It’s the first Sunday Night Football game of the season, and the league’s scheduling gods have cooked up a good one between two AFC powerhouses, the Ravens and the Bills. We have isolated one side of this SNF showdown and included it in our NFL football best bets. These teams split their series last year, with the Ravens wiping out the Bills in the regular season before the Bills exacted their revenge in the playoffs.Â
Let’s check out the NFL odds on this one and get ready to cash!
Sunday Night NFL Football Odds
The Bills opened as 2-point home favorites when this line was released, but the sharp money has been bet squarely on the visiting Ravens, bringing this line down to a pick, or Baltimore -1, at all of the best sportsbooks. Let’s analyze the NFL odds on this pivotal matchup of Super Bowl contenders and determine which team will win the day.
Sunday Night NFL Football Picks
I watched all five episodes of Hard Knocks, and although you may dislike Josh Allen for the uniform he wears, it’s impossible not to like him as a person. He’s everything you would hope a professional athlete would be: competitive, talented, and humble.
Betting with the Head, Not the Heart
And as much as I wanted the Bills to win this one, I can’t bet with my heart. The Ravens look like the sharp side here, not just because the money is moving on them, but because they have a few more things going for them than the Bills.
You may recall it was last year at the end of September, Week 4 to be precise, that the Ravens mopped the floor with the Bills, 35-10, as 2 ½ point home chalk, and punctuated their claim as the team to beat in the AFC.
However, when it mattered most, Josh Allen morphed from a game-changer to a game manager and amassed just 127 yards passing with no passing touchdowns and no picks. Yet, Allen made it happen on the ground by scoring a pair of rushing touchdowns that led to the Bills’ 27-25 victory in the AFC Divisional Playoff round as 1-point home dogs.
We should note that were it not for a mistake-laden game by Baltimore tight end Mark Andrews, who fumbled twice and dropped a two-point conversion dart by Lamar Jackson in the end zone, the results could have been vastly different.
Key Roster Additions
This year, the Ravens will boast the same aggressive offensive line that kept Jackson upright last year, but the Bills have added Joey Bosa to their defensive front, which should bode well for their pass rush, despite Bosa not being the same force of nature he once was.
The Ravens have made additions to their own defense, specifically in the backfield, with Jaire Alexander, Chidobe Awuzie, and Malaki Starks. What’s more, Josh Allen’s primary target, Khalil Shakir, may not be 100%, recovering from a high ankle sprain, and there is some doubt whether he will go at all.
This all adds up to the Ravens having their way against the Bills and coming out the victors in this pivotal Sunday night matchup.
Expert Pick: Baltimore Ravens (-115) at Caesars
Sunday Night Football Prop Bets
When you look at Josh Allen’s stable of receivers, it doesn’t inspire a sense of wonder and awe, à la Cincinnati’s twin terrors Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. And when you consider that the Bills may be without Khalil Shakir, or at least a compromised version of himself, it would be logical that Buffalo may adopt the ground-and-pound in this game to keep the clock ticking in order for them to escape with a W.
That will diminish Josh Allen’s aerial attempts and thus decrease his passing yardage. I believe the books are banking on the public to go high in this one just because Allen is one of the league’s most prolific passers. However, the sharps know better, and so do we!
Go low on this prop.
Expert Pick: Josh Allen Under 234½ (-115) Passing Yards at Caesars
Start a New Sportsbook Account
The Sunday NFL odds I posted today on the Ravens vs. Bills don’t stay stagnant forever. Odds, point spreads, and totals are dynamic, which means the moneylines and point spreads you see here may not be around by gametime.
Therefore, it is important that you get the sharpest line available, and the only way to do that is to get down immediately on the games and make sure you have an active account.
That’s right, make certain your account is funded, and perhaps get accounts at two or more sportsbooks so you can compare the numbers. Make sure to get down at a place you trust and at the best lines or odds available.
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*The line and/or odds referenced in this article might have changed since the content was published. For the latest information on line movements, visit OddsTrader’s free betting odds tool.
