The Teaser: Pair Seattle and Kansas City

Game 1: Seattle vs. St. Louis

The Initial Line:

Seattle -14 home vs. St. Louis

The Take:

Add 7.5 points to Seattle’s line

The Final Line:

Seattle -6.5

The Breakdown:

Seattle got another dominant win, as they pleased the home crowd with a 30-13 win over Cleveland. St. Louis was able to get the victory in potentially their last home game in that city, as they beat Tampa Bay on TNF 31-23. Seattle has arguably been the hottest team in football the last few weeks, and a lot of that leads back to the Russell Wilson/Doug Baldwin connection. Over the last 5 games, Wilson has thrown for 426 yds and 10 TDs to Baldwin, showing how they have overmatched their opponents. St. Louis got an emotional win given their potential move to LA next year, but they have struggled offensively this season. Todd Gurley has been the one bright spot for them, but he may have a long day against Seattle’s D who ranks 3rd in opponent rush yds allowed. Seattle always has a slight advantage at home with the 12th man, and as the postseason closes in they always seem to get hotter. Look for them to continue the trend and win easily in this one.

Final Stat: Seattle allows the 2nd least PPG in the NFL (17.7). St. Louis is 31st in the NFL in PPG (17.2).

Game 2: Kansas City vs. Cleveland

The Initial Line:

Kansas City -14 home vs. Cleveland

The Take:

Add 7.5 points to Kansas City’s line

The Final Line:

Kansas City -6.5

The Breakdown:

Kansas City kept their league-high winning streak going, as they went on the road to beat Baltimore 34-14. Cleveland was manhandled on the road by Seattle, as they fell 30-13. After week 6 you may have argued that Cleveland had a better team than KC, as Cleveland was 2-4 and KC was 1-5. However Kansas City hasn’t lost since week 6, riding an 8 game win streak behind a complete offensive and defensive effort. In 6 of the 8 games they have won by more than one score, which shows they are overmatching their opponents. The defense has also held teams to 14 or less pts in 6 of those 8 games. Cleveland has been in transition all year, with Josh McCown and Johnny Manziel swapping at the QB position and inconsistent defensive play. They are the worse team on offense and defense, and will have a tough time staying in this game in front of the Arrowhead Stadium crowd. Take KC to keep it rolling here with a big win.

Final Stat: Kansas City has the 2nd best turnover differential in the NFL (+15). Cleveland ranks 27th in the league at -8.