At 1:00 ET, the Bills and Steelers go head-to-head at Highmark Stadium in this Wild Card round NFL matchup. Catch the action on CBS with the game scheduled for Sunday, January 14th. In this AFC game, the Bills are listed as 10 point home favorites at Caesars. Will they come out with a win at home and cover the spread?
Pittsburgh Steelers Preview
Through 17 games, the Steelers are 10-7. In the AFC-North standings, they are in 3rd place which puts them 7th in the AFC. Against the spread, the Steelers have a record of 10-7. Their average scoring margin for the season is currently -1.2.
Key to the Steelers’ win, was the fact that they got off to a good start in the first-quarter. Pittsburgh scored 7 points in the opening period. Overall, the Steelers had 289 yards of offense compared to the 224 for Ravens. Going into the game, Pittsburgh was favored by 2.5 and went on to cover the spread. Mason Rudolph threw for 152 yards while completing 90% of his passes and throwing for 152. Rudolph threw for one touchdown.
Buffalo Bills Preview
This season, the Bills are 1st in the AFC-East on an overall record of 11-6. In non-conference games, their record is 4-1 while going 7-5 in AFC action. This season, the Bills boast an above .500 record versus the spread, currently standing at 7-10. Their average scoring margin for this season is +8.2.
Even though the Bills failed to score in the first quarter, they rebounded and picked up the win. Their offensive output totaled 473 yards, while they conceded 275 yards to the Dolphins on defense. Going into the game, Buffalo was favored by 2.5 and went on to cover the spread. Quarterback Josh Allen had a big game, throwing for 359 yards on a passer rating of 101. Allen completed 78% of 38 attempts in the game.
In the only head to head matchp between the teams last season, the Bills won by a score of 38-3. With their combined 41 points, the Steelers and Bills stayed below the over/under line of 44.5. The Bills covered the spread in this matchup. In last year’s win, the Bills finished with 552 of total offense, with 120 coming in the running game and 432 through the air. On the other side, the Steelers ended the game with 364 of offense.
Bills vs. Steelers Odds Analysis
Opening at -498 on the moneyline, Buffalo has shifted to -540, resulting in an implied win percentage of 84%. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, currently has implied odds of 20% with a moneyline of +397. The Steelers’ moneyline opened at +373.
This game opened with an over/under line of 40.5 as per the oddsmakers, but it has since been pushed down to its present line of 36, offering a payout of -112 for the over and -110 for the under.
From the time the lines were first established, Buffalo has shifted from -9.5 point favorites to their present line of -10 (-110). Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is currently +10 (-112) point underdogs on the road.
How to Bet Bills vs. Steelers in New York
The Steelers’ defense is coming off a strong performance, giving up just 224 yards of offense and should build on this vs. the Bills. Despite entering as 10-point underdogs on the road, I like them to cover the spread.
For this week’s game, I’m going with the over. All of Buffalo’s previous matchups, which all had higher lines than 36. We anticipate this game will finish with 44 points.
- SportsBettingNY ATS Prediction: Steelers +10
- SportsBettingNY OU Predict: Over 36