After winning their preseason openers, the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills will look to build on the positive momentum when they square off in Week 2 this Saturday.
Neither team played their starting quarterback last week, and it’s still too early to know if we’ll see Russell Wilson or Josh Allen in this one. Wilson’s highly-anticipated Denver debut would add some excitement to this matchup, but there’s no real need for the Broncos to risk their new QB with the regular season still over three weeks away.
If last year is any indication, we may not see Allen either, as he only suited up for the Bills’ preseason finale in 2021.
Still, there is plenty to learn about both of these teams from last week that can help us with our Denver vs Buffalo best bets and predictions.
Broncos vs Bills Odds
The Bills opened as 2.5-point favorites, however, the spread has now moved as far as Buffalo -5 in some spots. The total for this matchup has been raised to 41.5 points at FanDuel Sportsbook, as oddsmakers have adjusted after the Over went 13-3 during the first week of preseason games.
Be sure to keep tabs on the latest line movements ahead of kickoff with our NFL odds.
Broncos vs Bills Implied Score
Bills 23.25, Broncos 18.25
After defeating the Indianapolis Colts 27-24 on a last-second field goal from Tyler Bass last week, the Bills are expected to beat the Broncos by a similar margin at home this week. That is a little surprising to me, especially given how much Buffalo’s backup quarterbacks struggled with turnovers against Indianapolis.
Broncos vs Bills Pick of the Day
Read more on this Broncos vs Bills bet below.
Broncos vs Bills Matchup
Whether the starters see a few snaps or not, this game will eventually be decided by the backups. Josh Johnson drew the start at QB last week for Denver and played a strong first half, completing 16-of-23 passes for 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys.
All of the Broncos’ 17 points came with Johnson at the helm, as the offense stagnated somewhat under third-stringer Brett Rypien. To his credit, Rypien did orchestrate a 12-play, 96-yard drive that stalled on the Dallas three-yard line. Still, the Boise State product will likely have to lead the offense to some points if Denver wants to win this game.
Buffalo will be hoping to see better play from backup QB Case Keenum, who threw a pair of interceptions and lost a fumble in his team debut last weekend. The Bills had five turnovers in all, something that head coach Sean McDermott will surely have addressed this week in practice.
Broncos vs Bills Prediction
Bills 23, Broncos 13
Both of these teams are pretty deep, but I favor the Bills’ depth at the skill positions just a bit more.
Third-string quarterback Matt Barkley took over for Keenum in the second half last week and Buffalo’s offense improved mightily, with wideouts Khalil Shakir (five catches, 92 yards) and Isaiah Hodges (nine catches, 77 yards) making notable impressions.
As far as backup quarterbacks go, Keenum is a pretty decent option, so I don’t expect him to play anywhere near as badly as he did last week. He’ll also have the motivation of playing against his former team in this one.
I could see the Broncos jumping out to an early lead, but the Bills will rally late like they did last week.
Broncos vs Bills Bet Tips
The Bills have won nine straight preseason games, while the Broncos have won their last five. Something will have to give on Saturday afternoon… No Broncos preseason game has had 40 or more total points since a 29-17 win over Washington in 2018 — a run of 10 straight games. Denver’s starting quarterback that day was, you guessed it, Case Keenum.
Broncos vs Bills Best Bets
Under 41.5 Total Points (-110) at FanDuel Sportsbook
I think there has been a bit of an overcorrection in the totals market after the success Overs had last week. The Broncos have consistently been an Under team in the preseason and first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett should keep his gameplan pretty simple.
As long as the Bills aren’t constantly turning the ball over and giving Denver a short field, then this total should be pretty safe. Back the Under as your NFL pick of the day.
