Here is who national experts are predicting will win Chiefs-Texans game
The wait is over: the Chiefs will take the field Thursday night for the first time since winning Super Bowl LIV.
The Chiefs are facing a familiar foe: the Houston Texans. The two teams faced off twice last season, with Houston winning the regular-season meeting and the Chiefs making NFL history in winning an AFC Divisional playoff game.
Forty-six experts from around the nation made predictions for Thursday’s game. Here are the picks and what they’re saying about the game, which starts at 7:20 p.m. and will be broadcast on NBC (Ch. 41):
A 41-30 Chiefs win is the pick from Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com. This is part of what he wrote: “Andy Reid saves up a few tricks for the opener. Over the last three years in Week 1, the Chiefs scored 42 in Foxborough, 38 in Carson, and 40 in Jacksonville. There’s no reason to think that trend won’t continue while facing a secondary that is too similar to the group that gave up a 50-burger in the playoffs eight months ago — and is now minus its best cornerback, Gareon Conley.”
Each of the eight CBS Sports experts believe the Chiefs will win: Ryan Wilson, Jason La Canfora, Pete Prisco, Jared Dubin, Jamey Eisenberg), David Richard, John Breech and Will Brinson. Prisco predicted a 36-20 Chiefs victory. This is part of what he wrote: “The Texans have defensive issues that will show up here. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs roll.”
Both of Pro Football Talk’s writers went with the Chiefs. Michael Davis Smith thinks the final score will be 31-21. Here’s part of what he wrote: “The defending champions have every reason to be confident heading into the 2020 season, with the same core group of players back as they attempt to repeat.” Mike Florio sees a 41-38 Chiefs win. Here’s an excerpt of what he wrote: “Offenses may be ahead of defenses entering the 2020 season, which means that there will be plenty of points scored in Week One.”
All six of the Sports Illustrated Monday Morning Quarterback writers picked the Chiefs: Albert Breer, Andrew Brandt, Connor Orr Gary Gramling Jenny Vrentas and Mitch Goldich.
Former Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles believes the Chiefs will prevail:
Eight of nine experts at ESPN see the Chiefs winning: Mike Clay, Jason Reid, Trey Wingo, Mina Kimes, Laura Rutledge, Damien Woody, Dan Graziano and Kevin Seifert. Seth Wickersham thinks the Texans will prevail.
The Chiefs will win 30-17 writes Tadd Haislop of the Sporting News. This is a part of what he wrote: “The Chiefs lost almost nothing from their Super Bowl-winning roster, and while the Texans remain competitive on the strength of Deshaun Watson’s brilliance, they still don’t stack up.”
A 35-24 victory is the prediction from Jake Rill of Bleacher Report. This is a portion of what Rill wrote: “The Chiefs are again going to be a Super Bowl contender this season, and they’ve already proved they’re a better team than the Texans, who traded wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins — one of their best offensive players — during the offseason. Houston will still be a good team, but Kansas City will show it’s on a higher level with a convincing victory in the season opener.”
Six of seven experts from USA Today picked the Chiefs: Jarrett Bell (37-27 final score), Nate Davis (30-24), Jori Epstein (31-25), Mike Jones (34-27), Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz (35-23) and Lorenzo Reyes (33-30). Tom Schad went with Houston (31-28). For Bell and Jones, the Chiefs are the lock of the week.
Nine of 10 people at the Dallas Morning News see the Chiefs winning: Tim Cowlishaw, Michael Gehlken, Dana Larson, Damon Marx, Craig Miller, John Owing, Newy Scruggs, Kevin Sherrington, and Calvin Watkins. The lone pick for the Texans: David Moore.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 9:14 AM.
