Oddsmakers Signaling Another Possible Fireworks Debacle In Arrowhead

• The Kansas City Chiefs exploded to a 51-31 victory over the Houston Texans in the Divisional round.
• The Chiefs offense is so dominant that it wields heavy influence on where sportsbooks set various prop bets.
• The Chiefs outscored the Texans 51-7 after going down 24-0 early in the game.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After the Kansas City Chiefs went down 24-0 to the Houston Texans on Sunday, Arrowhead stadium was deathly silent. The silence was shattered by a Mecole Hardman return for over 50 yards, followed by a Damien Williams touchdown courtesy of Patrick Mahomes.

Suddenly, the stadium was booming, fireworks launching, celebrating the score, but also celebrating the awakening of the Chiefs offense. This became a familiar sight over the course of the next few hours, as the Chiefs proceeded to score 41 unanswered points and win the game easily with a score of 51-31.

In fact, after the last touchdown they scored, to break the 50 point barrier, the Chiefs actually ran out of fireworks in their own stadium. This after going down 24-0 and sending most of Chiefs nation into the kind of deep existential sports sadness that is only possible when you are a fan of a team with the playoff history of the Chiefs.

Kansas City’s explosive offense has been recognized across the board, but one place that is worth focusing on is how sportsbooks recognize it.

One place you can see KC’s dominance is in the prop bet odds for most receiving yards in the championship round, where two of Patrick Mahomes’ most dominant targets are tied for the lead, along with Davante Adams of the Green Bay Packers.

Both Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill are matchup nightmares, although in very different ways – Hill is a skilled speedster, one of the most unstoppable players in the league, while Kelce possesses a rare combination of size strength and speed that make him a tough task for any defender.

It’s rare to see two players on the same team leading the odds for most receiving yards, but that’s not the only indicator that online sportsbooks are very aware of the dangers the Chiefs offense can pose.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is, of course, the presumptive favorite to lead the conference round in passing yards, with -130 odds. Similarly, for Super Bowl bettors, Mahomes is now the favorite to win the Super Bowl MVP award, with +160 odds – and he isn’t even guaranteed to be in the game!

Indicators of KC’s offensive prowess litter other categories as well. The AFC is -350 favorites to have a higher scoring game than the NFC, even though the Chiefs opponents, the Tennessee Titans, are known for their crushing defense and excellent use of the run game to limit the ability of opposing teams to score.

On the spread, the AFC is +7, meaning the sportsbooks think that on average there will be one more touchdown scored in the AFC Championship Game compared to the NFC Championship game.

Home teams are also favored to score more points, incredibly heavily. Home teams are -2500 to score more points, and it makes sense when you consider that the home teams this round are the Chiefs and the dominant San Francisco 49ers. On the spread, home teams are a -16.5 favorite, a truly astounding number.

The Chiefs may have run out of touchdown fireworks on Sunday, but they’ll surely have restocked them by the next game, and, in all likelihood, they’ll need all the fireworks they can get.