Texans vs. Chiefs, 9/8/20 NFL Week 1 Predictions & Betting Odds

Texans vs. Chiefs Week 1 Prediction

The 2020 NFL regular season opener is Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium, as the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs host the Texans at 8:20 p.m. ET. Will Kansas City roll as a 9-point favorite or is that number too high?

Game Snapshot

451 Houston Texans (+9) at 452 Kansas City Chiefs (-9); o/u 54.5

NBC, 8:20 p.m. ET, Thursday, September 10, 2020

Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Houston Texans DFS Spin

Texans signed QB Deshaun Watson to a four-year, $160 million extension through 2025. He gets $111 million guaranteed. Watson wanted a shorter-term deal, opting to get paid now and give himself a chance to cash in even bigger sooner rather than later, unlike Patrick Mahomes, who inked the record-setting 12-year pact in K.C. The $40 million average annual value in new money makes Watson the second-highest paid quarterback behind Mahomes. He's also now set to hit the open market again at 30 years old, giving himself another shot at big-time money, as long as the money keeps coming in for the NFL. It's a well-deserved deal, obviously, for fantasy's overall QB2 in points per game last season.

Kansas City Chiefs DFS Spin

The Athletic's Nate Taylor suggests it would not be a surprise if Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Darrel Williams "split most of the Chiefs’ rushing attempts on opening night." Williams has exclusively worked as the Chiefs' No. 2 back in camp and, as Taylor writes, been "the Chiefs’ best pass-block option at the position." Edwards-Helaire is still expected to lead this backfield in touches and catches in Week 1, but Taylor suggests coach Andy Reid and OC Eric Bieniemy will "want to ease Edwards-Helaire into a rhythm" in his NFL debut. This isn't a knock on the rookie's season-long outlook, but merely a reminder that Williams is fully expected to have a role as a low-end FLEX option in Kansas City's season opener.

Texans at Chiefs Betting Prediction

This is a total mismatch, especially seeing as how DeAndre Hopkins is now a Cardinal after Bill O’Brien traded him to Arizona for David Johnson and some draft picks. Perhaps Hopkins was a pain for O’Brien and co. to deal with in Houston, but he was a difference-maker when on the field and the Texans won’t soon replace him (with Johnson, Randall Cobb or anyone else for that matter). The Chiefs, meanwhile, return virtually the same roster that helped them win the Super Bowl back in February and are significantly better in all three phases of the game. The Texans raced out to a big lead in the Divisional round matchup between these two teams back in January and then eventually fell apart in the second quarter/second half. I don’t even think Houston gets that close on Thursday night.

NFL WEEK 1 PREDICTION: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS -9