The NFL is at the business end of the season now as we enter the playoffs stage, where the current reigning champions the Kansas City Chiefs will take on the Miami Dolphins.
The Chiefs were crowned champions of the AFC West despite a pretty dismal season that saw them go 11-6, while the Dolphins finished second in the AFC East with the same record.
We'll take a look at the match-up and provide you with our best free NFL betting picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while you enjoy the action on the field.
Learn more about how to bet on the NFL playoffs here.
Kansas City Chiefs vs Miami Dolphins information
- Saturday, January 13th 2024
- Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
- 20:00 ET kick-off
- NFL Playoffs Wildcard round
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, before they followed that with a 23-20 win over the New York Jets in week 4, and then claimed a dominant win over the Minnesota Vikings immediately after that in week 5.
Then came a 19-8 win over Denver Broncos in a poor quality game, before a strong 31-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers to stretch their win streak to six. But then in a second meeting with the Broncos they found themselves on the end of another shocking defeat, this time losing 24-9. They recovered last time out in Germany with a 21-14 win over the Miami Dolphins before a bye in week 10.
After that they went 1-3 in their next four games. They were well beaten by the Philadelphia Eagles 21-17 in week 11, before beating the Raiders 31-17 in week 12. They then lost two in a row as they fell to a 19-27 defeat to the Green Bay Packers and a 17-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
They followed that up with a win over the New England Patriots 27-17, before a Christmas Day defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders set them back again. They then picked up a comfortable 25-17 win against the Cincinnati Bengals, before ending the season with a 13-12 win over the Chargers.
Miami have also had an excellent season themselves with a 9-4 record securing their own playoff spot at the time of writing.
The Dolphins started the season with three wins in a row over the Los Angeles Chargers 36-34, a 24-17 win over the New England Patriots and an incredible 70-20 win over the Denver Broncos. But a trip to Denver to face off with the Broncos didn't end too well as they were hammered 48-20 for their first defeat of the season.
They bounced back with two consecutive wins over the New York Giants and then the Carolina Panthers by huge margins, but their trip to face the Philadelphia Eagles saw them beaten comfortably once again 31-17 in week 7.
Miami earned a win over the Patriots for a second time this season by the same 31-17 scoreline in their next game before the Kansas City Chiefs beat them 21-14 in Frankfurt, Germany which saw them go into their bye week on a downer.
They returned in week 11 with a 20-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, before two more wins over the New York Jets and Washington Commanders, but a one-point defeat to Tennesse last time snapped their run.
Another win over the Jets and then the Dallas Cowboys followed that, before the Dolphins ended the season with consecutive defeats against the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills.
NFL picks: Kansas City Chiefs -2.5 @ -165
If there’s one thing that is seemingly a lock in the NFL these days, it’s backing Patrick Mahomes‘ Chiefs to cover the spread when it’s less than a field goal.
It’s no secret that Kansas City has struggled to cover big numbers over the course of the last few seasons, but the Chiefs thrive in this role where they only need to win a field goal for their backers to cash in for a winning ticket. In fact, for his career, Mahomes is 14-4-1 against the spread as an underdog or favorite of under a field goal.
There is excellent value on Kansas City this week coming off a baffling loss at Denver, although it has since come to light that Mahomes was battling a bad case of the flu pre-game and that will no doubt have affected him.
Check out our review for MyBookie sports betting here.
NFL picks: Over 43.5 total points @ -110
So far this season the Chiefs have been averaging 21.82 points scored per game, while defensively they have allowed 17.29 points per game.
On the other hand the Dolphins have scored an average of 29.17 points per game this season, while defensively they have allowed 22.41 points per game.
Their meeting earlier in the season saw Kansas claim a 21-14 win which suggests the under might be the way forward, but with the scoring potential of both teams the over seems like the safer bet in a loser-goes-home scenario.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
