The loss of quarterback Aaron Rodgers has made the Green Bay Packers a big underdog for Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
According to Tipico Sportsbook, the Packers dropped to 7.5-point underdogs after news broke Wednesday that Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 and would miss Sunday’s showdown at Arrowhead Stadium. The over/under also fell to 48.5 points, down from a weekly high of 55.5 to open the week.
The opening line started at +3.5 for the Packers but has fluctuated throughout the week. At one point, the Packers emerged as slight favorites.
No longer. Losing Rodgers, the league’s reigning MVP, means the Packers will start Jordan Love, the team’s first-round pick in 2020. He will be making his first career NFL start in the regular season on Sunday. And he’ll be doing it at one of the league’s toughest venues against one of the league’s most accomplished teams over the last few seasons.
Removing Rodgers from the game’s equation was worth about a touchdown’s worth of points or more in the eyes of many sportsbooks, including Tipico.
While Matt LaFleur’s team was able to overcome the loss of several key players and knock off the Arizona Cardinals as underdogs last week, Sunday’s task without Rodgers is a whole different mountain to climb.
The Packers haven’t played a game without Rodgers since Week 17 of the 2017 season, and the Packers haven’t won a game without Rodgers since an overtime victory over the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 10, 2017. However, Green Bay has won an NFL-high 33 regular-season games since the start of the 2019 season, all with Rodgers.
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