NFL Divisional Round picks: Best bets for Bills-Chiefs, more
The NFL Divisional Round wraps up Sunday with what could be a pair of high-scoring matchups in Buccaneers-Lions and Chiefs-Bills.
Keep reading for our NFL Divisional Round best bets, including Bucs vs. Lions same-game parlay:
2024 Divisional Round best bets: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Detroit Lions, odds, preview and predictions
The Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield seemingly resurrected his career in 2023 by throwing for a career-high 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns. Mayfield particularly showed a penchant for big plays, completing a career-high 60 passes of 20+ yards.
The Lions just allowed a 367-yard, two-touchdown performance to Matthew Stafford in the Wild Card win over the Rams and have now allowed 12.8 yards per completion over the last three games, along with an NFL-high 346.3 passing yards per contest in that span.
Detroit has faced a 61.1% pass-play rate since the start of the regular season – the league’s sixth-highest figure – thanks in part to how well the Lions have slowed down the run.
The Bucs, which were 7-1 ATS as a road underdog this season, are likely to remain aggressive in anticipation of having to keep up with the Lions’ own high-powered unit.
Mayfield will also operate in the favorable conditions of a dome, so a parlay that stretches Tampa Bay’s points past a touchdown and banks on him hitting a figure he’s already reached on 11 occasions is a good way to go.
Buccaneers vs. Lions Pick: Same Game Parlay: Alternate Spread: Buccaneers +7.5 and Baker Mayfield 225+ passing yards (+104 or better)
2024 Divisional Round best bets: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills, odds, preview and predictions
The Chiefs-Bills rivalry – and by extension, that between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen – has been must-watch football since both players first took hold of their team’s starting jobs in 2018.
The Bills have won the last three regular-season meetings with Kansas City. However, the Chiefs have notched two straight postseason victories over Buffalo, including the unforgettable 42-36 overtime thriller in the 2021 Divisional Round.
The Chiefs haven’t played in Buffalo since Oct. 2020, when they recorded a 26-17 victory in Week 6, albeit in less than a full stadium due to COVID restrictions.
Therefore, this will be Mahomes’ first true Orchard Park experience, and the environment should be an impactful one. The weather shouldn’t be problematic, but a wild crowd surely awaits in the Sunday evening clash.
Buffalo went 7-2 straight up at home during the regular season and is now 1-0 there in the postseason. This time around, it’s Allen and the Bills that have the deeper offense, even if Gabe Davis (knee) sits out again.
That edge, along with a significant home field advantage, will make the difference and finally give Sean McDermott and Allen a close postseason win over Andy Reid and Mahomes.
Chiefs vs. Bills Pick: Bills moneyline (-145 or better)
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Juan Carlos Blanco is a Catena Media contributor and has been writing about sports betting and fantasy sports since 2015 for a wide variety of industry websites, and his work has also been syndicated in outlets such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports and NBA.com. Follow his work via Twitter @jcblanco22.
