Sharp bettors cause line to move on Saints-Chiefs Monday night game
The Kansas City Chiefs are favored to beat the New Orleans Saints on “Monday Night Football” and join the Minnesota Vikings as the NFL’s only 5-0 teams.
The Chiefs are consensus 5½-point home favorites over the Saints after sharp bettors backed both sides early last week after the line opened as high as 6½.
“They took New Orleans when it first opened (last) Sunday night,” Westgate SuperBook director John Murray said. “It got as low as 4½. We saw some of our most respected groups lay 4½ and 5½. It got back up to 6, and we saw more money come in at +6.
“We had very good two-way action from respected groups playing both sides of the game.”
Favorites are 10-3 in Week 5 and 9-4 against the spread.
“My guess, with everything from this weekend and being so chalky, we’re clearly going to be Saints fans,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said.
SuperBook vice president Jay Kornegay also expects to need New Orleans (2-2, 3-1 ATS), which whipped the Panthers and Cowboys by a combined score of 91-29 in its first two games before losing to the Eagles and Falcons by a total of five points.
“There is some respect for the Saints, the way they started this season,” he said. “It’s not an avalanche of Chiefs money.”
The Saints are on a 7-2 ATS run overall and a 3-0 ATS run as an underdog. The Chiefs (4-0, 2-1-1 ATS) are on a 2-4 spread skid at home in the regular season.
Kansas City will be without receivers Rashee Rice and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and running back Isiah Pacheco.
“The Chiefs have dealt with major injuries over the last couple of years and somehow have worked around it,” Kornegay said. “Without Rice, the Chiefs are going to have to make more adjustments. I’m sure the Saints and other teams will swarm over (tight end) Travis Kelce.
“But the Kansas City coaches are so good. It’s amazing how they can make these adjustments despite losing key players.”
The consensus total is 43, but the South Point is at 43½. The Chiefs have a 2-2 over-under mark, while the Saints are 3-1 to the over.
New Orleans is +210 on the money line at the SuperBook, where both teams are -108 on spread bets as part of a season-long reduced juice promotion.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.