The NFL is back for the business end of the season as last season’s Super Bowl winners the Kansas City Chiefs travel to take on the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional round of the playoffs.
The Bills started the season slowly but ended up winning the AFC East with an 11-6 record, while the Chiefs claimed the winning spot in the AFC West with an 11-6 record of their own.
We’ll take a look at the match-up and provide you with our best free NFL betting picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while you take in the action on the field.
The Bills opened their season in one of the most heartbreaking ways possible for a fan as they travelled to the New York Jets and fell to a 22-16 overtime defeat in week 1. Week 2 was better for them though as they bounced back with a victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in dominant fashion, claiming a 38-10 win at the Bills Stadium.
They followed that up with two more consecutive wins over the Washington Commanders 37-3 and then the Miami Dolphins 48-20, before a 25-20 defeat in London, England to the Jacksonville Jaguars snapped their streak.
Buffalo had a terrific run to end the season though which took them right to the top of their division. A 32-6 win over the Jets was followed by a 37-34 overtime defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles, but they then went on a five-game winning streak.
The Bills defeated the Chiefs 20-17, the Dallas Cowboys 31-10, the Los Angeles Chargers 24-22, the Patriots 27-21 and then the Miami Dolphins 21-14 to set up a wildcard round clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where they dominated to earn a 31-7 victory.
The reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs stepped into the 2023 season with a trip to face off with the Detroit Lions, with many expecting a rout, but eventually suffering a shock come-from-behind defeat despite having led 14-7 at half-time.
Kansas bounced back in week 2 though against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a 17-9 win, before week 3 saw the Chiefs romp to a 41-10 victory followed by a 23-20 win over the New York Jets in week 4, and then a dominant win over the Minnesota Vikings immediately after that in week 5.
Then came a 19-8 win over Denver Broncos in a poor quality game, before a strong 31-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers to stretch their win streak to six. But then in a second meeting with the Broncos they found themselves on the end of another shocking defeat, this time losing 24-9. They recovered in Germany with a 21-14 win over the Miami Dolphins before a bye in week 10.
They had a rough patch at one point where they were well beaten by the Philadelphia Eagles 21-17 in week 11, before beating the Raiders 31-17 in week 12. They then lost two in a row as they fell to a 19-27 defeat to the Green Bay Packers and a 17-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
They followed that up with a win over the New England Patriots 27-17, before a Christmas Day defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders set them back again. They then picked up a comfortable 25-17 win against the Cincinnati Bengals, before ending the season with a 13-12 win over the Chargers. That set up a Wildcard round clash against Dolphins, where they cruised to a 26-7 victory.
Veteran quarterback Josh Allen is coming off a solid performance in the 31-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round.
In that game, Allen completed 21 of 30 passes (70%) for 203 yards and three touchdowns. He also carried eight times for 74 yards, including a 52-yard score. During the regular season, Allen was among the league’s best, throwing for 4,306 yards and 29 touchdowns while also running for 15 scores.
Running back James Cook powers the running game for Buffalo. In the win over the Steelers, he carried 18 times for 79 yards (4.4 average). Kansas are a good side, but they’re going to struggle with this level of efficiency.
Patrick Mahomes will no doubt be able to get some points on the board for his team, but offensively they’ve been a shadow of their championship-winning team from 12 months ago and they’re there for the taking.
Expect Buffalo to be aggressive and go for the throat, which should see them pull away and earn a comfortable win.
Check out our review for MyBookie sports betting here.
So far this season the Bills are averaging 26.5 points scored per game which is ranked as the sixth best offense in the league, while defensively they have allowed just 18.3 points per game for the fourth best defense in the NFL.
Alternatively the Chiefs have averaged 21.8 points per game for the 15th best offensive unit in the NFL, while defensively they have allowed 17.3 points per game for the second best defense in the league.
Only five of the Bills’ games this season have seen the 47 point mark hit, while the Chiefs have hit the mark in just four games. It seems unlikely that either team will blow the other away, so the under is the most likely bet to land here.
Check out our review for BetUS sports betting here.
About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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