Patriots vs. Bills prediction and odds for Week 18 (New England will challenge Buffalo)

The Buffalo Bills, and the rest of the sports world, finally got some good news on Thursday.

Damar Hamlin seems to be making positive progress, including being awake and communicating with doctors via writing.

While there’s still a long road ahead for Hamlin after the nightmarish accident on Monday night, the Bills can start to look ahead to their Week 18 matchup with the New England Patriots.

The NFL has yet to announce how they’re going to handle the suspended game between the Bengals and Patriots, but it goes without saying that if the Bills want any chance at the number one seed in the AFC, a win this weekend is a must.

Meanwhile, the Patriots can win the game and lock up the No. 7 seed in the AFC, without help from any other team in the league.

Can they pull it off? Let’s dive into the latest betting odds.

Patriots vs. Bills odds, spread, and total

Patriots vs. Bills betting trends

• Patriots are 1-5 ATS in their last six games
• The UNDER is 6-3 in the Patriots’ last nine games
• Patriots are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against Bills
• Patriots are 16-3 straight up in last 19 games they’ve played in Buffalo
• Bills are 3-6 ATS in their last nine games
• The UNDER is 9-4 in the Bills’ last 13 games

Patriots vs. Bills prediction and pick

It’s anyone’s guess where the Bills head will be at this game, an argument could be made for both sides. Even if you don’t consider the unprecedented event, I still think this spread is too big for the Patriots.

New England is eighth in the NFL in net yards per play this season, with its defense leading the way. Their secondary has been its strongest suit, ranking seventh in the NFL in opponent yards per pass attempt. If they can slow down Josh Allen and the Bills’ pass attack, they’ll be able to keep this game close.

Crazy things happen in Week 18 of the NFL season and I generally lean towards the underdogs. If weird things happen, then why not take the team getting a touchdown worth of points?

I’ll back the Patriots to keep this one close.

You can track Iain’s bets on Betstamp here.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.