NFL Opening Odds: Vikings start as underdogs to Chiefs, but by less than you probably think

You likely would have expected the Minnesota Vikings to be an underdog this week when the Kansas City Chiefs come to U.S. Bank Stadium. And, to your credit, you would have been right. . .but the number to open things up is a little bit smaller than you likely would have thought.

According to the folks at the DraftKings Sportsbook, the Vikings are an early 5.5-point underdog at home to the Chiefs in Week 5 NFL action.

That the Vikings are underdogs on their home field shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the team got their first win on Sunday after having to scratch and claw to beat the Carolina Panthers. Frankly, I assumed that the number would be at least a touchdown for this one, but we’ll have to see how things develop throughout the week.

The Chiefs will be the last team in the NFL to make their regular season U.S. Bank Stadium debut since the new venue opened in 2016. This will also be the first time that the Vikings will find themselves facing Patrick Mahomes, who comes into this one as the reigning and defending league MVP. When these two teams last faced off in 2019 at Arrowhead Stadium, Mahomes had been sidelined with an injury and the Vikings faced Matt Moore. . .who beat them anyway.

The last victory for the Vikings over the Chiefs came on Kansas City’s last trip to Minneapolis in 2015 at (then) TCF Bank Stadium. That game wound up being a bit of a slugfest, as each team only managed to score one touchdown on the afternoon. However, the Vikings managed to get close enough to connect on three field goals compared to just one for the Chiefs, giving them a 16-10 victory.

It doesn’t look like the people that set the numbers have a lot of faith in the Vikings getting their second straight win on Sunday. However, this would be as good a time as any for the Vikings to step up and prove them wrong in an effort to salvage their 2023 campaign.