Vegas oddsmakers show serious disrespect for Broncos vs. Chiefs

The table is set for the Kansas City Chiefs to end the regular season on a high note in Denver. The Chiefs (11-5) enter the game tied for the best record in the conference, while the Broncos (7-9) are locked into last place in the division and will play without several key pieces.

The current Vegas line has the Chiefs in this game by a whopping 11 points. (All odds listed come courtesy of WynnBET.) This is truly unchartered territory for the Broncos.

In 42 seasons, the Broncos have only been 10+ point underdogs two other times in history, and both of those came with a very large caveat:

Put it in other words, the Broncos have never—ever—taken the field in Denver with an actual contracted NFL quarterback under center and been as disrespected by the Vegas line as they are this week.

Granted, Denver is without their starting signal caller, Teddy Bridgewater, but the depth chart at the position has been a hotly contested one among Broncos fans and media this season. Both Bridgewater and third-year-pro Drew Lock (who will start this game against the Chiefs) have displayed middle-of-the-pack ability in this failed campaign. Bridgewater went 7-7 before his season ended prematurely with a concussion. Lock took the reins with the chance to vault his team into a wild card. But he has flopped, going 0-2 as a starter.

But this is unchartered territory for any normal Broncos roster to find themselves 10.5-point dogs at home like this. Lock, who has been limited in practice this week with a shoulder injury, will be without offensive lineman (and former K-State Wildcat) Dalton Risner. Several more key offensive players’ statuses are in question, such as tight end Noah Fant and running backs Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams, who were each limited this week in practice.

Denver’s defense has been riddled with injuries in January and will be without defensive backs Patrick Surtain II, Kareem Jackson, and Ronald Darby, each of whom has already been ruled out. Suffice it to say, things have never looked so bleak for Denver at home. Ever.

But, to spin things around to an intriguing counterpoint, you could say that Lock, a Kansas City native, is in a position to do something wild in a game where he truly has nothing to lose. No one expects Lock, a four-year starter at the University of Missouri, to come out and beat the Chiefs. But wouldn’t it be par for the course in this tumultuous, unpredictable season? Stranger things have happened.

Still, it remains a very winnable game for Kansas City, and there is no doubting who the better team is, regardless of the outcome on Saturday.

A quick glance at the only two times in which Denver has ever been favored to lose by more points than this week:

1987

Denver hosted the Los Angeles Raiders in the midst of a midseason three-game strike. The Broncos had just lost to the Oilers by the score of 40-10, so Vegas could only give them so much grace. Ironically, the Broncos ended up beating the Raiders 30-14 that day, led by replacement quarterback Ken Karcher (Remember him? Me neither.)

2020

The New Orleans Saints traveled to Denver, and as the league was adapting to new protocols under a pandemic, the Broncos found themselves without a quarterback. Starter Drew Lock, backups Brett Rypien and Jeff Driskel, and practice squad passer Blake Bortles were all added to the Covid-19 list just before the game after a violation of mask rules while watching film. The Broncos scrambled to put anyone under center and ended up using practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton at quarterback that day. Hinton completed just one pass, and the Broncos got pounded by the score of 31-3.