NFL picks, Week 16: Experts predict Chiefs over Seahawks

Most NFL experts are going with the Kansas City Chiefs at home over the Seattle Seahawks as they head into their Week 16 matchup.

The Kansas City Chiefs are headed home on a short week in Week 16 on the NFL’s regular-season schedule. The good news is that they don’t have to play on Christmas Day, but it also means they have one less day to prepare than normal for a visit from the Seattle Seahawks.

It’s not often that we get to talk about Pete Carroll’s team around here given how rarely these two teams face off. The last time they played was 2018, Patrick Mahomes’ first year under center, and the Seahawks remain one of two teams he has never defeated (the Chiefs being the other).

This time around, however, the Chiefs are the odds-on favorites to win with a healthy 9-point spread to open the week. And NFL experts are falling in line with those odds, taking the Chiefs to win in their weekly predictions posts around the web.

Pete Prisco at CBS Sports predicts that the Chiefs will win by two touchdowns in the end and says the Seahawks’ defense is the key here as “Patrick Mahomes lights them up.”

Over at The Sporting News, Bill Bender doesn’t have the Chiefs winning by quite that much but. he does think they will win. However, if you’re betting with the spread, go with the Seahawks, he says, who he thinks will keep it closer than expected.

The panel of four experts over at Athlon Sports has the Chiefs winning across the board in their game-by-game picks and predictions.  Interestingly enough, a similar four-person panel at Detroit News is backing the Seahawks with half of its experts.

At the Big Lead, we find our favorite predictions for the week. We love anyone who writes the following, “Remember all those somewhat serious MVP conversations about Geno Smith? Remember the actual MVP who plays for the Chiefs?” In the end, they have the Chiefs by 15.