Patrick Mahomes has dominated the NFL ever since he debuted as the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback. He is usually favored according to Vegas’ odds even if he is away from home. What is an anomaly is to see him go to a home game as underdog, though that’s the case this week as he faces Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles at Arrowhead on Sunday. But how many times has Mahomes been a home underdog?
This has only happened twice. Curiously, both times were against AFC East opponents. The first time was on October 16th, 2022, where the Bills were 2.5-pt favorites when visiting the Chiefs. That game ended with the Bills not only winning, but covering the line as they won 24-20.
The other time was in Week 9 of the 2023 NFL season. The Miami Dolphins were thriving to the point that Vegas had them as 1-pt favorites over Mahomes and the Chiefs, despite being the away team. That game ended with a 21-14 win for Kansas City. This means, as a home underdog, Mahomes is 1-1.
Mahomes wants to avoid falling three consecutive times
During his already Hall of Famer career, Mahomes has never lost three times in a row. He lost the Super Bowl, and then lost Week 1 in Brazil vs. the Chargers. Hence, Mahomes is facing an unprecedented scenario where he loses three consecutive games.
Jalen Hurts is a tough opponent that has proven capable of going head-to-head against Mahomes. The Eagles had more rest as they played on Thursday, while the Chiefs did on Friday. In addition, Mahomes and company had to travel from Brazil back to Kansas City.
Other roadblocks await for Mahomes
Not only are they traveling, facing a team that already beat them in the last Super Bowl, and facing pressure, but now, they have other roadblocks. First, Mahomes is very thin on receivers. Rashee Rice is suspended, while Xavier Worthy remains questionable for Week 2. The best wideouts the team has right now are Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Of course, tight end Travis Kelce is still there, but his production has taken a slip since last year. Also, in Week 1 the Chiefs weren’t able to run the ball properly. The duo of Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt weren’t able to bring the physicality and explosion needed to get the offense going.