Best Betting Odds for Bills at Bengals NFL Week 17

As the NFL enters the stretch run of its season, potential playoff matchups pop up with serious postseason implications. That’s the case for Monday Night Football this week, when Buffalo, the AFC’s top seed, travels to Ohio for a game against Cincinnati, the AFC’s 3-seed. The Bills enter this AFC battle with the Bengals as slight road favorites in the betting odds. 

The Buffalo Bills (12-3, 7-7-1 ATS) won their sixth game in a row, defeating the Chicago Bears 35-13 to clinch the AFC East division title for the third year in a row. Buffalo holds the AFC’s top seed entering the weekend thanks to a tie-breaker over the Kansas City Chiefs. That makes Monday night’s tilt in Cincinnati crucial, and the Bills see the Week 17 odds having set them as slight favorites against the Bengals. 

The Cincinnati Bengals (11-4, 12-3 ATS) are actually the only AFC team hotter than the Bills these days, as Cincy’s won seven straight. The Bengals could snag the conference’s No. 1 seed with a win this weekend and a Chiefs loss along the way. This would push the Bills to the 3-seed heading into the season’s final week. 

Here’s a look at the best betting odds ahead of this key matchup between the Bills and Bengals on Monday Night Football.

The opening lines for this contest set the Bills as slight road favorites in Cincinnati. Buffalo comes to this one on a roll, but they’re facing the top team against the spread this season. The Bengals have covered in 12 of their last 13 games overall. What’s more, underdogs sport a 128-105-7 mark against the spread in 2022, with home underdogs enjoying the best cover percentage (56.5 percent, 52-40-3). These two teams remain near the top of sportsbooks for Super Bowl odds. 

This primetime game features the shortest spread among the NFL Week 17 opening lines and one of the highest point totals. This game features two of the top offenses in the league, which combine to average 56 points-per-game this season, and all signs point to a shootout on Monday Night.

The Bills clinched their division in a sloppy win over Chicago last week, but Buffalo has yet to nail down the AFC’s top seed. Buffalo controls its own playoff destiny and could actually clinch home field advantage and a first-round bye with a win on Monday and some help. A loss to Cincinnati complicates things for the Bills, but doesn’t automatically mean they’re out of the running. 

Cincinnati’s defense has been stout at home this season, allowing an AFC-low 296.7 yards of total offense per game at home. Buffalo’s defense has been great on the road, surrendering just 291.2 total yards per game away from home. So both of these elite offenses have a serious challenge on their hands. The Bills bring pressure to the tune of 39 sacks this season, and face a Cincinnati offensive line that’s surrendered the eighth most sacks thus far (42). 

The Bills have been very good away from home this season. Their two road losses came by a combined five points. Cincinnati’s only lost once at home though. They recently won as 2.5-point home underdogs against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 13. However, Buffalo comes to this contest with a solid ground game. 

In Chicago last week, the Bills ran up a season-high 254 rushing yards. That said, Buffalo turned the ball over three times versus the Bears, something they must avoid against the Bengals. 

Several betting trends affect the odds in this AFC battle between the Bills and Bengals. Buffalo enters as slight road favorites. But the Bills’ are just 1-4 against the spread in their last five games versus winning teams. What’s more, the Underdog has covered the spread in seven of the last nine meetings between these clubs. That said, the Bills enter 12-4 outright in their last 16 games against Cincinnati. 

The Bengals enter having won seven in a row, covering in each contest. Cincinnati sports a 5-0 mark against the spread in its last five home games. The Bengals have a 16-5 against the spread record in their last 21 games versus teams with winning records. 

The Bills have seen the Under hit in seven of their last eight road games. The Over has hit in seven of the last 10 contests in this series and eight of the last 11 in Cincinnati. The Bengals have seen the Under hit in four of their last five games and in each of their last seven games against winning teams.