The Indianapolis Colts (11-5) and Buffalo Bills (13-3) lock horns in an AFC playoff game Saturday in NFL Wild Card Weekend at 1:05 p.m. ET at Bills Stadium. Below, we preview the Colts-Bills betting odds and lines and make our NFL picks and predictions.
Colts at Bills: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 4:04 a.m. ET.
Money line: Colts +230 (bet $100 to win $230) | Bills -275 (bet $275 to win $100)Against the spread/ATSGet the latest NFL odds, point spreads, money lines and over/unders for popular sportsbooks and view SportsLine's expert analysis of each upcoming game. Find NFL odds, point spreads, and betting lines for the 2020-2021 football season. Visit FOXSports.com for this week's top action!
One of the best features on the NFL Vegas Odds is the Open Line. This numbers consists of the first betting line received from one of our Las Vegas or Global Sportsbooks. The opening line varies depending on the sportsbook but it provides a clear-cut rating that the oddsmakers use. Whether it is the NFL latest lines, NFL best bets, or football betting tips, you want to ensure that you are going to the best football betting sites to get your information. Get the latest NFL odds, spreads and betting lines from this week's games, as well as full coverage of the National Football League from USA TODAY.
: Colts +6.5 (-105) | Bills -6.5 (-115)Over/Under: 51.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)Special NFL Wild Card Weekend Betting Promotion!
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Colts at Bills: Game notes
The Colts enter this game having won four of their past five games outright, but they’re 0-3 ATS since their most recent cover in Week 14 in Las Vegas. Indianapolis has also scored at least 24 points in each of its past eight games.Indianapolis has racked up 378.1 total yards of offense per game to rank 10th in the NFL, and they’re 11th in both passing yards (253.3) and rushing yards (124.8) per contest. The Colts rank ninth with 28.2 PPG.Defensively the Colts have been stout, allowing just 332.1 total yards per game to rank eighth in the NFL, and they’re second in rushing defense with 90.5 yards per game allowed. If teams have success against their D, it’s through the air, as they have allowed 241.6 passing yards per game to check in just 20th.Buffalo scored a season-high 56 points in their 30-point win over Miami in Week 17, winning for the sixth straight game, while covering for the eighth consecutive outing. They have also won five straight at home and covered four in a row in Western New York.The Bills’ offense has been on point, going for 396.4 total yards per game to rank second in the NFL. They’re also second in points scored, 31.3 PPG while averaging 288.8 passing yards per game to rank third in the league. If they have an Achilles heel, it’s their run game, which generated just 107.7 rushing yards per contest.Colts at Bills: Key injuries
Colts
DT DeForest Buckner (ankle) questionableCB Rock Ya-Sin (concussion) outBills
WR Cole Beasley (knee) questionableWR Stefon Diggs (oblique) questionableColts at Bills: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Bills 29, Colts 20
Money line (?)
Playing the Bills (-275) is not a good idea, risking nearly three times your potential return. Over the long haul, it’s a losing proposition to bet in that manner unless you plan to toss it into a multi-team parlay. Even then, it’s better to just bet against the spread. PASS.
Against the spread (?)
The BILLS -6.5 (-115) have been money at home, with their last non-cover coming in Week 8 against New England in a 24-21 win as four-point favorites, and their last outright loss coming in Week 10 against the Arizona Cardinals on the Hail Murray, 32-30.
Even without their throngs of fans at full throat, Bills Stadium has been a difficult place to play. They’ll have a limited amount of fans in the stands Saturday to help spur them on.
Over/Under (?)
These are a couple of high-flying offenses, and they should put on a show in the opening game of the 2020 NFL playoffs. However, the lean is to the UNDER 51.5 (-115).
In last season’s wild-card round the Under was a perfect 4-0, and the Under is hitting at a 75.8 percent clip (22-7-3) across the wild-card round in the past eight seasons. That’s good enough for me to keep banging Under plays.
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Also see:
Bet Slippin’ PodcastColts’ Ryan Kelly, Luke Rhodes named second-team All-Pro (Colts Wire)Bills vs. Colts: 3 key matchups in Wild Card (Bills Wire)Follow @JoeWilliamsVI on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
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“Wait, why does this NFL team have a -235 next to its name? What’s with New England Patriots (-15) vs. Miami Dolphins (+15)? Help! HEEEELPPPP!”
How To Read Nfl Sports Betting Lines
If that sounds like you, we’re here to assist you. If you’ve stared at a board at a sportsbook or just seen spreads and moneylines on the Internet and been utterly confused, don’t worry. It’s not just you. Those numbers can be confounding.
But hopefully, once you’re done reading this, you’ll completely understand how they work. As you prepare to dive into the world of sports betting, here’s a breakdown of how the lines work, starting with …
Spreads
It would be really easy to bet on a game if you could put money on a heavy favorite to win.
That’s where point spreads come in. Let’s look at an example:
Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5)
New York Giants (+4.5)
Delaware Sports Betting Nfl Lines
In this case, you can bet on either two outcomes: you can put money on the Eagles to win the game by 4.5 points OR MORE, which makes them the favorites. Or you can bet that the Giants will either win or lose by LESS THAN 4.5 points. They’re the underdogs.
Now, sometimes the spread “moves” during the days leading up to the game. Perhaps the Eagles’ spread ends up being -3.5 (in which they must win by 3.5 points or more to give you a victory in your bet). Your bet all depends on whichever spread you bet on, whether it was when the Eagles were favored by 4.5 or 3.5 points.
If you ever see “PK” or “pick” next to a team, it means there’s no spread and you can bet on who will win, no matter what the score is.
Moneylines
Let’s take that same example above but use moneylines:
Philadelphia Eagles (-200)
Cbs Sports Nfl Betting Lines
New York Giants (+150)
The team with a minus symbol is the favorite, and the number is how much money you would need to bet to win $100. In this case, you would have to bet $200 on the Eagles in order to win an additional $100.
The Giants are the underdogs. If they’re +150, that means you could bet $100 to win $150.
Note that you can bet any amount you want, but those numbers are always calculated and posted the same way, either in how much money you would need to wager to win $100 or how much money you could win by wagering $100.
Odds
If you’re betting on something like the team who will win the Super Bowl in the future, you might see it look like this:
New England Patriots — 3/1
Nfl Betting Picks
Baltimore Ravens — 5/1
Nfl Sports Betting Lines
Kansas City Chiefs — 8/1
If you were betting on the Patriots and their 3/1 odds, you would win $3 for every $1 you spend. So if you bet $50 on the Pats and they ended up winning the Super Bowl, you’d win $150 (plus your original wager) back.
Cbs Sports Nfl Betting Lines
Good luck!