NFL picks and predictions, Week 6: Patriots favored slightly over Chiefs
By Jacob Harris
The latest picks and predictions are out from NFL analysts and experts and the Patriots seem to be favored over the Chiefs for the most part.
The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a Week 5 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars that was impressive not because of their offense, but their defense stepping up and forcing five turnovers. The New England Patriots are coming off an easy Thursday Night Football win where Tom Brady finally had Julien Edelman back, and have had an extra three days to prepare for the Chiefs when they come to Foxborough on Sunday night.
Despite the Chiefs being undefeated and the Patriots sitting at 3-2, New England is still slightly favored to win this week by the experts across sports media.
This should come as no surprise, despite K.C. seemingly having New England’s number (at least in the regular season). The Patriots are virtually unbeatable at home and are ultra-dangerous with the extra post-Thursday Night Football prep time. The Chiefs are also banged up on defense, which isn’t good for a team that has already given up the most yards per game ever through the five weeks.
ESPN’s prognosticators are split right down the middle, with half of their panel picking the Chiefs.
CBS’ panel isn’t evenly split, with Will Brinson, Jared Dubin, and Ryan Wilson the three of their eight experts picking K.C.
FiveThirtyEight calculates KC’s win probability at 46%, making them just the slightest of underdogs. Their Super Bowl probability continues to favor the Chiefs, though, as their chance of winning it all has jumped to 19% according to their model.
Bleacher Report’s trio of analysts are split on the pick but two of the three do have the Chiefs winning on the road for the second year in a row at New England.
A routing of the Patriots likely won’t sway the national opinion away from the Pats as the favorite in the AFC. The Chiefs have routed them twice in recent years, and it didn’t mean anything by then end of those seasons. If K.C. takes New England’s absolute best shot and wins, though, we may start to see the tide turn toward the Chiefs. A decisive victory would be chalked up as a typical early-season Patriots stinker, but a hard fought victory against a mistake-free Patriots squad couldn’t be seen as anything other than a loud, clear statement that this Chiefs team means buisiness.