Chiefs Favored to Win Super Bowl LVIII

The Chiefs are early favorites at SI Sportsbook to win Super Bowl LVIII, ahead of the Bills and 49ers.

Author:
Jennifer Piacenti
Publish date:
Feb 13, 2023

In this story:

Philadelphia Eagles

Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants

Washington Commanders

After defeating the Eagles, 38-35, and easily covering the 1.5-point spread as an underdog in Super Bowl LVII, the Chiefs open as the favorite at SI Sportsbook to repeat as champions and win Super Bowl LVIII at 6-1 odds.

The Chiefs are ahead of the Bills and 49ers, who both have +750 odds.

Despite trading away Patrick Mahomes’s best weapon in wide receiver Tyreek Hill, Mahomes logged 5,250 passing yards and 41 passing touchdown during the regular season on his way to a regular season and Super Bowl MVP award.

Even while dealing with a high-ankle sprain in the Super Bowl, Mahomes connected with tight end Travis Kelce and his receivers and the Chiefs’ defense kept Philadelphia out of the trenches as Andy Reid outcoached Nick Sirianni. It’s hard to repeat as champion but it may be harder to fade Mahomes, who has now taken his team to the Big Game three of the last four years and won twice.

Up next are the Bills, who opened as favorites this time last year. Quarterback Josh Allen is one of the best young talents in the league and the onus is on Buffalo to get this done. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs is getting antsy and if Buffalo can add some pieces to its offensive line, it will set up more play action for Allen by utilizing more of the run game. Allen does need another receivier but the defense should be in a good spot. Plus, we’ve seen Allen defeat Mahomes before.

The 49ers open with better odds than the Eagles (+800) despite not having a franchise quarterback. Will it be Trey Lance or Brock Purdy? Maybe it doesn’t matter as after acquiring Christian McCaffrey, Kyle Shanahan’s team looked unstoppable no matter who was under center. It took losing four quarterbacks for the Niners to finally fall in the NFC championship game. The loss of defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans to the Texans should be considered, though, as the top-ranked San Francisco defense was a big part of the 49ers’ success this season.

Feb 12, 2023; Glendale, AZ, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) passes the the Lombardi Trophy to tight end Travis Kelce (87) after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium. — Michael Chow/The Republic via USA TODAY Sports

The Eagles are a young team that will be hard to stop with a franchise quarterback in Jalen Hurts who is already breaking records. They have A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith set for next season, but will potentially lose key pieces of their offensive line and defense who become unrestricted free agents. Miles Sanders could also be on the move, but the Eagles should be able to maintain a run game even without the team’s leading rusher.

Maybe most importantly, the Eagles reportedly have lost offensive coordinator Shane Steichen to the Colts. However, Sirianni remains and the Eagles’ aggressive play style is going to remain hard for defenses to solve.

The Bengals round out the top of the list at +900 odds. Cincinnati has been in the AFC championship game in back-to-back years, and the defense ranked in the top six this season. Questions remain as to whether the Bengals will retain wide receiver Tee Higgins, but Joe Burrow looks like the modern day Joe Montana. Plus, he’s 3-1 vs. Mahomes.

The Chargers (+2000), who just hired new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, present good value, especially if you like the team to retain Keenan Allen. The Jaguars, who also have a young franchise quarterback that could make more strides next season, also look tempting at +2500 odds, especially with Calvin Ridley coming back from his suspension.

If you believe the Raiders will orchestrate a reunion of Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers, +4000 odds is a nice value. If you believe the Packers will keep Rodgers and get him another receiving weapon, well, good luck (+2800).

The Seahawks, despite a dominant Comeback Player of the Year performance by Geno Smith, have +6600 odds. I like that value. I also like the value for Mike Vrabel’s Titans (+6600).

The Cardinals, Colts and Texans round out the bottom of the list with +10000 odds.