The official NFL futures market is set in Vegas, and Bovada has the latest odds for expected team wins in 2014. As for the Kansas City Chiefs, a slight fall from grace is expected with the over/under set at eight wins. This is the same as it was earlier in the offseason.
Kevin Bradley, the Sportsbook Manager for Bovada, says that the money is moving in on the Bears, Patriots, and Saints, while the Chiefs are among a few teams expected to take a turn for the worse this year.
"NFL win totals continues to take more money than any other future market we have up right now for the NFL and a few teams are really standing out as popular bets. The Chicago Bears over 8.5 has taken over 95% of the money but we are comfortable holding the number at 8.5, especially in a pretty competitive division. The Saints and Patriots are seeing the same type of action forcing each of their win totals to move up half a win. The two teams who have caught my eye taking quite a bit of under money is the Dallas Cowboys dropping from 8 to 7.5 wins and the Carolina Panthers with 80% of the public expecting them to regress from their surprising year in 2013."
The Chiefs went 11-5 last year and finished second in the AFC West, trailing the Denver Broncos at 13-3, in Andy Reid's first year as head coach. The Chiefs return several Pro Bowlers from last season, and another year in Reid's system should / could / maybe reap rewards on the field.
That said, the team faces a tougher schedule in 2014 on paper, and considerable free agent losses might have bettors needing to see the on-field results before believing in the Chiefs. Sounds familiar.
Last year, the over/under for total wins for the Chiefs was 6.5 and the team almost doubled that number, so Vegas was clearly wrong a year ago.