Week 1 Thursday Night Football Odds Preview

The New England Patriots begin their run toward a Super Bowl repeat Thursday night as they host the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL season opener.

New England is a strong 9-point home favorite at the Bovada Sportsbook as they look for their eighth win a row against the spread. Last season the Patriots posted the best ATS record in the league at 16-3 ATS, including the playoffs. They’re also riding a five-game winning streak at home both straight up and ATS.

Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offense will likely be quite a handful for the Chiefs and their defense, which ranked 24th in the league last season. New England boasted the No. 3 offense in the league last season and scored the most points in the AFC. Brady will be down a man with Julian Edelman out for the season, but with a healthy Rob Gronkowski and new addition Brandin Cooks the passing game is still in fine shape.

Injuries also hit the Chiefs during the preseason as they lost running back Spencer Ware for the year. That should push rookie Kareem Hunt into the spotlight.

The Chiefs enter Thursday's game having won their last six on the road both SU and ATS. In their last 14 road games they are 11-3 SU and ATS. However, their road record in New England is trending in the opposite direction. In New England the Chiefs have lost six straight SU with a 2-4 record ATS. The Chiefs haven’t won a road game against the Patriots since 1990.

The Patriots and Chiefs last met in the 2016 playoffs. That game was also played in New England and the Patriots won 27-20 as a 6-point favorite. Overall the Patriots are 3-1 SU and 2-2 ATS in their last four versus the Chiefs, and looking back further they are 7-3 SU and 6-4 ATS in their last 10 matchups.

Kansas City has done well as the underdog, having won their last three SU and ATS. Again the Patriots' trends look stronger - when listed as the favorite New England has won 10 straight SU and eight in a row ATS.