The Chiefs-Broncos betting line in Vegas is historic. Here’s how.
The betting databases date back more than three decades, and in that time frame, the oddsmakers have never done what they did this week.
They’ve made the Chiefs a double-digit favorite against the Denver Broncos.
The Chiefs are favored by exactly 10 points Sunday against the Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium in a Week 8 matchup. According to BetDSI, that’s a first. The website has tracked odds post-1985, and the Chiefs have never been on the right end of a line that large against their rivals from Mile High. And it’s even more rare than at first glance. The Broncos have not been this large of an underdog in the last three years, per ScoresAndOdds.com.
Strange times — thanks primarily to one player.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has returned to the odds-on favorite to win the NFL’s most valuable player award. He is listed at 11 to 4 on Bovada to take home the honor at season’s end, a bump from last week, when he fell behind Saints quarterback Drew Brees, Rams running back Todd Gurley, Rams quarterback Jared Goff and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the race.
But even for all of the favorable gambling outcomes with the Chiefs this season — at least so far — last week provided a reminder of just how cruel dipping into the Las Vegas game can be. The over/under for the Chiefs-Bengals closed at 57 1/2 points before kickoff Sunday. The game totaled 55 points — and the Chiefs elected to go for a fourth down inside the red zone rather than kick a field goal that would have bumped the total to the over.
The over/under for the Chiefs-Broncos on Sunday is 53 1/2. Kansas City is averaging 37.1 points per game, and the Broncos are giving up 23.4 points per game. Four of the seven games involving the Chiefs have hit the over this season.
The Chiefs are 6-1 against the spread this year, easily covering last week’s 7-point line against the Bengals, a game they won 45-10. The only line they did not cover was in the initial meeting with the Broncos, winning the game by four, half a point shy of the spread.
Sam McDowell
Sam McDowell covers Sporting Kansas City, the Royals, Chiefs and sports enterprise for The Star
