Oddsmakers: Bills open as underdog for first time in 2023 vs. Bengals

#Bills are underdogs for the first time vs the #Bengals:

After Thursday’s comfortable win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Buffalo Bills waited for the rest of Week 8 action to continue on Sunday.

During that slate, their upcoming opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals, defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 31-17.

After the Bengals’ dominant performance against a team expected to compete for the Super Bowl, the opening betting lines have been released. The Buffalo Bills will be underdogs when they visit the Cincinnati Bengals, in their primetime matchup on Sunday night for the first time since the Bills lost to the Bengals in the 2022 AFC Divisional Round. 

According to BetMGM, the Bills (5-3) have opened as a 1.5-point underdog against the Bengals (4-3). With Buffalo’s up-and-down 2023 NFL season, bettors believe that the Bengals, who are the home team and typically get a three point advantage, will defeat the Bills.

With both teams’ records close to each other and the spread only being a couple of points towards the Bengals, it would make sense that some would pick the Bills. After all, Thursday’s win was the Bills’ most complete performance since their three game winning streak earlier this season. But do the Bills cover, or even win?

Cincinnati started the season 1-3, but have won three games in a row. Meanwhile, Buffalo started the season 3-1 before alternating between losses and wins. Overall, Buffalo’s record against the spread is 3-5. In their last four games they have lost against the spread.

The Bills and Bengals matchup has opened at a point total of 47.5. That is the highest that it has been for Buffalo in the last three weeks.

The Bills have hit the over in only three of their eight games this season. In the last month, during Buffalo’s inconsistencies, they have only hit the over once in their 25-29 loss to the Patriots.

The moneyline sits at Bills (+108) and Bengals (-126).

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