Broncos Favored to Cover Against Chiefs as Mahomes Returns for Week 1 Opener

What an incredible Week 1 of NFL football. Hope you're subscribed to SportsLine's YouTube page where we (and by we I mean me) gave out Cardinals plus the points, Cardinals money line as a best bet, as well as a two-touchdown round-robin with Ashton Jeanty and Jahmyr Gibbs .

Unfortunately, the third leg was Javonte Williams , and the Cowboys decided to morph into the "season has actually started" rendition of America's Team after a quiet offseason of hype and lost their opener to the Giants .  Bet on the NFL at DraftKings, where new users get $200 in bonus bets after they spend $5+:

Honestly, two-touchdown bets would have printed in Week 1, as we got almost 20 (!!!) different players who scored multiple touchdowns, as well as multiple three-touchdown scorers. Let's not assume that happens next week (in other words, be careful with Week 2 because the NFL makes sure Week 1 is a scoring fest when it handles scheduling).

And let's definitely not assume it happens tonight, with the Chiefs and Broncos perhaps battling in a lower-scoring game. But we've still got plenty of angles to attack this game, so let's find some locks.  Get a $25 bonus after $25 in trades by claiming the latest Kalshi promo code CBSSPORTS here :

Obviously the biggest question here is about Patrick Mahomes ' health. The former MVP, multiple-time Super Bowl winner and single-time playoff-misser tore his ACL late in the season last year and was up in the air to play Week 1 for much of the offseason. But anyone who's followed Mahomes closely knows that it was never in doubt and he was always going to be on the field for this game.

The question is, how effective will he be, and is it a good idea for him to make his return against this vaunted Denver defense. That the Chiefs are favored tells you how Vegas feels -- he'll be just fine.

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Best bets for Monday Night Football

Broncos +2.5

I'm not so sure, and as such I'll be taking the Broncos with the points in this prime-time AFC West battle. Denver probably has offensive issues of its own to worry about, but they're fairly healthy and not trotting out a quarterback coming back from a serious injury for the first time behind a questionable and youthful offensive line.

Josh Simmons , the left tackle the Chiefs took in the round (32nd overall) in last year's draft, isn't available Monday night for the season opener. That means Khalil Benson, an undrafted free agent rookie, will make his start at left tackle and be charged with protecting Mahomes' blind side against one of the five or 10 best defenses in the league.

That noise you hear is Nick Bonitto drooling. Now, it's worth noting Benson has a lot of experience in college, having played several years at Indiana, including all of last year at right tackle as the Hoosiers won a national title. But it's a big step up.  Sign up to wager on Broncos-Chiefs on Monday night using the BetMGM bonus code CBSSPORTS to get up to $1,500 in bonus bets:

I also worry about what the Chiefs' weapons will look like -- I don't think anyone knows for sure whether this is the year for Xavier Worthy to actually take a step or whether Travis Kelce still has a step remaining. Denver should be able to scheme up enough points to steal one here, so I'll roll with the prime-time underdog after watching three of four cover/win and knowing it should have been four if the Patriots hadn't collapsed in the opener.

Monday Night Football player props

Kenneth Walker Over 15.5 carries (-128, DraftKings )

No one is entirely sure how the Chiefs will handle the distribution of running back carries this season, but let's follow the money for Week 1 and assume that Walker, who got a massive deal in free agency, is going to be the bell cow for this offense in 2026. The Chiefs only other options are fifth-round rookie Emmett Johnson and converted wideout Brashad Smith. With Mahomes starting his first game post injury and the OL banged up, it stands to reason they're going to lean heavily on their newest investment and give him plenty of totes. 20 carries for Walker feels perfectly reasonable unless the game gets away from them.

Jaylen Waddle  Over 4.5 receptions (-128, FanDuel )

Speaking of offseason acquisitions, the Broncos gave up a first-round pick for Waddle this offseason, and Sean Payton's made it clear he's going to use him in all different ways. That should include plenty of screens, which should crank up his catch numbers -- I wouldn't be shocked if Waddle was incorporated multiple times near the line of scrimmage on the Broncos' first drive to put us in a good position early for this one.

Tyquan Thornton  Over 17.5 receiving yards (-128, BetMGM )

The Chiefs aren't afraid to mix in a few different faces when it comes to their receivers, and Thornton is an undervalued option as one of the three starting wideouts. Now maybe the Chiefs run more two-tight end sets in this game and try to run the ball, but I fully expect Andy Reid to dial up a play or two to go Thornton's way down the field, and he's usually good for one deep ball in these spots. If you want to get frisky, run his total yardage up and do an inverse correlated parlay with his catches Under.

Anytime Touchdowns

R.J. Harvey (+300, DraftKings)

The general public's been very down on R.J. Harvey this offseason, which is really surprising to me after he scored a whopping 12 times last year. He might not be the "new Alvin Kamara " for Payton's offense, but he's very clearly -- and even self-described -- a big-play threat for Payton and one who will be used in lots of different ways, particularly in the passing game. Harvey is lethal on wheel routes, and at this price on DraftKings, I'm absolutely willing to dabble.

Xavier Worthy (+350, DraftKings)

Maybe I'm crazy for being high on Worthy this season, but I am. They had huge expectations for him last year and those got derailed by Kelce running a shoddy route on the team's first play of the year. Worthy fought through injury all season and now gets to start the season with Rashee Rice on the field across from him, which will open things up pretty nicely offensively. Reid definitely schemes up specific plays for Worthy, so even though this is a tough defense and a potentially low-scoring game, I think Worthy's a great value at this price.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/betting/news/nfl-week-1-chiefs-vs-broncos-picks-best-bets-why-broncos-cover-as-patrick-mahomes-returns-from-injury/)._