Seattle Seahawks vs Kansas City Chiefs
It isn’t every year that you get a matchup like this anymore as it features the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs, two teams who once battled it out in the AFC West together. After the Seahawks left for the NFC in 2002, this rivalry slowed down to a screeching halt but that doesn’t mean the games haven’t been incredible. There have been superstars involved here like Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes and who could forget the quirky Marshawn Lynch? Even better, if you know what to look for, you may come away with some money so read on for the nitty gritty on why this matchup is worth your viewership.
The Matchup
The most unique fact about this matchup is how much the Seahawks and Chiefs used to despise one another as they were in the same conference from 1977 until 2001, playing 47 games against each other over that span. Since then, however, they’ve only played in a few games with only four games from 2003-2018. The way the NFL schedule works, they only play each other once every four years now due to being in separate conferences. With that being said, the series has been dominated by the Chiefs as they held a 30-17 record over the Seahawks from 1977-2001. It was far worst when Seattle was on the road with Kansas City holding a 19-5 home record against them over that span.
It was November 11, 1990, when Kansas City linebacker Derrick Thomas would have the game of a lifetime, compiling seven sacks for an NFL record that still holds to this day. He almost got eight sacks but Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg eluded him and threw the game-winning touchdown pass to give Seattle a 17-16 victory. The 2018 game would be Russell Wilson’s final one against the Chiefs as Seattle’s QB while it marked Mahomes’ first and only game against Seattle. The Seahawks would emerge victorious with a 38-31 win as both Wilson and Mahomes would toss three TDs each.
Odds and Ends
The series has leaned toward the Chiefs and there haven’t been a lot of close games consistently with the exception of a six-game span from 2000-2006 where the winning margin was 6.8 points and another six-game stretch from 1980 to 1983. Otherwise, many contests get out of hand or wind up with lopsided scores such as a nine-game run between 1984 and 1988 where the victor won by an average of 23.1 points a game and an eight-game run from 1993 to 1996 the winner would win by an average margin of 15.5 points a contest.
When they were AFC rivals, the point totals were usually in the upper 30s and lower 40s range but that were notable exceptions to this like a six-game span from 1980-1984 where the teams averaged 51 points a contest. The average scores began increasing after the 2002 NFL realignment with the teams combining to average 58.7 points a game in six games between 2002-2018.
Why You Should Bet on This Game
This series is a great hark back to the old days of the AFC West before the realignment put the brakes on this once-great rivalry. Despite that, there is lots of value in this matchup. First of all, always look at the Chiefs first due to their dominance in this series overall. On that note, over the last 30 games in the rivalry, Kansas City has gone 19-11 against the spread including 7-2 over the last nine contests. Going deeper into the numbers, the most critical thing to look for is the totals because, since 2002, the over has gone 5-1 and 7-2 in the last nine games of this series. Be careful also if the Seahawks are in Kansas City where they went 0-4 against the spread at Arrowhead Stadium from 2001 to 2018 and 2-6 from 1996-2018. Mark your calendar for any upcoming matches between these two and then take your winnings to the bank.