The Gold Sheet

THE PLAY: Houston Texans +8.5 (-110)

The betting storyline in this one is fairly simple: These two teams just played in Week 16 and Kansas City closed as a 3.5-point home favorite. Should the Chiefs be laying north of a touchdown in the rematch? Kansas City earned the 27-19 win-and-cover, but the first 35 minutes of that game looked a lot different than the final 25. That contest was very competitive in the first half, and Tank Dell scored what should-have-been the game-tying touchdown in the third quarter. Dell suffered a horrific knee injury on the play (even though the score did count), Ka'imi Fairbairn missed the subsequent extra point and the Texans were an absolute mess after that. CJ Stroud was never able to gain composure and threw two interceptions. Dell is out and Kansas City is coming off extended rest, but is that worth a five-point adjustment?! You can't really say, "The Chiefs are rested and healthy now," because Kansas City was pretty darn close to 100-percent in that first meeting. Defensive back Chamari Conner and tackle DJ Humphries were the only two players out for Kansas City. Isiah Pacheco and Hollywood Brown were both in the lineup and Patrick Mahomes had his full arsenal to work with. Kansas City went 8-9 against the spread this season, including an 0-5 ATS mark when favored by more than a touchdown. Per Evan Abrams, the Chiefs are 19-28-2 against the spread as a favorite of more than seven points with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback.