TheLines.com: Chiefs open week has historically heavy favorite

The NFL’s Week 8 schedule features a consensus favorite of 20 points or more, a true rarity in a league that promotes parity, according to analysts from TheLines, which tracks odds in the U.S. regulated sports betting markets.

The Kansas City Chiefs enter Week 8 as 20.5-point favorites over the New York Jets, according to a consensus of the nation’s largest legal online sportsbooks — including FanDuel, DraftKings, PointsBet, SugarHouse, and BetMGM. That makes the Chiefs one of the heaviest favorites in modern NFL history.

In fact, only eight games in modern history have featured a closing point spread of 20 points or more. And only once in the last 10 years has the NFL schedule featured a game with a larger point spread than this week’s game — the Denver Broncos were favored by 28 points in a 2013 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The only other game in the last decade with a spread of 20 points came in 2011 when the New England Patriots were favored by 20.5 points against the Indianapolis Colts.

Of course, covering a huge spread is never easy, even for the NFL’s best teams. In fact, neither the 2013 Broncos nor the 2011 Patriots covered the spread in those games.

The Chiefs vs. Jets line could be bet down under 20 as the week goes on. But for now, the Chiefs stand in rarefied air.

“The Chiefs have been mostly dominant, and the Jets are historically bad, so the result is an eye-popping point spread,” said Brett Collson, lead analyst for TheLines.com. “These are typically the hardest games to handicap, because a game with such a talent disparity can be so unpredictable. It certainly adds interest to a game that otherwise would feature little intrigue.”

The consensus point spreads for Week 8 games, as of Monday, Oct. 26:

• Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers (-3); over/under 50.5
• Indianapolis Colts (-2.5) at Detroit Lions); over/under 50.5
• Las Vegas Raiders at Cleveland Browns (-3); over/under 55
• Los Angeles Rams (-4.5) at Miami Dolphins; over/under N/A
• Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers (-7); over/under 55
• New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills (-4.5); over/under 44.5
• New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs (-20.5); over/under 48.5
• Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (-4.5); over/under 49
• Tennessee Titans (-4.5) at Cincinnati Bengals; over/under 54.5
• Los Angeles Chargers (-1.5) at Denver Broncos; over/under 45
• New Orleans Saints (-2.5) at Chicago Bears; over/under N/A
• San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks (-3.5); over/under 54
• Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles (-7.5); over/under 43.5
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-10.5) at New York Giants; over/under 47.5

To access the updated futures lines for every NFL team, and for more analysis, visit TheLines.com/odds/super-bowl. To access Week 8 odds, visit www.thelines.com/nfl-week-8-lines-2020.