Pro Football Picks: San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Friday, 8/16/13, 8:00 PM EST, TV: N/A
Opening Point Spread: Kansas City -1.5
Current Betting Line: Kansas City -2.5
Opening Total: 40
Current Total: 40
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker

Rams Chiefs NFL Preview — The Kansas City Chiefs will be motivated to pick up a victory for Alex Smith against the San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco was handed a 10-6 defeat by the Denver Broncos as three-point home favorites in its preseason opener last week, while going well UNDER the betting total of 35.5. The 49ers did out-gain the Broncos by 68 yards, which can’t be overlooked when making your pro football picks Friday night. Offensively, the team will use four quarterbacks in this affair, with Colin Kaepernick giving way to B.J. Daniels, Colt McCoy and Scott Tolzien. Kaepernick completed all four of his passes for 38 yards against the Broncos.

The 49ers are hoping that wide receiver A.J. Jenkins can emerge as the No. 2 receiver opposite of Anquan Boldin, but he was hurt early in camp and lost a fumble in the exhibition opener. On the defensive end, first-round pick Eric Reid continues to challenge for the starting nod opposite Donte Whitner, with C.J. Spilman and Trenton Robinson being the other two options.

Kansas City suffered a 17-13 defeat to the New Orleans Saints as three-point road underdogs last week, while going UNDER the betting total of 36.5. The Chiefs may have been looking ahead to this marquee matchup, especially with quarterback Alex Smith facing the team that selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. The starting unit traveled 80 yards on 14 plays in its first series, with Smith completing 7 of 8 passes, which can’t be ignored when looking over the pro football odds page.

Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles is listed as day-to-day with a mild strain of his outer right foot, which opens the door for rookie Knile Davis to gain some valuable experience. Kansas City’s first team defense was outstanding against New Orleans—demonstrating that it’s taking to new coordinator Bob Sutton’s system. The unit will be tested for a second consecutive week when matching up with one of the league’s top offenses.