The Kansas City Chiefs are 13-1 straight-up this year, the best record in football. The Houston Texans, who meet them today at Arrowhead Stadium, are 9-5.
Now, one might think from those two stats that the game would mean more to the Texans as we head down the stretch to the National Football League postseason.
It doesn’t.
The Texans have already won their division, they have a three-game lead over the second place Indianapolis Colts with three left to play and have already beaten the Colts twice this season. The Chiefs are still looking to lock up home field advantage in the playoffs, they have a two-game advantage over the 11-3 Buffalo Bills but their lone defeat was suffered against Buffalo.
In other words, the Chiefs are closer to losing the top seed in the AFC for the playoffs while the Texans have little to play for.
So, the game in Kansas City today means more to the Chiefs. Does that mean they are going to get it?
This is weird, but the availability of Mahomes is what takes me off this game. Without him, the Chiefs would have been motivated to compensate for his loss and got points on the spread for a home game. With him, the line has moved six points to where now the Chiefs are favored and expected to start their prize quarterback.
What we don’t know is just how well Mahomes will respond to game action on the ankle sprain he suffered in last week’s win at Cleveland. He certainly can’t be 100%, and might he aggravate the injury early in this contest and land us on Carson Wentz as a favorite?
Too many ifs for me to get excited about today’s early game.
In the afternoon matchup we have the best two teams in the AFC North Division battling it out. The Steelers come into today’s game with both a straight-up win over the Ravens, earned in mid-November at Pittsburgh, and a one game advantage in the standings, 10 wins to the Ravens 9 victories.
If the Ravens win this game, they will have the same record as Mike Tomlin’s squad and the same division record which means the playoff seed edge for the top spot in the division could fall to whichever team has the better record against common opponents. That would depend on how the Steelers do in their final two games. They play Kansas City on Christmas Day and the Ravens lost to the Chiefs on opening day. The Steelers close out the regular season against the Cincinnati Bengals, who the Ravens have already beaten twice.
Now, we can get the calculators, slide rulers, calculators or computers to determine where the mathematical advantage rests for the remainder of the season for the Steelers and Ravens. But one thing is for sure, the Ravens need to win today, win their last two games and hope the Steelers drop at least one of their remaining contests at home against the Chiefs or Bengals.
First things first.
The Ravens win today.
Qoxhi Picks: Baltimore Ravens (-7) over Pittsburgh Steelers