STRUGGLES OF THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS ARE REVERBERATING THROUGH BETTING MARKETS AHEAD OF NFL WEEK 8, ACCORDING TO THELINES.COM

Any time the Kansas City Chiefs have lost in recent years, it has become the talk of the NFL. But when the Chiefs take a blowout loss and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes gets knocked out of the game, as they did Sunday, the odds market is bound to shift, according to TheLines, which tracks odds in the U.S. regulated sports betting markets.

Last week’s lookahead lines had the Chiefs as 13-point favorites over the hapless New York Giants, according to a consensus of the nation’s largest legal online sportsbooks — including BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet, SugarHouse, and Unibet. Now the Chiefs are favored by 9.5 points after a 27-3 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, in which Mahomes left early with an apparent head injury.

After passing concussion protocols, Mahomes will likely not be out long, if at all. But oddsmakers have noticed the Chiefs’ 3-4 start. The reigning AFC champions had opened the season as NFL favorites at +500 to win the Super Bowl, meaning bettors would win $500 for every $100 wagered. The Chiefs enter Week 8 at +1300 to win the Super Bowl, surpassed as betting favorites by seven teams.

“Surprise teams are expected in the NFL, but the Chiefs’ struggles have certainly been one of the league’s most unexpected results so far,” said Brett Collson, lead analyst for TheLines.com. “If Mahomes and the Chiefs get hot, it won’t take long for those odds to shift again. But after losing four of six, the margin for error is narrowing rapidly.”

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The consensus point spreads for Week 8 games, as of Monday, Oct. 25:

Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals (-3.5); over/under 53
Los Angeles Rams (-14.5) at Houston Texans; over/under 47
Cincinnati Bengals (-9.5) at New York Jets; over/under 43.5
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills (-13.5); over/under 48
Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts (-1.5); over/under 49
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns (-3); over/under 42.5
San Francisco 49ers (-4) at Chicago Bears; over/under 41.5
Philadelphia Eagles (-3) at Detroit Lions; over/under 48
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons (-2.5); over/under 46
New England Patriots at Los Angeles Chargers (-5.5); over/under 47.5
Jacksonville Jaguars at Seattle Seahawks (-3.5); over/under 43.5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-4.5) at New Orleans Saints; over/under 50.5
Washington Football Team at Denver Broncos (-3.5); over/under 43.5
Dallas Cowboys (-2) at Minnesota Vikings; over/under 54.5
New York Giants at Kansas City Chiefs (-9.5); over/under 52.5
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-odds-2021/.