NFL betting: Bills showed they are legitimate Super Bowl contenders

Entering the wild card round of the playoffs, there might have been some questions about the Buffalo Bills. They were just 4-point home favorites over the New England Patriots. Many, including myself, wondered whether the combination of weather elements and the prowess of Bill Belichick made the Bills ripe for an upset loss in the first round.

The Bills put those questions to rest in a resounding way, beating the Patriots by a score of 47-17 on Saturday night. It was never a game. While many were surprised to see the Patriots get pummeled the way they did, my biggest takeaway was just how dominant the Bills were. Are they a legitimate contender to win the Super Bowl?

Bills Super Bowl odds get a bump

Entering the weekend, the Bills were 8-to-1 to win the Super Bowl. Following their first-round victory, Buffalo is now +550 to win it all. Only the Packers (+375) and Chiefs (+400) currently have better odds than the Bills.

Earlier in the season, there were legitimate questions about the Bills.

They lost to the Jaguars and Patriots and were blown out by the Colts. They let some lesser teams hang around in games while also dropping games to some good teams like the Titans and Buccaneers. However, after Saturday, Buffalo has now won four straight games by at least 12 points. After mounting a comeback to force overtime against Tampa Bay on Dec. 12, the Bills have kept their foot on the gas.

There were also concerns about Josh Allen being turnover prone. In the penultimate game of the season, Allen threw three interceptions against the Falcons. The Bills and Allen quieted those concerns by playing a nearly perfect game on offense. No turnovers and no punts. The Bills scored a touchdown on every drive of Saturday's game except the final drive. Allen is currently +650 to win Super Bowl MVP after Buffalo's offensive performance.

Additionally, there were concerns about Buffalo's rushing attack. It felt like the Bills were relying too much on Allen to run the ball himself. From Oct. 10 through Dec. 12, Devin Singletary did not eclipse 52 rushing yards in any game,. However, in the five games since then, Singletary has gained at least 80 yards on the ground in four of them,.

Buffalo is beginning to answer the questions surrounding the team in a positive way, which is a reason for concern for the rest of the league.

Next week's challenge is the toughest

Unfortunately for the Bills, their path to the Super Bowl involves a trip to Arrowhead Stadium to go head-to-head with Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. It's an unfortunate reality for any team in the AFC for the next decade.

The Bills will attempt to take down "Goliath" this week in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Bills are a 2.5-point road underdog against the Chiefs this upcoming Sunday.

There are two ways of looking at this game from a Bills' perspective.

These two teams met earlier in the season, with the Bills pulling out a 38-20 win at Arrowhead Stadium. Interestingly enough, the Bills were also 2.5-point underdogs in that game before blowing Kansas City out of their own stadium. However, in case you forgot, that was in the midst of a stretch earlier in the year where the Chiefs clearly weren't themselves. Their defense was leaking holes and their offense was just off. Buffalo definitely got Kansas City at a good time.

Over recent weeks, the Chiefs have looked more like their usual selves. And by usual selves, we're referring to a Kansas City team that has appeared in back-to-back Super Bowls. We're also referring to a Chiefs team that dominated the Bills in the AFC championship game in 2021. Kansas City defeated Buffalo by a score of 38-24 last season, and it wasn't even that close. The Chiefs had a 38-15 lead with seven minutes left in that game.

Either way you look at it, this should be a tremendous game. The Chiefs are favorites, but you can't be too upset about being an underdog at Arrowhead in the playoffs. Buffalo is currently +225 to win the AFC and a win on Sunday would go a long way in making that a reality.