It might not be as obvious as the record indicates, but the Chiefs aren’t blowing out opponents. It’s a tough task to remain undefeated this deep into the NFL season, and Kansas City narrowly bounced back from their only loss with a tight win over … Carolina. It ain’t easy being 10-1. Life is far from easy in Las Vegas, at least for the Raiders. At 2-9, this team has dropped seven straight and is looking for answers — more likely a prayer. Kansas City gets Isiah Pacheco back, which already submarined the Raiders-Chiefs anytime touchdown bet market. Nonetheless, let’s dive in.
Raiders-Chiefs Anytime Touchdown Bet for Friday
Patrick Mahomes is 21-48-3 against the spread in one-score games. If you’re doing the math, that’s a ton of football games in a still-younger career. The Chiefs play down to opponents in the regular season and suffer letdowns after big offensive efforts. That was going on when their offense was clicking at the highest level. This year has seen the loss of Pacheco, disappearing acts from Travis Kelce and more of a makeshift offense led by Mahomes. DeAndre Hopkins arrived and Noah Gray exploded on the field, but it’s still not the same feel.
We get two solid options — although one has already dipped in price — for an anytime touchdown. The first would be Kelce, especially if you can still get him at +115 or better. It’s not worth it at anything less, as the number might hit even money by kickoff. We are simply buying low. It’s been the other tight end destroying teams, as Kelce has just two scores all year. This certainly would be a great matchup to exploit against the Raiders — but so have others in the past, yielding next to nothing.
Mahomes has scored just one touchdown on the year, coming on the road at San Francisco. He’s always a threat to run for a couple of reasons, primarily to extend drives. He comes off a five-carry, 60-yard rushing day against Carolina and should see a bump even with the return of his primary running back. Looking at the two backs in Pacheco and Kareem Hunt, neither is anything shorter than -150. It’s not just a tough sell in the betting market, but the Raiders will sell heavy on short and goal line situations. That is a perfect time for a little bootleg off play action or a designed run.
Give me Mahomes, who still needs his legs as much as his arm and brain to beat NFL opponents. Bad teams make stupid decisions, typically on repeat. Expect the Raiders to leave Mahomes some open ground to scamper or a sneak to cash this ticket.
Raiders-Chiefs Anytime Touchdown Bet: Patrick Mahomes (+575 at Caesars Sportsbook)
