Super Bowl Betting: How Kansas City Made it to Vegas
The Kansas City Chiefs are headed back to the biggest game in sports: the Super Bowl. It’s their fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years, and a win would solidify Andy Reid’s Chiefs as the next great NFL dynasty. But first they’ll have to get through Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers, who are –120 favourites at press time.
It hasn’t been a cake walk for Kansas City in 2023-24, however. They finished with a respectable 11-6 regular season record and captured their eighth-straight divisional title. The bulk of their heavy lifting was done during the first half of the season. KC came out flying, going 6-1 in their first seven games. That hot start resulted in lots of confidence in the Kansas City betting market, as they reached their season-high Super Bowl 58 odds in Week 8 at +450. However, the first half of the season was a stark contrast to the second half.
The Chiefs were just .500 from Week 8 to Week 18 and appeared vulnerable heading into the postseason. They struggled to put points on the board, surpassing 30 points just once over those games. To have arguably the best quarterback in the league and a plethora of receiving threats, football fans questioned whether the Chiefs were for real, resulting in Kansas City’s Super Bowl betting odds plummeting to a season-low (+900) as they prepared for Wildcard Weekend versus the Miami Dolphins.
Wildcard Weekend
There was great buzz heading into the Wildcard matchup between the Dolphins and Chiefs, as Tyreek Hill made his return to Kansas City, and Tua Tagovailoa had the opportunity to showcase his offensive prowess versus Patrick Mahomes. Many expected a shootout between the teams, but frigid Missouri temperatures that dropped to -27 Celsius with the windchill threw a wrench into those plans.
In true Andy Reid form, the savvy veteran coach successfully navigated the harsh winter temperatures by feeding RB Isiah Pacheco on offense and calling short passes to the speedster Rashee Rice to be able to move the ball in near historic lows. Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo effectively guided the Chiefs’ defense to shut down the high-flying Dolphins, and the hometown Chiefs walked away with the 26-7 victory, easily covering the 4.5-point spread.
Divisional Round
The Chiefs were forced to go on the road for their divisional matchup versus the Buffalo Bills. They were coming into the game versus Buffalo with playoff history on their sides, but Orchard Park is one of the most difficult places to play as a visitor, and it seemed like Josh Allen and the Bills were due. As a result, the Chiefs entered as 2.5-point underdogs, and their Super Bowl odds remained long at +700.
But like two heavyweight boxers, the Bills and Chiefs exchanged blows with a total of seven lead changes occurring during the game. TE Travis Kelce tallied two TDs, and a fourth-quarter score by hard-running Isiah Pacheco sealed the deal for KC. The Chiefs’ defense put forth another fantastic performance and limited Allen to just 186 passing yards on the day and were largely responsible for KC advancing to the Conference Championship.
Conference Championship
Spagnuolo’s defense had been the talk of the NFL after the Chiefs’ first two postseason games. They successfully shut down two of the most dangerous offenses in the league to get to this point, but facing MVP candidate Lamar Jackson and the league’s best rush attack would be a true test. Being the road team in Baltimore, KC were healthy 4.5-point underdogs in the Conference Championship game. The KC betting market wasn’t getting much action on the futures market either; they were +550 to win the Super Bowl ahead of their matchup versus the Ravens.
As if to silence their doubters and reward their believers, the Chiefs put in a masterclass in postseason football. Their defense held Baltimore to just three points in the second half and the dynamic duo of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce sent the tight end into the record books for the most playoff receptions. In the end, Mahomes showed everyone that he’s built for the postseason and the Chiefs’ defense has soslidly entered the ‘elite’ category. Those performances allowed Kansas City to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl, where they’ll meet the heavily favoured San Francisco 49ers.
Super Bowl LVIII Odds
This Sunday’s matchup from Las Vegas is truly a showdown between the NFL’s two best teams. The ‘Niners were second to only the Baltimore Ravens during the regular seasons with a 12-5 record and feature the league’s best running back and top receiving corps. John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have been building up to this moment since Lynch took over as San Francisco’s General Manager in 2017.
That being said, San Fran hasn’t looked as dominant as many expected in their two postseason matchups. They squeaked by the Green Bay Packers, scoring the game-winning touchdown with 1:07 remaining in the fourth quarter to come out with a 24-21 victory after trailing most of the game. They then were utterly dominated by the Detroit Lions in the first half of the Conference Championships, but rallied from a 17-point deficit to come out with a 34-31 win.
San Francisco enter Super Bowl LVIII as the heavy –120 favourites on the moneyline and are laying two points on the spread at press. And despite the staunch defense that the Chiefs have displayed so far these playoffs, the total is set at 47.5 points. You can bet that the ‘Niners will be working hard to shore up gaps in execution that caused their fanbase so much stress in the first two games of the playoffs. The game-breaking ability of RB Christian McCaffrey also gives San Francisco an element of explosiveness that’s hard to bet against. But it’s also hard to bet against Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid; these guys have been there many times before and appear to be in a zone like we’ve not seen before in the 2024 postseason. Regardless of the outcome, we’re in for a thrilling game.
The thrills continue to roll in at Bodog Sportsbook with one winner claiming $580 in cash through our Super Bowl Prop Sheet. Will it be you?