Chiefs vs. Bills 2024 NFL Divisional Round Odds, Preview & Pick
The NFL’s Divisional Round weekend concludes Sunday evening with one of the better rivalries in the league as Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs visit Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, with the winner probably going to Baltimore for the AFC title game.
This is the third time that Mahomes and Allen have met in the playoffs and Mahomes is 2-0 – but those were both in Kansas City. In fact, this is the first road playoff game in Mahomes’ Hall of Fame career, which is remarkable considering he has been the team’s starter since 2018 and the Chiefs have been in the postseason every year. This will be Kansas City’s first trip to Orchard Park since the two teams met at Highmark Stadium in 2020 and its first road playoff game since facing the New England Patriots on Jan. 16, 2016.
Allen owns a 3-1 advantage in regular-season games, including a critical 20-17 victory earlier this season in Kansas City on a late Tyler Bass field goal. Allen threw for 233 yards with touchdowns running and throwing, though he also threw an interception. James Cook had 58 yards rushing and caught five passes for 83 yards and a score. Mahomes finished with 271 yards passing and a touchdown with an interception, and Rashee Rice had seven catches for 72 yards and the score.
The Chiefs appeared to have scored the go-ahead touchdown on a wild lateral play from Travis Kelce – after he caught a Mahomes pass – to Kadarius Toney, but it was called back because Toney lined up offside. Which he did. Usually, receivers check with the referee to make sure they aren’t offside, but Toney didn’t. The Chiefs were still livid: “It’s a bit embarrassing for the National Football League for that to take place,” Coach Andy Reid said. Uh, he was offside.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills 2024 NFL Divisional Round Game Information
.@chiefs & @buffalobills meet up in the playoffs for Part III? Sign us up
— NFL (@NFL) January 16, 2024
: #KCvsBUF – Sunday 6:30pm ET on CBS
: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/eh1u4yIeIl
- When: Sunday, January 21st, 2024. 6:30pm EST.
- Where: Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, NY
- TV: CBS
- Radio: WDAF-FM 106.5 FM (Chiefs) // WGR 550 AM (Bills)
- Live Stream: NFL+
- NFL Odds: Chiefs (+3) // Bills (-3)
Why Bet on the Kansas City Chiefs?
Kansas City beat Miami 26-7 on Saturday in below-zero temperatures in K.C. The kickoff temperature was -4 degrees, trailing only the 1967 NFL Championship Game (-13 degrees), the 1981-82 AFC Championship Game (-9 degrees) and the 2015-16 Wild Card Game between the Vikings and Seahawks (-6 degrees) in league history.
Mahomes matched Tom Brady for the most postseason victories (12) by a quarterback through seven seasons in league history and wasn’t the Chiefs’ primary starter during his rookie campaign in 2017. Additionally, Mahomes now has the eighth-most postseason victories by a quarterback in NFL history. The Chiefs’ 12 playoff victories since 2018 lead the NFL by five wins.
Kansas City held Miami’s high-powered offense to a 1-for-12 mark on third down and only seven points, marking a season-low. The Dolphins entered Saturday’s game with the No. 1 total offense (401.3 yards-per-game) and the No. 2 scoring offense in the NFL (29.2 points-per-game). The Chiefs when allowing 17-or-fewer points, including the postseason, have won 45 consecutive games.
As noted, Mahomes makes his first postseason road start in this one. He’s 12-3 overall in playoff games, 10-2 in Kansas City and 2-1 in Super Bowls. Reid hasn’t had to coach in a true road game during the playoffs since the 2015 Divisional Round.
Why Bet on the Buffalo Bills?
Buffalo (12-6) beat Pittsburgh 31-17 on Monday in a game pushed back a day due to a winter storm in Buffalo on Sunday. Allen completed 21 of 30 pass attempts for 203 yards and three touchdowns while adding 74 yards and another score on eight carries – that rushing score was an amazing 52-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give Buffalo a 21-0 lead. It was both the longest playoff TD run in Bills franchise history and the second-longest TD run by a QB in NFL playoff history. Allen became the first player in NFL history to throw 3+ TD passes while also rushing for 70+ yards and a TD in a postseason game. In nine postseason games career, Allen holds a 20 TD to 4 INT ratio and has the second-most TDs by a QB in the playoffs since 2020.
“It’s almost normal now,” TE Dawson Knox said. “Him making a crazy play like that almost every single game. Sometimes you just can’t help but just to sit back and be a fan.”
Already banged-up on defense, the Bills saw stellar young linebacker Terrel Bernard leave with an ankle injury and he’s in major doubt. The first-year starter has 143 tackles, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries. Bernard has been the voice of the defense as the middle linebacker. All-Pro cornerback Taron Johnson also left and is in the concussion protocol. He had 98 total tackles, eight passes defended and three forced fumbles while earning second-team All-Pro honors during the regular season. The Bills also had a few players miss the game entirely with injuries, such as receiver Gabe Davis and safety Taylor Rapp.
Buffalo also has two days less of rest than the Chiefs due to both the one-day postponement of Bills-Steelers and that KC played on Saturday night. The Bills coaching staff doesn’t think it affects their team’s preparation.
“Really no significance. There’s nothing we can do about it other than getting ourselves ready to go,” McDermott said. “Our team has fought all season long. We’re not going to stop fighting now.”
Chiefs vs. Bills Betting Trends
- Kansas City is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games played in January.
- The Chiefs are 4-1 SU in its last 5 games.
- The totals went under in 5 of Kansas City’s last 6 games.
- Buffalo is 4-2 ATS in the last 6 games.
- The Bills are 6-0 SU in its last 6 games.
- The totals went under in 13 of Buffalo’s last 20 games against Kansas City.
Chiefs vs. Bills Expert Betting Predictions
Bills 23, Chiefs 20.
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*All stated odds are subject to change without prior notice.READ MORE: Buccaneers vs. Lions 2024 NFL Divisional Round Odds, Preview & Pick