The NFL preseason is in the books and it’s time for the Kansas City Chiefs, along with the rest of the league to start getting ready for legitimate games. Before we move into preparations for the first games of the season, let’s see how the Chiefs and the rest of the AFC West are viewed by the smart money. Below is the win projection total numbers posted in Las Vegas, with the option of choosing Over or Under.
San Diego Chargers: 9
Denver Broncos: 8.5
Kansas City Chiefs: 8
Oakland Raiders: 7.5
The Chargers being the top team listed runs counter to another Vegas trend, which is that if you want to bet on who’s going to win the division, the Broncos are the favorite (13-10 odds compared to 9-5 for the Bolts). I suspect the reason for the discrepancy is that opinion on Denver runs to the extremes, due to the uncertainty regarding the health of quarterback Peyton Manning.
Kansas City’s number looks like a good betting number, although I think there’s a little more room on the Over side. It’s difficult for me to see the Chiefs doing any worse than 7-9, whereas a 10-6 season seems eminently within reach. If you buy into that range, that leaves you two wins of maneuvering room side on the Over and only one on the Under.
San Diego’s number looks even tighter, and I’d see the Chargers falling anywhere between 8-8 and 10-6. The two teams I’d feel optimistic would be Denver and Oakland. I know the Raiders have had their share of dysfunction lately, but they won eight games a year ago and would only have to match that to go Over. And in spite of health concerns over Manning’s neck, the prospect of just needing Denver to have a winning season to go Over is very enticing.
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