Best NFL Picks and Predictions Today (How to Bet Ravens vs. Bills in NFL Divisional Round)

Breaking down the best bets for the Baltimore Ravens-Buffalo Bills matchup in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

The Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson are favored on Sunday against Buffalo. / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The game of the week in the divisional round kicks off on Sunday night, as the No. 3 seed Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson take on Josh Allen and the No. 2-seeded Buffalo Bills with a chance to make the AFC title game.

Buffalo took care of business at home in the wild-card round, rising big games from Allen and James Cook to beat the Denver Broncos 31-7.

Baltimore also won easily in the wild-card round — knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers in Baltimore. Jackson and the Ravens will go on the road this week, but they’re favored in this matchup after opening as road dogs.

That may be a bad sign for Allen and the Bills, even though they’ve played well at home this season (8-0 regular season, 1-0 playoffs).

In Allen’s playoff career, he’s 0-3 straight up and against the spread as an underdog, although he’s been favored in his last two playoff losses.

Both of these teams have elite offensive attacks, and their quarterbacks are the leading MVP candidates.

If you’re thinking of betting on this game, the SI Betting team has you covered. Here’s a curation of our favorite plays for Ravens-Bills on Sunday night.

Best NFL Picks and Predictions for Ravens vs. Bills

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

• Baltimore Ravens -1.5 (-102) vs. Buffalo Bills – Iain MacMillan
• Mark Andrews Anytime TD (+170) – Peter Dewey
• Khalil Shakir Anytime TD (+185) – Iain MacMillan
• Keon Coleman Longest Reception OVER 15.5 Yards (-115) – Iain MacMillan

Baltimore Ravens -1.5 (-102) vs. Buffalo Bills – Iain MacMillan

Earlier this week, NFL betting insider Iain MacMillan shared in his Road to Super Bowl 59 column – where he bets on every playoff game – why he thinks the Ravens are going to advance to the AFC title game: 

I still believe the Baltimore Ravens are the best team in the NFL so I'm not going to sway away from them just yet. They lead the NFL in Net Yards per Play this season at +1.6, which is 0.6 better than the next best team and +1.1 better than the Bills.

The difference in this game is going to come on the defensive side of the football. Since Week 10, the Ravens defense ranks third in opponent EPA per Play and second in opponent Success Rate. In the same time frame, the Bills defense ranks 32nd and 31st in those two respective stats, which should be extremely concerning for Buffalo fans.

A strong home field advantage is the biggest thing working in favor of the Bills, but that's not enough to convince me to bet on the team with the far inferior defense.

Mark Andrews Anytime TD (+170) – Peter Dewey

After finding the end zone in six straight games to end the regular season, Mark Andrews was held to just two catches in the wild-card round against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

However, I’m buying him in Sunday night’s matchup against Buffalo. 

Andrews has 11 touchdowns this season, and all 11 came in the final 12 weeks of the regular season. A safety blanket for Lamar Jackson, Andrews has found the end zone in over 70 percent of the Ravens’ games since the beginning of October – erasing what was a slow start in the first month. 

Buffalo allowed 92 receptions, 817 yards, and five scores to tight ends during the regular season. While it held Andrews without a catch on one target back on Sept. 29, the veteran only played in 46 percent of the snaps in that game. 

Since then, he’s only had one game where he played in less than 50 percent of Baltimore’s offensive plays. At +150, Andrews is a solid value given his touchdown prowess over the last few months. 

Khalil Shakir Anytime TD (+185) – Iain MacMillan

If you’re going to bet on the Buffalo passing game, MacMillan believes the sure-handed Khalil Shakir provides some value with his touchdown prop: 

Khalil Shakir was slotted into being the No. 1 receiving option in Buffalo and that was proven in the wild-card round when he had double the amount of targets (6) and receptions (6) than any other player on the Bills offense. 

He also led the Bills in receiving yards (821), targets (100), and receptions (76) in the regular season while finding the end zone on four separate occasions. If the Bills decide to attack the Ravens through the air at all in this game, there’s a solid chance Shakir comes down with a catch in the end zone.

Keon Coleman Longest Reception OVER 15.5 Yards (-115) – Iain MacMillan

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman had just one catch in the wild-card round, but MacMillan is buying him as a prop target on Sunday night: 

Betting on an opposing receiver to haul in a long reception against the Ravens has been one of my favorite bets to place on a weekly basis. Baltimore has allowed 58 receptions of 20+ yards this season, the third most in the NFL. Meanwhile, Keon Coleman has recorded a reception of 17+ yards in 10 of his 13 games this season.

In the regular season meeting between these two teams, Coleman brought in a reception of 24 yards. Another catch like that and we'll cash this bet.

---

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.