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Posted at 1:30 PM EST. Odds subject to change.

Baltimore over Kansas City

8:20 PM EST. The last time we saw the Kansas City Chiefs, they were walking off the field at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas as Super Bowl champions for the second year in a row and their third title in five years, cementing their place among the league’s great dynasties. In the salary cap era, it’s not easy to keep a quality team together, but the Chiefs have done that while losing limited pieces along the way, which is why they are once again the odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl again this year at +550. From a wagering perspective, the Chiefs have covered six straight games going back to last season, and they are spotting less than a field goal here at home on opening night.

Tonight is not the only night this season the Chiefs are spotting points, as they are pegged to be favored in 15 of their 17 games on the lookahead lines, with their season win total coming in at 11½, but we cannot ignore the fact that Kansas City’s offseason was an absolute crap show. Some of that was the Chiefs’ doing, and some wasn’t, as their championship parade was marred by a shooting that left 22 people injured, half of them under the age of 16, and a local DJ and mother of two dead. What followed pales in comparison to a life lost, but it’s worth mentioning as rising star WR Rashee Rice was busted for drag racing in his rented Lamborghini SUV on a Dallas freeway after he crashed into another car traveling in the left lane. Rice was charged, but he is also being sued by the other crash victims for $10 million.

Next up is the red-lipsticked elephant in the room, Taylor Swift, and her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, who spent his offseason selling the rights to his podcast for big bank, traveling the globe on tour, and spending the rest of his time making Hollywood connections now that he’s a household name thanks to his main squeeze. Kelce signed a two-year deal with the Chiefs, but how much of his head is in the game remains to be seen. Kelce is set for life and apparently has budding broadcasting and acting careers post-football. Dude is the #1 receiving option on this team, but he’s going to be 35 in a month, and he needs to take another hit like he needs a hole in the head.

On a side note, Swift will be attending the game, which is a huge distraction on a night that is already going to be loaded with pomp and circumstance as the Chiefs celebrate their Super Bowl win. We can all agree that the attention the Chiefs get because of Miss Swift is nauseating, but we must acknowledge her presence because it matters. She draws eyes in the market and attention to this game that it otherwise would not have. That attention has an influence on the market, and it cannot be ignored.

There’s more, including the antics of kicker Harrison Butker, the medical emergency of linebacker B.J. Thompson, plans for an $800 million Arrowhead Stadium renovation, and a report from the NFLPA that ranked the Chiefs organization 31-of-32 teams in a report that assesses player working conditions and environment, but we figure you get the point.

As for the Ravens, it was a much less eventful offseason after they were bounced from the playoffs by the Chiefs at home in the AFC Championship game. That said, the Ravens will debut a rebuilt offensive line in front of Lamar Jackson, but that fact has the talking heads taking the side of the K.C. defense, which again has an influence on the market. However, despite the shake-up up front, the Ravens brought back most of their receiving corps, and they added former Pro Bowl rusher Derrick Henry. On defense, the Ravens were the first team ever to lead the league in sacks, average points allowed, and takeaways in the same season, and they have Pro Bowl-quality players at all three levels in DE Justin Madubuike, linebacker Roquan Smith, and safety Kyle Hamilton.

We are not in the habit of predicting games, and there will be plenty of verbal diarrhea spewed by the suits and talking heads in advance of this first game of the season, which is being treated as the most important game ever, until tomorrow night’s game, of course, so we’ll leave you with this. The Chiefs may win and cover this game, but there are many variables both on and off the field working against them that the Ravens just don’t have to deal with. This is a business trip for Baltimore, and we expect them to treat it as such. Keep the points; we’re taking Baltimore to win this one outright.

Sherwood

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