Let’s take a closer look at the odds and lines for Week 8 for the Buffalo Bills.
The Buffalo Bills got back in the win column last week beating the New York Jets. Unfortunately for bettors, the Bills did not cover the spread or the over. That drops the spread record to 3-4 on the year and overs are 5-2 after two straight cashes for the under.
For this week the Bills will once again be headed into unchartered water under the Sean McDermott era. With the sportsbooks across the country locking in on spreads and totals for the NFL Week 8, the Action Network is reporting the spread to be -4 with the over set at 41 points. This marks the first time the Buffalo Bills will be favored against the New England Patriots under McDermott.
Let’s analyze this week’s numbers and see how similar numbers have played out over the past few seasons versus the Patriots.
Buffalo Bills’ trends under head coach Sean McDermott
Not too surprising since the Patriots previously had one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time playing for them, but the Bills are 0-6 against Bill Belichick. Covering the spread is slightly better at 2-3-1 and the overs have only cashed twice.
It hasn’t always been pretty against the Patriots, but the improvements have been there. After starting off with a 20, 21, and 19 point loss the next three defeats were by a total of 25 points. In 2019, the Bills lost the games by one score; six and seven points.
New England Patriots trends without Tom Brady
Before we analyze the Patriots numbers this season let’s recall what happened in 2008 when Tom Brady missed the entire season due to a knee injury.
During that season they were road underdogs twice and lost both. While the over failed to cash in both as well, they did manage to cover the spread in one of those games.
In 2020, the Patriots have also been road underdogs twice. Once again they lost both of those games against the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs. This time they failed to cover the spread in both while cashing the over against the Seahawks.
How the Buffalo Bills respond as favorites against the Patriots will be something Bills fans get to witness for the first time.