Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs Odds

With a win and a little help, the Kansas City Chiefs (9-5) can clinch their first division title in eight years when they host the Tennessee Titans (6-8) Sunday.

Considering Kansas City has 27 wins all-time against the Titans franchise – its second most against any non-division opponent – it should have an excellent chance to take care of business.

NFL odds makers have listed the Chiefs as a 5-point favorite with the total set at 42.5.

Kansas City bounced back strong from a 31-0 loss at San Diego with a 27-13 win over St. Louis last Sunday. The Chiefs can now capture the AFC West with a win over Tennessee and a San Diego loss at Cincinnati.

The Chiefs were happy to get quarterback Matt Cassel back on the field just 11 days after an emergency appendectomy. With Cassel under center, the Rams weren’t able to stack the box the way the Chargers did in Week 14.

Cassel completed just 15 of 29 passes for 184 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but he demanded respect from the St. Louis defense. That respect allowed the Chiefs to rush for 210 yards.

Running back Jamaal Charles, who leads the Chiefs with 1,303 yards rushing, led the way with 126 yards and a touchdown against the Rams. He leads the league with a ridiculous 6.4 yards per carry average.

The Chiefs boast the NFL’s top ground attack, averaging 168.6 yards per game.

Kansas City is an unbeaten 6-0 at home this season where it is outscoring opponents by 12.5 points on average.

While Tennessee has been mediocre against the run this season, it was able to hold Houston’s Arian Foster – the NFL’s top rusher – to a season-worst 15 yards in last week’s 31-17 victory. It will likely take another dominant effort to get past the Chiefs Sunday.

Tennessee is holding on to slim postseason chances. Not only does it need to win out, but it needs Jacksonville and Indianapolis to lose out.

Winning in Kansas City, where the Chiefs are only allowing 12.2 points per game, won’t be easy. Although, Tennessee has had success at Kansas City in recent years. The Titans have won the last two meetings in this series at Arrowhead, winning 26-17 in 2007 and 34-10 in 2008.

Tennessee’s goal, as always, will be to get All-Pro running back Chris Johnson plenty of touches. He rushed for 130 yards and a score in last week’s win.  The Chiefs will no doubt do whatever it takes to slow down Johnson, which could open the door for Randy Moss to finally make some noise.

The Titans haven’t called Moss’ number much, but he has three 100-yard efforts and six touchdowns in his career against the Chiefs. Veteran Kerry Collins, who threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns last week, would be wise to test the Chiefs early in this one. Teams that have had the most success against Kansas City have been able to stretch the field.

It is worth noting that Kansas City is just 3-10-1 against the spread in its last 14 games as a favorite.