It’s been eight years since Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs last missed out on the NFL Playoffs.
It appears safe to say the Chiefs will continue their postseason streak, at least based off the franchise’s preseason Kansas sports betting odds.
Kansas City has reported to training camp at Missouri Western State University. And we’re less than 50 days away from Kansas City’s regular season opener against Arizona, which happens to be the date the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission hopes to have sports betting up and running.
Although the Chiefs play across the river in Missouri, they figure to be one of the biggest wagering draws for Kansas mobile betting apps.
Between now and opening kickoff, Patrick Mahomes and company will look to do whatever it takes to get into the Kansas City Chiefs playoffs and return to the Super Bowl for the third time in the past four years.
Among the players that will help Mahomes carry the Chiefs back to the NFL’s promised land are running backs Ronald Jones II and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Jones comes to Kansas City from Tampa Bay, where he ran for 2,174 yards and 18 touchdowns over the course of four seasons.
Edwards-Helaire enters the 2022 NFL season as the Chiefs’ likely go-to running back, after running for more than 500 yards and scoring four touchdowns last season.
Both backs will look to fill in for Darrel Williams, who left Kansas City for Arizona during the offseason after the former LSU Tiger gained 558 yards and six touchdowns a season ago.
BetKansas.com utilized Google Trends to find the top-three most searched position groups over the past 30 days heading into training camp.
After determining those groups, BetKansas.com utilized Google Trends to find how much each player in that position group is being searched over the past week.
Chiefs Most Searched Position Battles
- Running backs
- Wide receivers
- Offensive tackles
Here’s a further breakdown of the running backs battle and where the Chiefs stand with oddsmakers.
When the state’s sports betting market does come online, BetKansas.com is the place to go for the latest and best Kansas sportsbook promos.
Kansas Search Rankings for Chiefs RBs
Breaking Down the Position Battles
After crunching the numbers, it appears Chiefs fans in Kansas are fascinated by the team’s positional battles in the backfield, as well as at wide receiver and offensive tackle.
As for the running backs collective, it seems like Reid is banking on Edwards-Helaire to rebound after his sophomore slump in 2021.
The former LSU Tiger had his total carries (181 to 119) and total rushing yards (803 to 517) fall last year, while his rushing touchdown total remained the same (four).
Edwards-Helaire’s receiving yardage also plummeted last year, from 297 yards in 2021 to 129 yards a season ago, though he scored one more touchdown through the air (2 vs. 1).
As mentioned above, Jones comes to Kansas City after seeing his playing time decline in Tampa Bay.
Jones, like Edwards-Helaire, had his total number of carries (192 in 2020 vs. 101 in 2021), rushing yards (978 vs. 428 yards), and rushing touchdowns (7 vs. 4) fall last season.
Now, the fifth-year back will look to help the Chiefs jumpstart their running game, a year after Kansas City finished 13th in the NFL at 119.1 yards per game.
The other member of the Chiefs' backfield fans are looking for is seventh-year back Jerick McKinnon, who enters his second season in KC after spending four years in Minnesota and one year in San Francisco.
The Georgia Southern alum has had his rushing yards decline each year for the past three seasons, from 570 with the Vikings in 2017 to 319 with the 49ers in 2020, and 62 yards a season ago with the Chiefs.
McKinnon infamously missed the 2018 and 2019 NFL seasons after suffering an ACL injury during a team workout with the 49ers on Sept. 1, 2018.
That injury, along with the setbacks it caused, kept McKinnon off the field for two full seasons, though he was in fine form for the Chiefs this past postseason.
That’s when McKinnon had 142 yards of offense in the team’s 42-21 Wild Card win over Pittsburgh, including a 23-yard receiving touchdown.
Super Bowl Odds
Chiefs Super Bowl LVII Betting Frontrunner
BetMGM lists Kansas City at +900 to win Super Bowl LVII — ranking third in the 32-team NFL behind Buffalo (+600) and Tampa Bay (+750).
The prognosis from BetMGM regarding the Chiefs’ AFC West futures is just as strong, with KC listed at +155 to capture the division, ranking ahead of the L.A. Chargers (+230), Denver (+260), and Las Vegas (+650).
In terms of AFC futures, the Chiefs are +450 on BetMGM, ranking second behind the Bills (+300).
Caesars gives Reid’s team +1000 Super Bowl odds (ranking third, behind Buffalo at +650 and Tampa Bay at +750). You can bet on these odds using the Caesars Sportsbook Kansas promo code.
The Emperor lists K.C. at +500 to win the AFC (second to Buffalo at +350), and +155 to capture the AFC West (first).
Caesars Sportsbook pegs the Chiefs’ win total over/under at 10.5, with the over clocking in at -115, while under bets are listed at -105.
Chiefs Games to Watch
Kansas City’s NFL regular season schedule is chock full of tantalizing games, starting with its season opener in Arizona.
The opportunity to watch Mahomes and former Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray go toe-to-toe is must-see TV, with two likely MVP frontrunners squaring off in the desert.
Another game to keep an eye on is the Chiefs’ Week 4 showdown against Tom Brady and the Bucs in Tampa on Oct. 2.
Kansas City will have a shot at one-upping the Bills at Arrowhead in Week 6, when the Chiefs look to pull off the same type of homefield magic that allowed them to earn a 42-36 victory over Buffalo in last year’s NFL Playoffs.
From there, the Chiefs will have a chance at knocking off Justin Herbert and the Chargers in L.A. on Nov. 20 and avenging the team’s AFC Championship round loss to Cincinnati in Ohio on Dec. 4.
