HOF Game Recap & 32 in 32: Kansas City Chiefs

Scott Seidenberg recaps a great Hall of Fame Game kicking off the NFL Preseason. Plus our 32 in 32 team previews continues with the Kansas City Chiefs and in baseball the Red Sox stay Red Hot.

Listen to today's Podcast episode and don't forget to subscribe!

Listen

🏈 A WILD RETURN: PANTHERS 33, CARDINALS 30

Walk-Off Touchdown as Time Expired

The finish: Haynes King pulled the ball down, pump-faked at the five, and ran it in for the game-winner as time expired.

The Quarterback Lines

✅ FIRST BEST BET OF THE SEASON: CASHED

First Half Higher Scoring Than Second Half

The scoring by quarter:

Halftime: 17-17. First half 34, second half 29. ✅

Scott: "We're 1-0 in the 2026 NFL season. Time to retire and quit while we're ahead, I guess."

The Live-Bet Confession

Scott: "I came in with a plan to live bet a live under if we got an early score. We did not get an early score. I probably should have taken the opposite approach and played a live over after a scoreless first quarter. But I was happy about the huge second quarter — going into the half 17-17, I felt confident about the first-half bet."

📈 THE HALL OF FAME GAME TREND UPDATE

FIVE straight overs. Total was 35.5-36.5 — already a major uptick from the past four years — and it went for 63 points.

Scott: "For those keeping notes for next year, we'll see if the total ticks up again. And there will be recency bias in the preseason week one numbers — we might see an uptick because of how high-scoring this was. That'll be interesting to watch as those numbers close."

Preseason Week 1 kicks off next Thursday, the 13th.

🏈 GIBBS PASSES BIJAN — AGAIN

Highest-Paid Running Back in NFL History

The deal: 3 years, $67.5M, up to $75.75M, with $51.5M guaranteed — passing the deal Bijan Robinson signed days ago.

Scott's rule: "It's not WHO you are, it's WHEN you are. Bijan got his deal first. Gibbs' deal came after — and he gets the higher contract."

The betting note: Gibbs is the betting favorite for Offensive Player of the Year — with good reason. The Lions have a very manageable schedule, and David Montgomery is elsewhere, so there's no more splitting carries.

🏈 32 IN 32: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

The Market

Trench Report: 4th ranked trench team | 11th easiest trench strength of schedule

THE MAHOMES QUESTION

The situation: Coming back extremely quickly from a torn ACL and LCL. He says he'll be ready for Week 1.

Scott: "He's probably not going to be 100%. And knowing Mahomes, he's probably going to play anyway. But how is he going to play? And do the Chiefs actually NEED Mahomes to be the old Mahomes early on? That's the biggest question."

THE SCHEME SHIFT

The changes: Eric Bieniemy back as offensive coordinator, Matt Nagy out.

The glaring stat: The Chiefs ranked DEAD LAST in play-action passing yards last season.

The fix: They brought in Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker to establish the run.

🎯 THE EARLY-SEASON PROP ANGLE

Scott: "I expect the Chiefs to lean more on Kenneth Walker early — weeks one, two, three — to take pressure off Mahomes. Then once Mahomes has his footing, the passing game opens up.

Look at Mahomes UNDERS early in the season and Kenneth Walker OVERS, because Walker's usage will be high in those first couple weeks."

The Weapons

Rashee Rice: Had a procedure to remove loose bodies in his right knee, but participated in 11-on-11 drills this week."If he's healthy to start the year, it gives Mahomes his number one weapon back."

Travis Kelce — the prop: 4.5 touchdowns.

Scott: "That might seem low, but Kelce is not the touchdown scorer he used to be — five last year, three the year before, five before that. Four and a half is a good number. This is probably his last year. How motivated is he? Does he put the pedal down right away, or monitor his snaps with Noah Gray taking a larger role and save himself for the playoffs? That's a real concern with aging players."

THE SCHEDULE TRAPS

Scott: "It wouldn't surprise me if the Chiefs go 1-3 in those four road games."

🎯 THE PLAY: UNDER 10.5 WINS

Scott: "I'm higher on the Broncos than most, and a lot of people are high on the Chargers. Until we see Mahomes get back to being Patrick Mahomes, I can't bank on this team to be an 11-13 win team. It feels like people are already penciling them in as AFC West champions and legit Super Bowl contenders. I'm not buying it yet.

Under 10.5 — and as I said yesterday, I'll likely be fading them in Week 1 against Denver."

⚾ THE RED SOX RUN IS GETTING ABSURD

Red Sox 12, White Sox 11 (13 innings) — Eight Straight Wins

The Elias note: That's the first time a team has swept six first-place teams in a single season since the expansion era began in 1961.

The Standings & The Market

The Manager of the Year Case

Scott: "With all due respect to Venable and the great White Sox season — they're three games up in the Central despite dropping three straight to Boston. But Chad Tracy took over for a FIRED Alex Cora and led this team to 26 wins in 29 games, 31 in 36, and multiple sweeps of first-place teams. What a job. What a turnaround."

Tonight: Red Sox host the A's — Payton Tolle on the mound, BOS -278. "That's wild."

⚾ Around the League

Cristopher Sanchez became the first 15-game winner in the majors in a 7-3 Phillies win over Washington.

Tonight: Zack Wheeler goes for Philadelphia vs Jose Soriano's Blue Jays debut — PHI -223.

📅 Coming Up

Next Week — THE NEW LINEUP DEBUTS

The official Bettor Day mobile app is live on the App Store!

Everything you're a member for, now in your pocket:

🔔 Instant pick alerts — the moment a play drops, your phone knows. Pregame AND live in-game plays, delivered as push notifications. (Premium)

📊 Every tool we've built — Game Centers, the odds board, stats databases, Trench Reports, calculators — all native in the app. (Insider & Premium)

📰 Newsletters and free plays — read every article right in the app.

Signing in is simple: use the same email address as your Bettor Day membership. We'll send you a 6-digit code — no password to remember.

Once you're in, allow notifications — that's how pick alerts reach you.

Not a member yet? In celebration of the new App, New Users can take 50% OFF their First Month of Bettor Day Premium! Join Now!

*Android users: your app is coming in a few weeks — but you can get it early! Reply to this email with the Google account email you use on your Android phone and we'll add you to the test group!