The Arizona Cardinals head to the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas, Missouri to face Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in one of the week 10 NFL fixtures. Arizona open the game as 17 point underdogs, a huge number and the largest in the NFL this season.
The Cardinals are 4-1-1- against the spread since week 3 and in 5 games played against the Chiefs are 0-4-1. They are coming off a bye after defeating the Forty Niners in their last game. The team rid itself of QB Sam Bradford since the loss to the Chicago Bears in week 3 and put rookie Josh Rosen in his place and haven’t looked back since. He delivered 252 yards and 2 TDs and 1 interception to help Arizona come back from a deficit to defeat the Forty Niners 18-15. Larry Fitzgerald led with 102 yards and a touchdown from 8 grabs. They are averaging 165.8 passing yards per game to rank 31st in the NFL and 67.5 rushing yards per game to rank 32nd.
The Cardinals are last on the rankings for third-down conversions at 26.1%. Running Back David Johnson is having a torrid time with 3.2 yards per carry – 394 yards in 122 carries. Defending the pass has come a bit easier for the Arizona defence than defending the run. They are allowing 143 yards on the ground to oppositions per week to rank 7th in pass defence.
Kansas City Chiefs have a supreme 8-1 record leading up to this game, their only loss coming against New England Patriots. The Chiefs are one of the top teams in the NFL right now and offensively are laying down some markers. Patrick Mahomes has the best total quarterback rating, leading the league in passing yards with 2,901 yards and 29 passing touchdowns. Tyreek Hill is 2nd in receiving touchdown and 7th in receiving yards. On the ground Kareem Hunt has 683 rushing yards and 7 TDs. He has 6 receiving scores as well as 312 receiving yards. Offensively, the Chiefs are beastly.
While Kansas City’s defence may stutter a bit at times, the strength of their offensive game implies they will win more games than they lose. They are averaging just over one sack per game which is the third least in the league and also have the second most penalties on 8.4 per game which is the second highest in the league.
Team News
There are few injury worries for the Cardinals. John Wetzel sustained a neck injury and has been placed on injured reserve.
Sammy Watkins, Justin Houston, Frank Zombo, Mitch Morse and Eric Berry are all questionable for Kansas City. Sammy was experiencing pain in his foot after last Sundays game and was sent for an MRI scan.
Verdict
This game has the biggest spread of all the week 10 fixtures and Arizona are headed to Kansas as massive underdogs. Kansas are scoring the most points in the first quarter while Arizona are allowing the sixth most points in the first quarter. This could start rapidly with the Chiefs installing an unassailable lead. The Chiefs’ offence is just too powerful and should blow away the Cardinals with fair ease.