Super Bowl odds update: Chiefs back in title mix after dominant Week 11 win

For a brief moment, it looked like the Chiefs had fallen from the ranks of the NFL's elite. Four weeks later, it's a whole different story.

Kansas City (+650) vaulted its way to second place on the Super Bowl oddsboard with Sunday's dominant 19-9 win over the Cowboys, who entered the league averaging the most points and yards per game. Dallas was no match for the Chiefs' much-improved defense, which has been the main reason behind a surprising 4-0 November record. Remember, this team was dealing as high as +1600 at some shops.

Entering this month, Kansas City had the worst defense in the NFL by nearly any statistical measure and had dropped four of its previous six games - allowing 27 points or more in all four losses. Since then, this group has held its last four opponents to an average of 11.8 points, with none of those four teams scoring more than 17 points.

The difference has largely been about pressuring the quarterback and making life easier on the back end. In Week 1-7, the Chiefs recorded a combined eight sacks and brought down the QB multiple times in just two games (both wins). Over the past four weeks, Kansas City has recorded a whopping 11 sacks - including five on Sunday - and, unsurprisingly, held all four opponents below 250 passing yards.

Perhaps the scariest part is that this offense is still finding its rhythm. This group is just eight days removed from dropping 41 points on the Raiders and it still ranks first in yards per drive (42.7) and third in points (2.7). Yet it hasn't looked anything close to the otherworldly scoring machine we've grown accustomed to over the last three seasons.

That could change soon. Kansas City has faced one of the toughest schedules in the NFL so far but doesn't play a team with a current record better than 6-4 in its final six games following a Week 12 bye. It's the perfect opportunity for Patrick Mahomes and Co. to rediscover what has made this team so dangerous.

It's still too early to pay this short of a price on a team that has arguably one complete win this entire season. Yet Sunday's victory over the Cowboys was the Chiefs' most impressive victory of the season and validated a stretch of strong play on defense. If they can sustain it against a manageable slate down the stretch, the rest of the league is in trouble.

C Jackson Cowart is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on Twitter (@CJacksonCowart) or email him at [email protected].