This weekend’s Sunday Night Football matchup is better than most games you’ll find on the schedule. The final contest of the day is a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
While Kansas City entered the year as the prohibitive favorite to win the Super Bowl at West Virginia sportsbooks, things aren’t going exactly to plan.
The Chiefs lost two of their first three outings but appeared to get things on track last week against Philadelphia.
Buffalo also didn’t look spectacular out of the gate. It dropped its opener to Pittsburgh and didn’t look particularly sharp.
Since then, the Bills have looked great. They’ve earned three straight victories, including two shutouts where they won by at least 35 points.
With the Chiefs looking to string together a few wins themselves, this week will be a great indication of where these teams stand. Both sides feature incredible offenses as well, so it should be an exciting game to watch for neutral fans.
Let’s take a deeper look at this crucial AFC tilt and breakdown the odds available at WV online sportsbooks.
Chiefs-Bills Preview
Of course, the most notable part of this game is the battle between the two quarterbacks.
Both Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are among the top options in the league behind center.
Mahomes is already building his Hall of Fame resume with an MVP in his first year as a starter and a Super Bowl the following season.
Although Allen isn’t quite there yet, he’s on the short list of those who can compete with the Chiefs star. The Bills QB threw for more than 4,500 yards in 2020 to go along with 37 touchdown passes.
Mahomes didn’t have a poor season, either. Even though greatness is now consistently expected of the 26-year-old, he didn’t disappoint, with over 4,700 yards through the air and 38 scores.
These two teams met twice a season ago, with the Chiefs taking both games.
In Week 6, they prevailed 26-17 on the road. Then, in January in the conference title, Kansas City used its home-field advantage to grab a 38-24 win.
Allen and the Bills couldn’t match their opponent’s production in those games, but this time around could be different. The main reason for optimism is their defense.
So far in 2021, they’re leading the NFL in total defense by surrendering just over 215 yards per game. This is around 35 yards better than the second-place Browns.
As noted, they forced two shutouts already and held the other two teams in check. The defense is ranked first in points allowed per game, too, with just 11.
This is certainly encouraging, but Buffalo also hasn’t faced the most difficult offenses in the league. The signal callers they’ve seen are an aging Ben Roethlisberger and backups Jacoby Brissett, Taylor Heinicke and Davis Mills.
Mahomes and his offensive weapons are in a completely different league.
Chiefs-Bills Odds At WV Sportsbooks
Despite owning just a 2-2 record, Kansas City is second in the NFL in yards and third in points per game.
After not completely clicking against division rival Los Angeles, it appeared the unit figured some things out last week. They scored 42 points against the Eagles and totaled 31 first downs throughout the afternoon.
If this offense is hitting on all cylinders, there isn’t much opposing defenses can do. Some defensive coordinators choose to blitz and apply pressure to Mahomes, but this can also work against them.
Mahomes is so good at recognizing what’s in front of him, and he’s underrated in terms of his mobility and elusiveness. Blitzing also typically requires that you play man-to-man defense in the secondary.
This is a significant issue when playing the Chiefs because they have two guys who need plenty of attention in the passing game.
Tight end Travis Kelce and wideout Tyreek Hill are two of the best at their respective positions. With Kelce occupying the underneath and Hill expanding the defense over the top, the offense has several ways to beat you.
In only four games, the duo has combined for 54 catches for more than 750 yards and seven touchdowns.
Since both take advantage of single coverage so well, it’s nearly impossible to stop both options.
Buffalo doesn’t have a shortage of playmakers either. Besides the dual threat in Allen, receiver Stefon Diggs is considered one of the best in football.
He’s recorded 26 receptions for around 300 yards and a touchdown thus far.
The Bills are efficient in the running game too. They rank fifth overall in rushing yards per game behind running backs Devin Singletary and Zack Moss.
Together, they’re averaging over 4.8 yards per carry.
Even if Buffalo can play quality defense, it knows it will have to also score a decent amount of points.
Sunday Night Football Player Props
As expected, the point spread for Sunday night’s contest is tight. At DraftKings WV Sportsbook, the Chiefs are laying -3, with a moneyline of -150.
It shows the Bills as the road underdog, available at +130 to take the game outright.
Not surprisingly, DraftKings lists the game total as the highest of the week. The online sportsbook has set it at 56.5 points at the moment.
Although the spread sits at -3 right now, the odds are leaning in Buffalo’s favor, meaning it could swing to just -2.5. Bettors should keep an eye on the line movement leading up to the game to try to lock in the best odds for their position.
Many enjoy putting some action down on game and player props. These two offenses are obviously capable of moving the ball around, so the over for some markets should be in play.
The total yardage for each QB is an interesting one. You can wager on Mahomes’ passing total of 306.5, compared to Allen at 304.5 yards. Each of the over and under options is provided at -115 here.
Another prop involves the longest completion for each quarterback. Both are listed at 38.5 yards, with the over for Mahomes at -110 and the over for Allen with odds of -120.
