Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tennessee Titans – NFL, Week 7 (2021)

Coming off an upset victory over the Bills on Monday Night Football, one would assume that the Titans stroll into week 7 riding lots of positive vibes. Not so much.

Tennessee endured significant injuries on both sides of the ball and will be extremely shorthanded on Sunday versus the Chiefs. Not exactly ideal given Kansas City started to strut their stuff on the road in week 6.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s battle at Nissan Stadium, let’s dive into the odds and assess the matchup. I’ll finish by unveiling my Chiefs vs. Titans pick.

The significance of Tennessee’s injuries was on full display for anyone who watched this line move early in the week. Early week 7 NFL odds on Monday afternoon revealed Kansas City as a 4-point favorite versus the Titans. And yet despite knocking off arguably the best team in the league later that night, the Titans woke up on Tuesday and were a 5.5-point underdog.

Here’s a peek at the most notable injuries Mike Vrabel’s group sustained on MNF.

Lewan is a 3X Pro Bowl left tackle and the commander of the offensive line. Farley is the Titans first-round pick in 2021 and arguably their top cornerback. Batson is a speedy return specialist and we all know what Julio brings to the table.

Tennessee might be 4-2 but things are far from “hunky-dory” in Nashville.

The Titans have a better record than the Chiefs and the game is in Tennessee. The fact that KC is a 5.5-point favorite is telling for prospective bettors.

Keep in mind, this is the same Tennessee secondary that got torched by Zach Wilson. This is the same bunch that enabled Russell Wilson and Josh Allen to go completely ham. In case you thought there was any version of Patrick Mahomes failing on Sunday, know that the best NFL betting apps installed Mahomes’ passing yards prop at a whopping 325.5 yards.

Kansas City is fresh off their most complete performance of the season and will be itching to move their record to above .500.

Look up one-man-wrecking crew in the dictionary and you might just find an image of Derrick Henry in a Tennessee Titans uniform. The “Big Dog” is running harder and faster than he ever has en route to racking up video-game-like numbers.

Derrick Henry’s last five games:

▫️ 35 Car, 182 Yards, 3 TD
▫️ 28 Car, 113 Yards
▫️ 33 Car, 147 Yards 1 TD
▫️ 29 Car, 130 Yards, 3 TD
▫️ 20 Car, 143 Yards, 3 TD

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— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 19, 2021

And talk about a tasty matchup.

The Chiefs pass rush has been virtually nonexistent – KC ranks dead last in the NFL with just six sacks. To make matters worse, Steve Spagnuolo’s unit ranks T-30^th in yards per carry allowed (5.2). In other words, Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry should be lined up to have field days on Sunday.

Tennessee is banged up and is playing on a short week. Neither A.J. Brown nor Julio Jones has been practicing. Is it just me, or does this game have “letdown performance” written all over it for the Titans?

We know those exist in Tennessee after this squad laid an egg versus the winless Jets following a stout performance against the Colts. 

Now for my Chiefs vs. Titans betting pick.

On paper, a 4-2 team playing at home getting 5.5 points against a 3-3 squad sounds like a good bet. It almost seems too good to be true, and that right there is your indicator. Pile it on Kansas City at BetUS now.

Patrick Mahomes is rested, he’s invigorated, and he’s facing one of the league’s most porous secondaries.

Grabbing KC -5.5 is undoubtedly one of my best ATS picks for week 7.