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Frank Doyle
Monday Night Football: Patriots Getting Too Much Respect vs. Chiefs
There are a few NFL teams that give oddsmakers headaches every time they end up on Monday Night Football. The New England Patriots are one of those teams.
The Patriots opened as -4 point road favorites a week ago in this matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs but that line dipped to -3.5 when news came out that Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles was listed as probable. The line settled at -3 by Wednesday of last week.
“Right now we’re seeing balanced action at -3 (-110), so we’ll likely keep the line right there,” a Sports Interaction oddsmaker said. “In my opinion, the Pats are getting too much respect. Realistically the line is probably New England -1.5 but you can’t hang that number or you’d get too one-sided action.You’re seeing a point and a half based on public perception. Everyone loves the Pats.”
Meanwhile, the Chiefs have to view this as a statement game. Kansas City has failed to cover the spread in each of its last six home games and can’t afford to drop to 1-3 outright with trips to San Francisco and San Diego coming up.
Still, MNF bettors aren’t rushing to the counter to take Kansas City at +130 on the moneyline either. The moneyline handle was split 50-50 as of Monday afternoon.
Right now about 55 percent of total bettors are putting their cash on under 47.5 points. Sports Interaction’s oddsmaker expects the over/under to hold at 47.5 up until kickoff, barring any major lineup or weather changes.
“This will be and interesting matchup though,” he added. “New England has yet to face a top-tier NFL team and although I’m not about to claim the Chiefs are that, they’re certainly better than Miami, Minnesota or Oakland – all of which the Pats struggled against regardless of their two wins.”