Buccaneers vs. Chiefs Point Spread: NFL Week 9 Odds, Prediction
Kansas City, the league’s lone unbeaten team, are 8.5-point favourites to win on the NFL odds.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Obviously, Kansas City Chiefs fans are thrilled their team is the NFL’s last unbeaten, but that might be more of a curse in the franchise’s attempt to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. The last undefeated team hasn’t won the Super Bowl since the 2006 Indianapolis Colts and only 10 times overall. The last time the final unbeaten team in a season was the reigning Super Bowl champion was in 2011 when Green Bay started 13-0 and finished 15-1 but lost in the Divisional Round to the New York Giants, who would go on to win the Super Bowl.
It already looks like the AFC title will go through Kansas City like it usually does in the Patrick Mahomes era (but not last season). The Chiefs are up three games in the AFC West and essentially locks (-8000) to win that for a ninth straight season. They also are up two games on their closest competition in the conference and hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over Baltimore.
Tampa Bay is the three-time NFC South champion but probably will not win a fourth straight title after being swept on Sunday by Atlanta in the season series. The Bucs fell a game back in the division with that loss but really two games back of the Falcons because of the sweep.
These franchises have played 15 times overall with Tampa Bay leading 8-7. Tom Brady’s seventh and final Super Bowl title was a 31-9 win over Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City on Feb. 2, 2021, in Tampa.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
If the Bucs miss the playoffs this season, circle the 41-31 home loss to Baltimore in Week 7 simply as Pro Bowl receiver Chris Godwin, who was among the league leaders in many categories, suffered a season-ending injury in that loss. Fellow Pro Bowl wideout and future Hall of Famer Mike Evans also went down and will not return until after the team’s Week 11 bye at the earliest. Thus, playing without those two on Sunday, no real shock the Bucs were beaten 31-26 at home by Atlanta.
Baker Mayfield still managed 330 yards passing and three TDs but also two picks. That’s three straight games with at least three TD passes and two picks. The only other QB to do that since the merger also played for Tampa Bay: Vinny Testaverde in 1989.
Tight end Cade Otton was clearly Mayfield’s top target sans Evans and Godwin with nine catches for 81 yards and two scores, but the downfield passing game wasn’t there. Mayfield’s Hail Mary throw from the Atlanta 38 was caught by Rakim Jarrett behind the end zone as time expired. The Bucs are 2-4 ATS in their past six.
Kansas City Chiefs
Including playoffs, Kansas City won its franchise-record-tying 13th straight game Sunday, 27-20 in Las Vegas. Two-time league MVP Patrick Mahomes actually isn’t having nearly his best season with more picks (nine) than TD passes (eight) but was decent in that one, throwing for 262 yards with two TDs (his first TD passes in October this year) and an INT. Mahomes reached 30,000 career passing yards in his 103rd regular-season game, fastest in league history. Newly acquired receiver DeAndre Hopkins made his Kansas City debut but was quiet with two catches for 29 yards.
The defence really has been the story this season for the Chiefs and has now held opponents to 28 points or fewer in 36 consecutive games. That’s the longest active streak in the NFL and longest overall by any team since the 2005-07 Patriots. On Monday, the Chiefs boosted that defence by acquiring pass-rusher Joshua Uche from New England for a 2026 sixth-round pick. Kansas City is 10-2-1 ATS in its past 13 games.
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