The NFL is back for week 6 of the 2023 season as the Kansas City Chiefs play host to the Denver Broncos.
The Chiefs suffered a shocking loss in week 1 but have won all their games since then and come into this with a 4-1 record, while the Broncos have managed just one win this season from their five games.
Both teams will be pushing for a big win in week 6, and we'll break down the match up between the two sides while trying to earn you some extra cash with our best free NFL betting picks.
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Kansas City Chiefs vs Denver Broncos information
- Thursday, 12 October 2023
- Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
- 20:15 ET kick-off
Season so far
The reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs stepped into the 2023 season with a trip to face off with the Detroit Lions, with many expecting a rout, but eventually suffering a shock come-from-behind defeat despite having led 14-7 at half-time.
Kansas bounced back in week 2 though against the Jacksonville Jaguars, putting in a solid display of defensive strength and efficient offense to claim a 17-9 win and get back on track of their championship defense.
Then in week 3 they showed their true selves as Mahomes threw three passing touchdowns to help the Chiefs romp to a 41-10 victory, including a 27-0 second quarter. They followed that with a 23-20 win over the New York Jets in week 4, before claiming a dominant win over the Minnesota Vikings last time out.
The Broncos suffered a one-point defeat in their opening game of the season as they were beaten 17-16 by the Las Vegas Raiders, before their trip to Washington to face the Commanders ended in a 35-33 defeat following a fourth-quarter comeback.
Week 3 saw Denver get absolutely smashed by the Miami Dolphins with a 50-point defeat, as the game ended 70-20 with the Dolphins hitting 14 points in the first quarter followed by 21 in the second, 14 in the third and 21 in the fourth.
They bounced back in week 4 with their first win against the Chicago Bears with a 31-28 win, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter to ensure they got the victory. They fell back to defeat last time out though, as the Jets claimed a 31-21 victory with a big second half comeback
NFL Picks: Broncos +10.5 @ -110
Right off of the bat, this could be another in a long line of hideous Thursday night games like we’ve become accustomed to in the past few seasons.
On one side, you have a Broncos team that has struggled to stop anyone, whether it’s through the air or on the ground. They’ve given up yards all over the place and even made the Bears look like an offensive juggernaut in Week 4.
On the other, Patrick Mahomes looms large as someone who can place the ball where he wants. In addition to that, the Chiefs’ defense is playing at a ceiling level, with their secondary allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers this season.
Divisional games can be tricky, so even though all of this information screams Kansas City by multiple touchdowns, I’m not sure that that’s the way to approach this game. The Chiefs have struggled to cover spreads.
Interestingly enough, the Broncos have played the Chiefs close recently. In each of their last three matchups, Denver has covered the spread.
I’m ready to go back to the well here, as the Chiefs are 2-2 against the spread this year, and divisional games tend to be a bigger challenge than the rest of the schedule. Apart from that, Mahomes has not been perfect to start the season, and we’re still not sure if Travis Kelce is back to full health.
Of course, if Taylor Swift shows up to this game, all of this could change.
NFL Picks: Over 47.5 total points @ -110
Lots of people are picking the under total for their bet of the week because both teams played on Sunday night and are having a short week ahead of clashing at the Arrowhead on Thursday night.
But with Patrick Mahomes performing really well and the Chiefs in great form, paired up with the fact that the Broncos are really struggling defensively it would be a big surprise if this didn't go over the 48 point mark after four quarters.
So far this season all of the Broncos last four games have gone well over this total, and they have collapsed later in games which has been a growing trend. As for the Chiefs though, only one of their games have gone past the overs total and it was the time where they smashed past the Bears.
Bearing in mind the fact that Denver dropped 28 points themselves to Chicago, it would be a shock if Kansas didn't exceed that quite comfortably which means the total would be most of the way complete already.
It's likely to be a stop-start game but expect plenty of points for this bet to land.
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