Chiefs kick off season as slight Super Bowl favorites

The Kansas City Chiefs will kick off the 2020 NFL season at home against the Houston Texans on Thursday night as favorites to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

The Chiefs are slight favorites ahead of Baltimore at most sportsbooks, including +600 at DraftKings and FanDuel, with both sportsbooks offering the Ravens as second favorites at +650. The San Francisco 49ers are +900 at both books followed by the New Orleans Saints, who are +1100 at DraftKings and +1200 at FanDuel.

Beyond the top three is where sportsbooks begin to differ a bit.

DraftKings is offering the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers at +1400, ahead of the Dallas Cowboys (+1500), while FanDuel is offering equal +1500 moneyline bets on both teams.

Meanwhile, William Hill is offering the Chiefs at +550, followed by the Ravens (+600) and 49ers (+700), with a steep drop until the Bucs and Saints at +1200 and Cowboys at +1500.

One thing is abundantly clear: Not much is expected from Jacksonville this season. The Jaguars have the longest Super Bowl odds — +17500 at DraftKings and +20000 at FanDuel and William Hill, and have the lowest over/under win total at just 4 1/2 games.

Jacksonville is also a +8000 longshot to win the AFC at DraftKings, where the Chiefs and Ravens are well ahead of the pack entering the season. Kansas City is +300 to win the AFC Championship, ahead of the Ravens at +320. The next closest teams are the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts at +1100.

The picture is much more crowded in the NFC, with the 49ers (+450) favorites over the Saints (+550), Cowboys (+700) and Bucs (+750).

The young quarterbacks who lead the top two favorites are also expected to battle for league MVP honors.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has the shortest odds at +400, ahead of reigning MVP Lamar Jackson (+700). Quarterbacks occupy the first 15 spots, with Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey and Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry both being offered at +5000.

No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow will open the season at quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals. He’s also the +250 favorite at DraftKings to win offensive rookie of the year honors. Just behind him is Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, whose role unexpectedly increased when Damien Williams opted out of playing this season.

Kansas City Chiefs, +600 Baltimore Ravens, +650 San Francisco 49ers, +900 New Orleans Saints, +1100 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, +1400 Dallas Cowboys, +1500 New England Patriots, +2000 Philadelphia Eagles, +2000 Seattle Seahawks, +2000 Indianapolis Colts, +2200 Buffalo Bills, +2500 Minnesota Vikings, +2500 Pittsburgh Steelers, +2500 Green Bay Packers, +2800 Tennessee Titans, +2800 Chicago Bears, +4000 Cleveland Browns, +4000 Los Angeles Rams, +4000 Los Angeles Chargers, +4500 Arizona Cardinals, +5000 Atlanta Falcons, +5000 Denver Broncos, +5000 Houston Texans, +5000 Detroit Lions, +6000 Las Vegas Raiders, +6600 Miami Dolphins, +8000 New York Giants, +8000 New York Jets, +8000 Carolina Panthers, +12500 Cincinnati Bengals, +15000 Washington Football Team, +15000 Jacksonville Jaguars, +17500 –Field Level Media ()