Posted on 10/13/2007 9:55:12 PM

NFL Football Betting: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Kansas City Chiefs

By Charles Jay

BetUS football betting odds: Cincinnati -4 (Total 44)

The Cincinnati Bengals will try to get themselves back in the AFC North race when they travel to Arrowhead Stadium and take on the Kansas City Chiefs on the grass field in a game schedule to kick off at 1 PM ET on Sunday. In the NFL betting odds at BetUS, the Bengals are listed at -4, with a posted over/under of 44 points.

Cincinnati currently sports a record of 1-3 SU (straight-up) and 1-2-1 ATS (against the spread). The Bengals are in third place in the division, two games behind the leading Pittsburgh Steelers. In their last outing, they lost to the rampaging New England Patriots at home by a score of 34-13 as an 8-point underdog. They are coming off a bye week.

Kansas City is 2-3 SU and 2-2-1 ATS, and is coming off a very disappointing 17-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in which they gained only ten yards rushing. The Chiefs are in a three-way tie for second place in the AFC West, a half-game behind the Oakland Raiders, who had the benefit of a bye last weekend.

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD NFL betting trends:

* KC has covered six of the last nine meetings with Cincinnati

* The last five meetings have gone under the total

* KC has covered four of the last six meetings at Arrowhead

* Five of the last six meetings in Kansas City have gone under the total

These two teams met last season, and Cincinnati, a 1.5-point underdog, won the game 23-10 despite having just 12 first downs and 236 total yards. In that game, the Chiefs committed three costly turnovers.

Cincinnati is, of course, led by Carson Palmer, the former Heisman Trophy winner who has completed 63% of his passes for 1171 yards and 10 TD's. Wide receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh have combined for 855 of those yards, but the downer has been the team's running game. Rudi Johnson may be back from injury this week, but whether that is good news is debatable. Johnson is averaging only 3.3 yards a carry. On defense, the Bengals are extremely permissive, surrendering 5.3 yards an attempt on the ground and 251 yards a game through the air. Also:

* Cincinnati has lost six of its last seven games SU

* Cincinnati has gone 15-5-2 ATS in its last 22 road games

* Cincinnati has played eight unders in its last 11 games

* Cincinnati has lost four of its last five road games SU

Kansas City got off to a woeful start, scoring just three points at Houston and 10 at Chicago. Then they came back with wins over Minnesota and San Diego. The latter victory was particularly satisfying, as the Chiefs bounced back from a 16-6 halftime deficit to chalk up a 30-16 win. Damon Huard suffered an injured shoulder and had to leave the Jacksonville game in second-year man Brodie Croyle's hands. Croyle went 10 for 17 and threw for a touchdown on the game's final play, averting a shutout. Croyle is the quarterback that coach Herman Edwards wanted to seize the starting job in training camp, but he had done nothing to earn it. Huard expects to play this week. A pleasant surprise on offense has been first-round draftee Dwayne Bowe, the rookie from LSU, who has gained 369 yards receiving. Still, the Chiefs have had to gain 22.4 yards for every point they've scored. Also:

* KC has played five of its last six games under the total

* KC has won 13 of its last 16 home games SU

* KC is 11-4-1 ATS in its last 16 at home

* KC is 7-2-1 ATS last ten as a home dog

Kansas City, the 4-point underdog in the BetUS NFL betting line, might normally look to have a technical edge, but that effect is mitigated somewhat because the Chiefs also got points at home against the Jaguars and came up lame.

Week 6 NFL Odds Podcast:

The 2007 NFL betting season is here in full force! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The BetUS sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join BetUS today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLII and beyond!

(Charles Jay of TotalActionExtra.com is a member of the NFL too - that is, "not for long" if you don't get results. He is now a regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room)