Kansas City Chiefs vs. Las Vegas Raiders: Best bet for Monday Night Football matchup between AFC West rivals

Week 5 will wrap up with a Monday Night Football matchup between a pair of AFC West rivals.

The Kansas City Chiefs (3-1) are slated to host the Las Vegas Raiders (1-3) in a game that could help Andy Reid and company create some cushion from the rest of the division. The Chiefs have won the AFC West six years in a row, so I don’t expect them to overlook any divisional matchup, even if they have a meeting with the Buffalo Bills on deck.

As a result, I wouldn’t blame anyone for siding with the Chiefs tonight. They are favored by a touchdown at Caesars Sportsbook, which is the official odds partner of Bet Chicago Sports. But I’ll be targeting a reliable player prop instead.

I’m once again backing over 2.5 touchdown passes for Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, in which the over is being offered at +136 odds. The implied odds for Mahomes to throw for at least three touchdowns is 42.4% based on the current betting odds.

But Mahomes has already accomplished this feat twice through four weeks, including a three-touchdown effort against the vaunted Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense on Sunday Night Football last week. For the season, Mahomes has 11 touchdowns while leading the Chiefs to a 3-1 start.

In his career, Mahomes has thrown for three or more touchdowns in 30 of his 67 regular-season games. As long as sportsbooks are offering this prop at plus-money every week, I will keep taking a chance on Mahomes to put on a show.

Mahomes has faced the Raiders eight times in his career and he is 7-1 in such meetings with an average of 2.75 touchdown passes per game. Mahomes has thrown for 2,546 yards against the Raiders, completing 193-of-297 passes in this rivalry. This is clearly a matchup that favors Mahomes.

In addition, it usually makes sense to bet on Mahomes under the bright lights of primetime games. The fact that this is a home game is just an added bonus. Mahomes and Josh Allen will meet next week in a game that could have a huge say in the MVP race, but bet on Mahomes to take care of business tonight.

Just make sure to sign up with Caesars Sportsbook to take advantage of their new-user offer before betting on No. 15.

Bet: Over 2.5 touchdown passes for Patrick Mahomes (+136)