Sportsinteraction

Posted at 10:00 AM EST. Odds are subject to change.

Las Vegas +4½ -110 over Kansas City

4:25 PM EST. Both of these teams have seen their stock soar through three weeks, and both are 3-0 straight up and against the spread. The difference is that Kansas City is being asked to carry that perfect record onto the road and spot more than a field goal to another unbeaten team. We're not interested. The Raiders haven't stumbled into 3-0 because of a couple of bizarre finishes or an unsustainable defensive scoring spree. They've looked like a legitimately improved football team, and +4½ at home gives us plenty to work with.

Klint Kubiak has transformed the Las Vegas offense quickly. Kirk Cousins has nine touchdown passes, Brock Bowers is becoming an enormous problem for opposing defenses, and the combination of Ashton Jeanty and Mike Washington Jr. has given the Raiders balance on the ground. That's important because Las Vegas isn't asking Cousins to throw it 45 times every Sunday. Through three games, they've called 93 runs and 92 passes, which is about as balanced as an offense can get. The offensive line has also been better than anticipated, and what looked before the season like a rebuilding offense suddenly has multiple ways to move the football.

Kansas City is obviously dangerous, but last week's 24-10 victory over Miami was considerably less dominant than the two-touchdown margin suggests. The Chiefs also have an issue up front that matters here. Patrick Mahomes took some punishment against Miami, and now those tackles have to deal with Maxx Crosby, who can wreck an entire game plan without Las Vegas having to manufacture pressure. On the other side, Kansas City's defense has its own difficult assignment with Bowers. Steve Spagnuolo will undoubtedly devote considerable attention to him, but doing so creates opportunities elsewhere in an offense that has already demonstrated it doesn't have to live through one player.

There's also a subtle difference between believing Kansas City is the better team and believing Kansas City should be laying 4½ on the road against this version of Las Vegas. Those aren't the same proposition. The Chiefs' reputation guarantees that you'll rarely receive a discount when backing them, while the market still appears reluctant to completely trust what Las Vegas has done. Maybe the Raiders aren't ready to knock Kansas City off the AFC West perch, but nothing we've seen through three weeks suggests they're a fluke, either. In a divisional game between two unbeaten teams, we'll gladly take more than a field goal with the home side.

Sportsinteraction