Chiefs heavy favorites over Buccaneers

Nov 13, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (13) before being stripped of the ball by Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters (22) with 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs defeated the Panthers 20-17 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 13, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (13) before being stripped of the ball by Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters (22) with 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs defeated the Panthers 20-17 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Las Vegas thinks the Kansas City Chiefs will win their eighth game of the year on Sunday afternoon, hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Arrowhead Stadium.

Last week, Vegas had the Chiefs as underdogs for the first time since they played the Pittsburgh Steelers all the way back in Week 4. This week, Vegas didn’t make the same mistake.

Kansas City is favored by a full touchdown over the Buccaneers this weekend, with the line dropping slightly after opening at 7.5. In essence, this line says that Vegas believes Kansas City is better than Tampa Bay by 4.5 points on a neutral field, which is a pretty good gap in the National Football League.

It will be interesting to see if the Chiefs can cover the spread. They have been doing so in recent weeks, covering with wins against the Colts, Saints, Raiders and Panthers. The only failure to cover since the bye week was the narrow win over the hapless Jaguars.

Of course, all of this could set up for a titanic matchup against the Denver Broncos next Sunday, in which Denver will certainly be favored. However, should the Chiefs win and win convincingly this weekend, perhaps Vegas sets the line at below three points, indicating that the road team is the better team.