In the National Football League on Thursday; the season will kick off with the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the New England Patriots. The Kansas City Chiefs went 2-2 during the preseason play. Their most recent preseason game was a win. Kansas City is one of the three teams that are going to be fighting for the top of the AFC West.

The New England Patriots are the defending Super Bowl Champions. The Patriots ran through the AFC a season ago, and then knocked off the Atlanta Falcons, following trailing 28-3 in the game. The New England Patriots are -8.5 over the Kansas City Chiefs in this game on Thursday night.

Chiefs Sending Smith Behind Center

The Kansas City Chiefs are sending Alex Smith back behind center again this season. The 33 year old finished with 15 touchdowns, and over 3,500 yards last season. The top target for Smith a season ago was Travis Kelce. Kelce caught 85 passes for 1,125 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Spencer Ware is going to miss the remainder of the season with an injury in the pre-season. Ware rushed for 921 yards last season. Kareem Hunt will get the nod as the starting running back for Kansas City. The Chiefs will host the Philadelphia Eagles next week in their home opener.

Patriots Begin Title Defense

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will begin their title defense with a home game against the Chiefs. The first three out of four games for New England are at home this season. Next week, New England will play their first road game at the New Orleans Saints.

The Patriots lost Julian Edelman in the pre-season. Thankfully for the Patriots, they added Brandin Cooks in the offseason to be their top receiver. The running back core looks different for the Patriots after LeGarrette Blount moved on. The Patriots will feature Dion Lewis and James White.

Patriots Win; Chiefs Cover

The New England Patriots are the better team in this matchup. New England should win this game at home. It’s tough to think that the Kansas City Chiefs cannot hang in there and keep this game close. Look for Kansas City to take care of the football, and bring great effort defensively.

In the end, the Patriots win this game, and the Kansas City Chiefs cover. This is a great opening night match-up, because both teams are going to be in the hunt for the postseason all season long. The final bet here is the Kansas City Chiefs +8.5 over the New England Patriots.

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