How Bo Nix's Ankle Injury Impacted the Betting Odds for Broncos vs. Patriots

Bo Nix's season-ending ankle injury sent shockwaves through the NFL on Saturday night, as the Denver Broncos went from potential favorites in the AFC Championship Game to massive underdogs.

Nix was injured late in the overtime win against the Buffalo Bills, and Broncos head coach Sean Payton revealed the injury -- and that Jarrett Stidham would start going forward -- in a second presser after the divisional round.

Denver's Super Bowl odds immediately plummeted following Nix's diagnosis, as it is facing a massive uphill battle to win a game -- never mind two -- with a backup quarterback under center. The Broncos were +700 to win the Super Bowl before beating the Bills in the divisional round, but that number has fallen all the way to +1100.

For comparison, no other team left in the playoffs -- Seattle, New England and the Los Angeles Rams -- has worse than +255 odds to win Super Bowl 60.

But that's no the only way that Nix's injury shifted the betting odds ahead of the AFC Championship Game.

Each week during the NFL playoffs, sportsbook release lookahead lines for the hypothetical matchups in the next round. That's a good way to see not only who the books are expecting to win, but it shows how they view each heading into the weekend.

In the lookahead lines for the AFC Championship Game, Denver was actually set as a 1.5-point favorite at home in a hypothetical matchup with the New England Patriots. However, that line has moved significantly since Nix was injured.

The Patriots, after beating the Houston Texans in the divisional round, opened as 4.5-point favorites on the road against Denver in the AFC title game. That line has since moved to Patriots -5.5, as a ton of bets are coming in on Drake Maye and company with Denver without its starting quarterback.

In fact, DraftKings Sportsbook has received 73 percent of the moneyline bets and a whopping 83 percent of the spread bets on the Patriots in this game. New England would need to win by six or more to cover the spread, but it has back-to-back double-digit wins so far this postseason against Justin Herbert and C.J. Stroud. So, bettors clearly think Mike Vrabel's team will have no problem beating Stidham in his first career postseason start.

The Broncos only have one loss at home all season, but they're facing a major uphill battle to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since they won Super Bowl 50 against the Carolina Panthers. There's a chance that the odds in this game move even further towards New England, especially if sportsbook continue to take a ton of action on the Patriots to cover on Sunday afternoon.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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