One of the biggest sportsbook favorites to win the Super Bowl this season, the New England Patriots, is on the verge of clinching home field advantage throughout the postseason. This past weekend, players placing sportsbook bets on the AFC witnessed a mad contest between the Patriots and Steelers that came down to the wire. Ultimately, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick came out on top thanks to yet another questionable call that fell in New England’s favor. The loss hasn’t affected the Steelers’ divisional ranking, but it does peg the Pats as the frontrunners to clinch home field advantage for this year’s postseason.
This NFL betting weekend, the Patriots will open up their home to their AFC East rivals, the Buffalo Bills. New England will be looking to come one step closer to clinching that home field advantage, while the Bills will be doing all they can to ensure that they make the playoff cut this season. It’s a game of high stakes and even higher emotion. What will the biggest sportsbooks on the planet predict for this Week 16 pairing?
Betting Buffalo
The Bills ride into this weekend’s matchup sporting an 8-6 record that ranks Buffalo 2nd in the division behind this Sunday’s opponent. Buffalo has had an inconsistent 2017 all season long. However, the Bills have won enough games to be ranked 6th overall in the AFC – which is good enough to make the playoffs. It’s been 17 years since Buffalo has made the postseason, so it’s safe to say that the entire franchise is zeroing in on this opportunity. Unfortunately, it’s the New England Patriots who are standing in their way. And if Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers couldn’t get it done, what chance di Tyrod Taylor and the Buffalo Bills have?
Looking over both team’s numbers, it’s clear that the Bills are going to have a rough time this Sunday. The Bills are struggling to score 18.9 points each game while the Pats aren’t breaking a sweat on their way to 28.2 points. Defensively the Bills stand a bit better of a chance. Buffalo’s defensive unit is giving up 21.9 points each game while the Pats are giving up 19.6. All things considered, it seems unlikely that the Bills will be able to overcome those differences.
Betting New England
The Patriots enter this Sunday’s pairing with an 11-3 record that ranks them 1st in the AFC East. It’s no surprise to see that New England has already clinched yet another divisional title, but it is surprising to see how well the Pats turned their defense around this season. Through the first 6 games of 2017, the biggest sportsbook pundits were claiming that New England wielded the worst defense in the NFL. This much was true. However, somehow, Bill Belichick was able to turn that unit around. Now, the Pats rank 6th in points allowed, so there’s no question their defensive prowess. Coupled with Tom Brady under center, this is one of the toughest teams to overcome.
The Pats will be heavily favored straight up so fans should take them on the spread. New England has a 9-5 record against the spread this season while the Bills are 7-5-2 ATS themselves.
Biggest Sportsbook Betting Lines & Odds:
Buffalo Bills +11 ½ (-110) 47 (-110)
New England Patriots -11 ½ (-110) 47 (-110)
