NFL 2022 Week 17: Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs

The Denver Broncos (4-11) and Kansas City Chiefs (12-3) are heading in very different directions at the moment. After a disastrous 51-14 loss against the Los Angeles Rams, the Broncos have fired their head coach Nathaniel Hackett, down 6 losses in their last 7 games. The poor performance of Russell Wilson didn’t help, with only 1 TD and 3 INTs on the day.

Adding insult to injury, Denver failed to cover the spread despite being favored by 3 points -– this being only the second time the entire season they failed to cover the spread. On the other end of things is Kansas City, who have won 8 out of 9 and are on a 3-game win streak with a triumph over Seattle placing them above 13.5-point favorites. They’ve only covered 4 spreads this season, however – all against NFC opponents like Arizona (11-4), Tampa Bay (7-8), and San Francisco (11-4).

Broncos at Rams Week 17 Odds/Game lines

Via FanDuel SportsbookSpreadTotalMoneyline
DEN Broncos+13.5 (-115)Over 44.5 (-110)+530
KC Chiefs-13.5 (-105)Under 44.5 (-110)-750
Will there be Overtime?Yes +2300No -6000 
Via DraftKings SportsbookSpreadTotalMoneyline
DEN Broncos+13.5 (-110)Over 45 (-110)+600
KC Chiefs-13.5 (-110)Under 45 (-110)-850
3-way 1st Score MethodTD -175FG +130Safety +2500

NFL odds may change depending on news updates and you may find more betting markets as you visit Colorado online sportsbooks.

Broncos Still Under Control By the Chiefs

With an all-time series record of 70-55 in their favor leading up to this season, the Chiefs once again came out on top when meeting the Broncos in Week 14. Kansas City’s win streak extended to 14 games, not just being limited to this particular matchup. It’s been quite a while since the Broncos have won against the Chiefs; in fact, it was back in September 2015 when Peyton Manning was still at quarterback for Denver.

Though the Chiefs have covered the spread 6 times in their last 10 meetings with Denver, they were only able to put up 8.5 points above Denver’s score during their latest outing — Kansas City was far ahead during the second quarter but gave up three consecutive touchdowns before ultimately getting away with a 34-28 victory.

Coach Hackett, Fired

It appears the offshore sportsbooks were correct in their predictions that Nathaniel Hackett of the Denver Broncos was the most likely NFL coach to be fired, as that came to pass when he was relieved of his duties during Week 16. It was no surprise to many considering his team only had a 4-11 record going into their last two games. The implications of his dismissal have not yet been seen, though some sportsbooks have unsurprisingly not changed their lines for the Sunday game between the Broncos and Chiefs. 

Speaking on Hackett himself, the 43-year-old had a successful tenure as Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator from 2019-21, previously being credited with aiding quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ success. As Denver moves forward, we must exercise caution and wait to see how this news affects the organization as a whole.