NFL wild card playoff odds: Patriots face Bills as 4.5-point underdogs

By Taylor Kyles and Bernd Buchmasser Jan 10, 2022, 3:36pm EST

The New England Patriots will enter the playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the AFC, and as such meet a familiar opponent in the wild card round: the Patriots will travel to Buffalo to face the third-seeded Buffalo Bills for a third time since early December.

The first two meetings ended with a road victory on each side. The Patriots went into a windy Highmark Stadium in Buffalo in Week 13 to beat the Bills with a final score of 14-10. Three weeks later, the team was able to get its revenge via a 33-21 win at Gillette Stadium — a game that was instrumental in the Bills defending their AFC East title.

Now, it’s do-or-die time for the two division rivals: the winner advances to the divisional round, while the loser will see its season come to an end. While it remains to be seen who will end up in which spot, the bookmakers think that the home team will come away victoriously: DraftKings Sportsbook currently has Buffalo listed as 4.5-point favorites over the Patriots. The over/under for the game has been set at 40.

Considering how the last meeting between the two teams went, and that the Patriots are coming off a loss to the Miami Dolphins, this is not a surprise. Obviously, though, a lot can happen — and the two Patriots-Bills games earlier this year are proof of that.