Chiefs favorites SB LVIII; Patrick Mahomes for MVP

The Kansas City Chiefs begin defense of their second Super Bowl title in four years on Thursday night and are considered favorites to win the Lombardi Trophy again in February.

The Chiefs are consensus +600 Super Bowl favorites to start the 2023 season, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes the favorite to win his third NFL Most Valuable Player Award.

Kansas City defeated Philadelphia with a dramatic 38-35 victory in Super Bowl LVII seven months ago, and this is the case Eagle which start this season as Chiefs‘closest rivals in sports betting. This includes Philadelphia being offered +650 by DraftKings, +750 by BetRivers and +800 by BetMGM to win the Super Bowl.

The Buffalo Bills are now being offered at +900 by all three sports betting providers. The San Francisco 49ers are also at +900 on BetRivers, while they are at +1000 on the other two.

BetRivers reported on it Chiefs were backed by the most money at 12.7 percent to win Super Bowl LVIII, while the Eagle leading the way with 15.2 percent of total bets favoring Philadelphia.

The Eagle opened at +900 at BetMGM, but saw their odds drop to +800 as the public backed them with 9.1 percent of total Super Bowl winner bets and 9.2 percent of the money – both in the top three the bookmaker. However, that doesn’t place Philadelphia among the three biggest Super Bowl liabilities in the book.

These awards include Pittsburgh, Dallas and Detroit. The Steelers have drawn 4.3 percent of the money and are currently +6600 longshots at BetMGM. The Cowboys have significantly lower odds at +1500 and were backed with 8.8 percent of the money. The Lions, who play in Chiefs as of Thursday evening, their odds have shifted since opening at +2500 and are supported by 6.3 percent of the money.

Cincinnati, starting at +1100, leads all teams with 9.4 percent of total bets. The Bengals were also popular at BetRivers, where they drew 10.2 percent of the Super Bowl bets and 8.8 percent of the money.

THREE TIMES PATTY?

Mahomes, who turns 28 on September 17, won the MVP award in 2018 in addition to last year.

He’s the +600 favorite to go No. 3 this season, according to DraftKings, followed by Joe Burrow of the Bengals (+750), Josh Allen of the Bills (+850) and the Eagle‘ Jalen Hurts (+1100) in a market dominated by quarterbacks. The lowest odds for a non-QB are 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey and Vikings wide receiver Jordan Jefferson at +8000.

Mahomes is also at +600 at BetMGM, followed by Allen and Burrow at +800 and Hurts at +1100. However, it is Hurts who is at the top with 16.4 percent of total MVP bets, while Burrow is at the top with 14.5 percent of the money backing him. In comparison, Mahomes is at 10.9 and 13.5 percent, respectively.

Hurts is also the biggest liability at BetMGM, where he leads with 16.5 percent of total bets at +1100 – a tick higher than he has since opening at +1000.

NO PRIZES ON THE CARDS?

At the other end of the spectrum sits the Arizona Cardinals, who have the highest Super Bowl odds of all three books – +25,000 at BetRivers and +40,000 at BetMGM and DraftKings.

Arizona winning fewer than five games was one of the most popular future bets at BetRivers, pulling in 4.1 percent of the money wagered on the Team Win Totals market. It is the only “under” in the top five.

Circa Sports took the Cardinals’ plight a step further at the start of the 2023 season.

The book offers odds on whether the Cardinals will go winless in their 17-game schedule. Yes is offered at +2200 odds, while the odds for Arizona to win at least one game this season are -3800.

Circa also offers an indication of which division the Super Bowl LVIII champion will come from.

—NFC East +390

—AFC North +425

—AFC West +450

—AFC East +450

—NFC West +510

—NFC North +790

—NFC South +1675

—AFC South +2100

—Field-level media