Kansas City heads to Denver as clear favorites, and the value tilts toward them covering −4 based on contrasting roster health and matchup leverage. The Chiefs are missing running back Isiah Pacheco, out again with a knee injury, forcing Kansas City to lean on backups like Kareem Hunt and Brashard Smith. While that dulls their ground game a bit, they stay dangerous through the air with Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and emerging deep threat Xavier Worthy—who fully practiced and appears set to return.
Denver brings serious injury baggage into this one: major contributors like running back J.K. Dobbins, cornerback Pat Surtain II, inside linebacker Alex Singleton, and outside linebacker Jonah Elliss are all officially ruled out. That’s a hit to both their offense and defense—especially the pass rush and secondary, which have already started to show cracks without Surtain.
Betting trends favor healthy favorites in this kind of spot: road teams of this caliber covering when their opponent has key losses and the team brings explosive offense. If Mahomes stays upright and avoids turnovers, the Chiefs are in prime position to both win and cover.
Pick: Chiefs −4
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