- The Buffalo Bills are the biggest favorites heading to Wild Car Weekend at -13.5 odds.
- If the trends continued, Buffalo will break Kansas City’s record as the biggest-ever betting favorite in Wild Card weekend history.l
- The Dallas Cowboys are the only betting favorite in Wild Card weekend with less than 50% of the total betting handle at 44%.
The Buffalo Bills head to Wild Card Weekend as the biggest betting favorites in Saturday’s slate.
According to online sportsbook BetOnline, Buffalo is a 13.5-point spread favorite to beat the Miami Dolphins and advance to the divisional round to host the Bengals, Jaguars, Chargers, or Ravens two Sundays from now.
Tua Tagovailoa Ruled Out of Saturday’s Game
Tua Tagovailoa has been ruled out for the Dolphins' playoff game against the Bills, head coach Mike McDaniel announced.
He still has not cleared concussion protocol and the team is preparing as if rookie QB Skylar Thompson will start. pic.twitter.com/30QSjVk4OD
— ESPN (@espn) January 11, 2023
The Bills opened as 10.5-point favorites with Miami’s key skill players dealing with injuries. Running back Raheem Mostert broke his thumb in their game against the Giants and might be unavailable on Saturday. In that game, WR Tyreek Hill caught only 23 yards while playing through a sore ankle. But with QB Tua Tagovailoa also ruled out of the game, Buffalo’s odds have swelled to -13.5 points.
Tagovailoa has not cleared the concussion protocol and coach Mike McDaniel has announced that they are preparing as if rookie QB Skylar Thompson will start. Thompson isn’t even the Dolphins’ backup QB. That position belongs to veteran Teddy Bridgewater who is dealing with a dislocated finger. With the Dolphins having a QB dilemma and the Bills having one of the best at that position in Josh Allen, it’s no surprise why the odds are where they are right now.
If the current odds trends continue, then the Bills will become the biggest betting favorite in Wild Card Weekend history. Last season, the Kansas City Chiefs played the Pittsburgh Steelers with the largest Wild Card weekend spread in history at -11.5 points. The Chiefs routed the Steelers 42-21 in Kansas.
Tom Brady Has Never Lost to the Cowboys
Tom Brady has NEVER lost to the Cowboys. 👀#DallasCowboys | #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/oIk0jdwzEZ
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) January 9, 2023
Among the six Wild Card games, the Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Cowboys have the smallest spread among betting favorites at -2.5 points. But while the Chargers are the most popular bet at BetOnline with 73% of the dollars wagered against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas is the only betting favorite to lose the battle of $$$ with only 44% of the total betting handle against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Make no mistake, the Cowboys finished the regular season with a 12-5 SU record and with four wins in their last five regular season games. However, their only loss during that span was a 19-3 defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who went only 8-9 SU during the regular season. The reason? Tom Brady has not lost to the Cowboys in his entire career and is 17-0 SU versus Dallas.
The second most popular bet at BetOnline is Cincinnati with 66% of the handle at -9 points against the Baltimore Ravens, with Bengals QB Joe Burrow owning a 4-0 ATS record in the playoffs. Meanwhile, The Bills are next with 65% of the dollars against the Dolphins while the 49ers at -9.5 odds have 61% of the total handle. On the other hand, the Buccaneers are the only underdogs with more than 50% of the handle.
