The Buffalo Bills keep entering games as the favorite, depending on which outlet you want to believe. Last week, despite no one with a football mind believing it, ESPN had Buffalo with a 69% chance to beat the Cincinnati Bengals. That never made sense. This week, they are 7.5-point favorites to take down the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. The betting public likes that number, with 75% of Draft Kings bets going to the Bills. We know that none of that means anything when it comes to the games played on the field, but it is a look at how the sky isn’t falling quite as much outside of Western New York. Denver comes into this game at 3-5 and could be just what the doctor ordered for the 5-4 Bills. Without further ado, here are my top five storylines to watch as the Bills host Denver in another prime-time game, this time in Orchard Park on Monday Night Football.
Panic Time
Is it time to panic on the Bills? No, not just yet. However, if Buffalo loses to the Broncos and falls to .500 on the season, that completely changes. Denver has lost games to Las Vegas and Washington, as well as that 50-point embarrassing loss to Miami. Now the Broncos are coming off of a win over Kansas City and their bye. It’s not a gimmie, but a Buffalo defeat would cause all of us to start running around like Kevin McCallister when he first tried shaving.
Sean Time
A lot of Bills Mafia is off Sean McDermott and ready to see who should be the next bench boss at One Bills Drive. This is a quick reminder that during last offseason, many wanted the Bills to make the trade for Sean Payton. The deal Denver made (first and second-round picks for the head coach) would have been equal to sending New Orleans Dalton Kincaid and O’Cryus Torrence for a coach, who is leading a team currently tied for the fifth-worst point differential at -54.
Miller Time
Von Miller still loves Denver. There is nothing wrong with that. He started his NFL career in Colorado when he was the second-overall pick of the 2011 draft. There isn’t much more to add here except that this will be his first game playing against the Denver Broncos.
Offense Time
The Bills are 13th in the NFL in points per game over the teams’ last three games. Buffalo is scoring 22.3 points per game in that span. It’s worse when you look at the first quarter of those three games. The Bills are averaging just 3.3 points in that stretch, eighth worst in the NFL. That number is 11th best when you examine the first half, where Buffalo is scoring nine points per game.
Hunting Time
The Bills have fallen back to the dark space known as “in the hunt.” A loss, and that murky mess gets muckier. A win and some help, and Buffalo is off of that gross graphic.
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