National Football League

2023 NFL odds: Chiefs hoping to buck surprising Super Bowl trend

Updated Dec. 27, 2023 11:52 a.m. ET

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs entered the NFL season as the favorite to win Super Bowl LVIII at +600.

The Chiefs lost their opener, then won six in a row to move back to being the favorite at +400 heading into Week 8.

However, Kansas City has struggled ever since.

The Chiefs have lost three of their last four and five out of eight, and as a result, have tumbled to fifth on the Super Bowl odds list at +850.

Kansas City is trying to buck a surprising Super Bowl betting trend.

According to FOX Sports Research, only six outright preseason favorites since 1977 won the Super Bowl that season.

The most recent team to do so was the 2018 New England Patriots, who were +600 to start the season.

Here's a look at the outright preseason favorites who ended up winning the Super Bowl since 1977:

2018 Patriots (+600 to start season, beat Rams 13-3 in SB LIII)
2016 Patriots (+600, beat Falcons 34-28 in OT in SB LI)
2006 Colts (+600, beat Bears 29-17 in SB XLI)
1994 49ers (+200, beat Chargers 49-26 in SB XXIX)
1993 Cowboys (+350, beat Bills 30-13 in SB XXVIII)
1988 49ers (+300, beat Bengals 20-16 in SB XXIII)

Chiefs fall to rival Raiders on Christmas Day: Mahomes remains optimistic

Can the Chiefs turn things around and defend their Super Bowl title?

FOX Sports' Colin Cowherd and David Helman aren't so sure that K.C. can fix what needs to be fixed.

The Las Vegas Raiders beat the Chiefs 20-14 on Christmas despite quarterback Aidan O'Connell not completing a pass after the first quarter (he was 9-for-21 passing for 62 yards and no touchdowns).

The bigger issue appears to be that Kansas City has scored 19 or fewer points in three of its past four games, losing each of those three games.

"They've got a problem: They're bad at wide receiver," Cowherd said. "By the way, they lead the AFC in offensive penalties. They look disorganized, and that's with Mahomes and Andy Reid and Travis Kelce. They're just not good there [receiver], and they're not good at tackle.

"Mahomes, I don't want to hear he's not seeing the field. He sees the field fine; he's not comfortable. They're trying to duct tape some of their issues."

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Helman has the Chiefs 11th in his latest Power Rankings, down two spots.

"It's a testament to what the Chiefs have accomplished over the years that I'm not giving up on them completely," Helman said. "The loss to the Raiders is the latest reminder that this just isn't a very good team right now.

"Maybe Patrick Mahomes can find a way to carry them on a run, but it's getting harder to see it."

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