The Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs are both winning an impressive clip. It should be a close game, but experts like K.C.
The Kansas City Chiefs have caught fire and have not looked back after their loss in Week 5 to the Las Vegas Raiders. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are quietly having quite a season. In fact, the Dolphins have managed to win seven on their last eight matchups, including big victories against the high-flying Rams and Cardinals.
Miami is not the same team that we have seen in previous seasons. It is clear that Brian Flores is a highly respected coach and the roster is much more talented than it has been in recent memory. With a vaunted defense and a group of playmakers on offense, the Dolphins are more than capable of knocking off good teams. The Chiefs are not immortal and will certainly have their hands full in Miami.
The Chiefs are one of the hottest teams in the NFL over the last two seasons and it seems virtually impossible to defeat Patrick Mahomes in a commanding fashion. If the Chiefs defense can hold a team under 20 points, it would be impossible for Kansas City to lose when Mahomes is under center. The Chiefs are about as hot as it gets and the Dolphins are catching fire at the right time. It should make for a great AFC showdown and some of the experts are brave enough to pick against the Chiefs. Here is what the experts have to say:
CBS:
On the CBS panel, everyone selected the Kansas City Chiefs as their winner. Bear in mind, this panel includes Kansas City hater Jason La Canfora and the infamous Pete Prisco. Even with a hot Dolphins team rolling in, they were unwilling to take the risk of picking against the Chiefs. Perhaps the Chiefs are the new Patriots, where it will be incredibly difficult to ever expect them to lose. Either way, no one at CBS thinks the Chiefs to lose.
ESPN:
ESPN looks a lot like CBS. The Dolphins are in a must win situation and the Chiefs are simply trying to outlast the Steelers. It seems as though there is plenty of motivation for both teams, but the Dolphins seem as though they have more to play for. Even with that factor, ESPN’s panel agrees across the board that the Chiefs should come away with a victory.
NFL:
Over at NFL.com, you can find one of the best weekly pick writers in the business: Gregg Rosenthal. With incredible insight and years of experience, he predicts each game for the weekend. Here like the Chiefs to win by a final of 27-21 and he had this to say:
"“Dolphins coach Brian Flores was part of a Patriots staff that slowed down Patrick Mahomes better than most. Miami’s defense is built to change looks and disrupt Kansas City’s timing enough to keep the Chiefs’ red-zone and run-game struggles going. Look for the Dolphins to keep this game interesting, even if their offense is leaning a little too much on guys like Myles Gaskin, Jakeem Grant and Lynn Bowden.”"
FiveThirtyEight:
Each week the nerds at FiveThirtyEight provide data-driven probabilities for each game of the week. In the game this week, the Chiefs are given a 77% chance of victory. This is among the highest win probabilities of the week, trailing only the Titans over the Jaguars and the Packers over the Lions.
NFL Pick Watch:
Overall, the numbers are somewhat astounding. Of the hundreds of experts that qualify at NFL Pick Watch, only 5% of experts like Miami. That means that 95% of experts are taking the Chiefs to win yet again.
These numbers are a bit surprising to me, but I am no expert. The Dolphins are playing good football and are playing to stay in playoff contention. Expect Miami to play an ‘A’ game like everyone else has against the Chiefs. It should make for a great game and regardless of who the experts like, it will be must-watch football.