NFL Week 5 Picks: Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers

Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers
Sunday, 10/5/14, 4:25 PM EST
Opening Point Spread: San Francisco -6.5
Current Betting Line: San Francisco -5
Opening Total: 44.5
Current Total: 44
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker

The San Francisco 49ers need QB Colin Kaepernick to play better moving forward in 2014

Kansas City has won back-to-back games since opening the year with a 0-2 SU record, as it comes off an impressive 41-14 victory over the New England Patriots as three-point home underdogs on Monday Night Football. The Chiefs are hoping that quarterback Alex Smith can continue his strong play, which is important to consider when making your Week 5 NFL betting picks, as he completed 20 of 26 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns last week. The franchise has dropped its last four road games in this series. Kansas City is 4-17 SU and 9-12 ATS as underdogs the last two-plus seasons.

The Chiefs have won the previous two meetings against the 49ers by a combined score of 72-10, which can’t be ignored when looking over the NFL betting odds, but both of those contests were played at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City will try to establish the run with Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis, as the team ranks fourth in the league in averaging 145.3 rushing yards per game, but faces a stop unit that limits opponents to just 69.8 yards a contest on the ground.

San Francisco snapped a two-game losing streak by coming away with a 26-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles as 3.5-point home favorites in Week 4, as it went UNDER the betting total for the third time in four affairs. The 49ers have surrendered a combined 152 rushing yards in their past three games, which is a bit surprising due to the injuries the defense has endured early on this season—specifically NaVorro Bowman and Aldon Smith. San Francisco is 7-2 SUATS versus AFC opponents the last two-plus seasons.

The 49ers are waiting to see if signal-caller Colin Kaepernick can emerge as one of the NFL’s best players, as he ranks 19th with a passer rating of 91.2 after throwing for 218 yards and two touchdowns with an interception last week. Of course, the main storyline of this game is always head coach John Harbaugh elected to go with Kaepernick as his guy under center over Smith.