Bills vs Jaguars Wild Card Odds: Best Moneyline, ATS, Totals

For the first time since the year 2000, the Buffalo Bills (9-7, 9-6-1 ATS) will be part of the postseason as they head to Jacksonville in the Wild Card round to face the Jaguars (10-6, 9-7 ATS) on Sunday (Jan. 7, 1:05 PM ET, CBS). Temperatures are expected to be a sunny 56° F at kickoff. Below, you will find complete wagering advice for the game, including where to find the best odds and how to bet the moneyline, the spread, and the game total.

Team Injury Reports

BUFFALO BILLS

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

Bills vs Jaguars Team Stats

The Matchup

Perhaps no city partied harder on New Year’s than Buffalo, and if you’ve ever tailgated for a Bills game, you know that’s downright terrifying.

They had good reason: this play sent both the players and fans into euphoria, and the Bills, in a four-way 9-7 traffic jam in the AFC, through the slimmest of margins, slid through on New Year’s eve.

What a drought it had been for the team. The last time the Bills played in the playoffs:

• the Nokia 3310 was easily the most popular cell phone around
• YouTube was still five years away from launching
• the finale of the first season of “Survivor” drew 51 million viewers
• box-office hits included Gladiator and Castaway

That’s insane, like Bills-mafia levels of insane.

But that’s as far as the fun will go. Jacksonville’s defense is no joke, and Bills’ pivot Tyrod Taylor should be under siege all game. The aggressive “Sacksonville” front seven, piled up 55 sacks (second in the league), while boasting the best cover corner duo in the league in Jalen Ramsey and AJ Bouye, who finished second and fifth respectively in PFF’s cornerback rankings. The addition of DT Marcell Dareus midseason led to better results against the run, shoring up their only glaring defensive issue. Add to that LeSean McCoy’s injury, which has him far from 100-percent, and this game could get ugly quick.

It should be easy to predict a blowout, but there’s a rattlesnake lurking, and he goes by the name of Blake Bortles. It’s not possible to know who the rattlesnake will sting, and as a bettor, that’s dangerous.

If Doug Marrone’s plan for Bortles is to have his QB handoff incessantly to a hopefully-healthy Leonard Fournette, things could and should go well. After all, the Bills have been bowled over by more than a few ground games this season and they rank 31st in defensive efficiency against the run. If the Jags can jump out to a lead, have Bortles throw 20 times or fewer, and let their defense do its thing, we should be looking at a Jags romp.

However, if Taylor and McCoy – Buffalo’s only hopes – find a way to grab the lead and force Bortles to beat them through the air, there is the potential brewing for Bills fans to keep the party going. We could certainly see them throw a “we covered the spread!” party, anyways.

Bills vs Jaguars Betting Opportunities

Betting the Bills vs Jaguars Moneyline

BEST BILLS MONEYLINE: +360

BEST JAGUARS MONEYLINE: -415

EXPERT MONEYLINE ADVICE: Jaguars (-415)

Here’s the thing: there’s not a world where I can see the Bills sustaining drives, let alone putting up points against this defense. Will it be a rout? I don’t think so, and we’ll get to that in a minute, but I’m confident in the fact that the Jags will win this game.

Betting the Bills vs Jaguars Against the Spread

BEST BILLS SPREAD: +9 (-115)

BEST JAGUARS SPREAD: -7.5 (-118)

EXPERT AGAINST-THE-SPREAD ADVICE: Bills (+9)

Here’s what I’m least confident about: Blake Bortles. And that reverberates down a roster. A shaky start from him (think an ugly pick-six) and now you have a squad that could potentially start feeling the gravity of the moment. I’m banking on jitters from the Jags, and while it straightens out enough to win, they don’t cover.

Betting the Bills vs Jaguars Game Total

BEST OVER ODDS: 39 (-110)

BEST UNDER ODDS: 39.5 (-110)

EXPERT TOTALS ADVICE: Under 39.5 (-110)

This game will start like a high-school dance between two shy partners with cinder blocks for feet: clumsy, awkward, and uneven, and that will last through most of the first half. The bet is that Jacksonville’s D controls things, and that keeps it under.