game with a high chance of covering the spread as well.

Okay so maybe “win” is a bit of a reach, so let’s see if the Broncos could even cover their spread to be more fair. In their last game against Kansas City, they kept the game relatively close. The Chiefs were able to win by 13, but the score was just 13-3 heading into the 4th quarter.

A pick six and a garbage time TD brought the game to 22-9. Denver’s defense was the main reason why they were able to stay in this game.

They did a very good job of limiting Patrick Mahomes in their last game. Mahomes only completed 15 of 29 passes and threw an interception. He did rush for a touchdown, but he was also unable to throw for any additional scores.

Teddy Bridgewater actually had a higher quarterback rating in that game (62.2) compared to Mahomes (57.3). That isn’t going to happen very often and Drew Lock is probably even less likely to do so.

What the Broncos can do to potentially cover their spread is run the ball effectively. Javonte Williams had a nice breakout game in that one, but mostly because Melvin Gordon was ruled out.

It’s basically Javonte Williams vs. the Chiefs at this point. ?

Broncos (+8.5) get one back in the 4th quarter. #BroncosCountry
pic.twitter.com/eZ3jDT5tJZ

— OddsChecker (@OddsCheckerUS) December 6, 2021

Williams is capable of another strong game and Gordon should be healthy enough to play as well. They desperately need to be able to run the ball effectively and try to limit the amount of passes Lock throws.

That would help keep the dangerous Chiefs offense off the field. It is a very tough task against a surging Chiefs’ defense, but it isn’t impossible.

Before I get into my pick, I want to make sure everyone knows the injury update. Possibly the biggest x-factor in this game is the Denver secondary. Their secondary is very banged up and could open up even more possibility of a Chiefs blowout.

Ronald Darby is also hurt, while Kareem Jackson was placed on injury reserve earlier this week as well.

That is my biggest reasoning for taking the Chiefs’ spread. I think they get a nice bounce back win from their loss against the Bengals last week. I am a bit anxious about the point totals, as Denver’s secondary plays a large role in that as well. That makes me lean a bit more towards the under though.

Head over to the best NFL betting sites to place your bets. You can also check out our NFL picks page for more recommended bets.