When you have three Super Bowl titles, three Super Bowl MVPs, two league MVPs and six Pro Bowl selections in seven seasons of starting, you aren’t a home underdog very often.
But Patrick Mahomes will be for Sunday’s Super Bowl rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles.
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Kansas City Chiefs are 1.5-point underdogs heading into the highly anticipated showdown. Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted it is just the second time in Mahomes’ career he will start a home game in Kansas City as the underdog.
The other time came when the Buffalo Bills defeated the Chiefs 24-20 in 2022 in a game when the AFC East team started as a 2.5-point favorite.
Despite that loss, being a moneyline underdog has consistently worked out well for Mahomes:
That the Chiefs are underdogs for this one is anything but a surprise.
It was just two games ago the Eagles defeated them in the Super Bowl 40-22 in a game that was 40-6 at one point in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia is also 1-0 on the season, while Kansas City lost its opener against the Los Angeles Chargers.
What’s more, the AFC West team will be shorthanded at wide receiver with Rashee Rice out with suspension. Head coach Andy Reid also told reporters Friday that Xavier Worthy has only a “slim” chance of playing with a shoulder injury.
That leaves Mahomes short two of his primary weapons against a Philadelphia team that features plenty of them in Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, among others.
Being at home will help the Chiefs, but they are deserved underdogs for this one.
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