It was another fun week of football. I went 1-1 yesterday, but with a win on Thursday, I’m now searching for a 3-1 week. And, honestly, yesterday’s loss was rather frustrating because the Bears were leading by double digits multiple times.
Then, all of a sudden, the Bears started looking terrible, and the Buccaneers kept coming back. That’s gambling for ya. In any case, we get one more game tonight between the Bills and Vikings before we close the chapter on Week 9.
The Buffalo Bills are 6-1 for the season and have looked like the Super Bowl-contending team that we all expected. Josh Allen might be playing the best football of his career. Allen has thrown for 11 touchdowns this season and is averaging over 250 yards per game through the air. More impressive is the running game for Allen. He has nine touchdowns this season on the ground and is averaging about 40 yards per game. His nine touchdowns are good for second in the NFL, only behind D’Andre Swift.
The Bills have put together a great campaign to this point. They’ve averaged 33 points per game this season, but they’ve only won two games by more than one score. That makes me a bit concerned about how good this defense is. If their offense essentially can’t be stopped, their defense has to be the weak point. They beat Houston by five, then the Chargers by eight, the Rams by three, the Raiders by three, and lost to the Patriots. The Bills are decent against the run, but I think teams just don’t run as much against them because they have to play from behind so often.
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The Minnesota Vikings are also 6-1 this season. If the Vikings somehow had Allen on their team, they would probably have a perfect season and win the Super Bowl. Hell, if they traded for Justin Herbert, they might have a perfect season. Their quarterback play has been rough this season. The team has thrown for just under 1,300 yards. They have eight touchdown passes and three interceptions. To make matters worse, they only have three touchdowns on the ground. No one respects their passing game, so the running backs have very little room to operate.
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The team is built around a strong defense – one that does allow yards to opponents, but doesn’t score. They are the definition of a bend but don’t break defense. They are allowing opponents 116.7 yards on the ground and just 154.9 through the air. If the opposing offense has to run the ball and can’t get explosive plays through the air, it keeps it a low-scoring game. Allowing just 13.3 points per game to opponents is impressive, but the offense is averaging 20.0 points per game.
I really don’t have a great feel for this game. I like the Bills to win it, but I’m not sold that they will cover the spread. As for the total, I think the Bills can put up 28 or more points, but the Vikings haven’t allowed anyone to score more than 22 points this season. I don’t have a good read on the total either.
One thing I will bet, and I do basically every week, is that Josh Allen will score a touchdown. He is at -120 to score, I’m going to bet on Allen to score tonight.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024