NFL: Buffalo Bills vs Pittsburgh Steelers betting details and preview

The Buffalo Bills’ regular season was a rollercoaster filled with drama. They were among the betting favourites to win the Super Bowl and AFC at the start of the season. They slowly fell out of that conversation after a rough start. Now they are back in the mix. With how their season has gone so far, it would not be shocking if the Bills were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. The sportsbooks are not giving their opponents a great shot in this game, but anything can happen in the playoffs.

Game details

The 11-6 Buffalo Bills will play the 10-7 Pittsburgh Steelers on January 14 in Buffalo for Super Wild Card Weekend. This game will feature the number two seed Bills in the AFC and the number seven seed Steelers. The Bills are huge betting favourites heading into this game on NFL betting sites. The Bills have -589 odds to win on Tonybet. The Steelers are heavy underdogs. They have +359 odds to upset the Bills. The point spread betting market is at 10 points. The Bills at -10, and the Steelers at +10. The over/under is 36.5 points.

The Pittsburgh Steelers might have a shot

The Pittsburgh Steelers started three different quarterbacks during the regular season. The Steelers went with Kenny Pickett for most of the season, then switched to Mitchell Trubisky after Pickett went down with a high-ankle sprain in week 13 according to reports, and finally handed over the job to Mason Rudolph for the last three weeks. The Steelers are 3-0 with Rudolph under center this season and 7-7 with Pickett and Trubisky. Their offence was one of the worst in the league this year. The Steelers tied for fifth fewest points per game at 17.9, and a lot of that can be attributed to their shaky quarterback play.

The Steelers have a 10-7 record and a playoff spot mainly because of their tough defence. Their defence finished sixth, tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in points allowed per game at 19.1 ppg allowed. Sixth is solid because their offence does not score a ton of points and can not always keep them off the field. Four of the five teams ranked higher in ppg allowed this season — the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, and Dallas Cowboys — all ranked in the top six for points per game scored. The Kansas City Chiefs were the only team with a top five scoring defence that ranked outside. If Rudolph plays well for the Steelers this weekend, the Bills’ magical run could be over. According to reports, star linebacker T.J. Watt will not play.

Take your pick: @Steelers or @BuffaloBills?

📺: #PITvsBUF – Sunday 1pm ET on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/0ZPhTqjFdG

— NFL (@NFL) January 9, 2024

What Buffalo Bills team will show up in the playoffs?

The Buffalo Bills secured the number two spot in the AFC after defeating the Miami Dolphins 21-14 last week. An impressive accomplishment considering they were in serious danger of missing the playoffs five weeks ago. The Bills are undefeated since week 14. They finished the regular season with an 11-6 record after starting 6-6. The Bills picked up wins against the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, and Miami Dolphins during that stretch, all playoff teams.

Star quarterback Josh Allen has put up strong numbers this season. Allen threw 29 touchdowns and added 15 rushing touchdowns, but his season was tainted by 18 interceptions, second most, and five fumbles. Luckily for Bills fans, the team also had one of the best defences this regular season. They allowed only 18.3 ppg, fourth in the league. The Bills should have enough talent on both sides of the ball to win this game. On the other hand, they could be in for a long night if Allen turns the ball over multiple times and they have trouble running the ball. The Steelers’ offence has not been great, but they have been able to find ways to put up enough points to win games. The Steelers also have a new starting quarterback and one of the best defences in the league.