KC Chiefs Open as Slight Underdogs for Super Bowl LVIII vs. San Francisco 49ers

For the third playoff game in a row, Patrick Mahomes and company will start things off as an underdog.

Following an AFC Championship Game win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Kansas City Chiefs find themselves in a somewhat familiar spot.

With the San Francisco 49ers taking down the Detroit Lions in the NFC title game, the stage is officially set for Super Bowl LVIII. On Kansas City's side, they opened as underdogs by roughly a field goal. Late-night and overnight line movement has since shifted things to within a point or two, highlighting where the early money has come in so far. As of Monday morning, SI Sportsbook has the spread at Chiefs +1.5 for the biggest game of the season with most other books having the same or Kansas City +1.0. 

While there could — and perhaps should — be some additional movement between now and kickoff for the Super Bowl, this is a notable development for Andy Reid's team. For the third game in a row, the Chiefs are opening as the underdogs in a playoff matchup. The last two were the aforementioned conference title game and the Divisional Round against the Buffalo Bills. This is also the second-straight world championship that sees Kansas City's opponent open as the favorite.

Despite the recent lack of betting market belief in the Chiefs' ability to get the job done, they've managed to continue defying the odds deep into the postseason. In general, they're quite good as underdogs with Patrick Mahomes. After his AFC Championship win on Sunday, Mahomes is now 10-1-1 against the spread as an underdog in his career. In straight-up underdog scenarios, he boasts a 9-3 record since taking over as the franchise's starting quarterback. That number is now a perfect 3-0 in the playoffs. 

Super Bowl LVIII is bound to be a great one between two of the best teams in the league this season. It's also a rematch of Super Bowl LIV, which ended in a 31-20 Chiefs win. In that February 2020 outing, Mahomes completed 26 of 42 passes and threw for 286 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. 

Both franchises look notably different less than a half-decade later, so familiarity can be thrown out the window for the most part. There's just one last game to play to cap off what's been a wild NFL campaign, and it features two of the premier coaches and rosters in the sport.

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