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The Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals will finish up Week 17 in the NFL when these two AFC clubs go toe-to-toe on "Monday Night Football" at Paycor Stadium. 

This matchup has plenty of playoff implications, particularly with the No. 1 seed in the conference. If Buffalo wins out, they'll secure home-field throughout the postseason. Even if they lose this matchup, however, they could still earn the No. 1 seed, but would no longer control their own destiny and would need some help. That scenario would open the door for both Cincinnati and Kansas City to possibly leap up. A win by the Bengals would clinch them the AFC North title and ensure that they finish no lower than the No. 2 seed (you can check out all the Week 18 clinching scenarios here).

Here, we'll specifically be looking at the different betting angles that this game has to offer. Along with the spread and total, we'll also take a look at several player props and hand in our picks for how we see this showdown unfolding. 

All NFL odds via Caesars Sportsbook. 

How to watch

Date: Monday, Jan. 2 | Time: 8:30 p.m. ET (slight delay due to Rose Bowl)
Location: Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati)
TV:
ESPN | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Bills -1.5 | O/U 49.5

Line movement

There hasn't been a ton of movement for this matchup, but it is notable that Buffalo is the road favorite in this battle of AFC heavyweights. They opened as a 1.5-point favorite and that number volleyed between 1-point and 1.5-points leading up to this head-to-head, but Buffalo has never relinquished its status as the favorite. 

The pick: Bengals +1.5. While I may concede that Buffalo is a better top to bottom team, I don't believe they are so overwhelmingly superior to Cincinnati that they should be road favorites here. The Bengals have been the team to be on all season, owning an NFL-best 12-3 ATS record coming into Week 17. They have covered seven straight and feature a quarterback in Joe Burrow who is more than capable of going toe-to-toe with Josh Allen. Burrow's been playing at an MVP level throughout the season, completing 70% of his throws with a league-high 107.7 passer rating since Week 3. I'll ride with the home dog that features a red-hot quarterback. 

Key trend: Bills are 1-4 ATS in the last five games vs. teams with a winning record.

Over/Under total

Similar to the line for this game, the total has been relatively steady since it opened at 49 in the lookahead. It jumped up to 49.5 relatively quickly after opening and has mostly held at that spot. It did briefly tick up to 50 heading into Week 17, but has since settled back at 49.5.

The pick: Under 49.5. You may look at the quarterback matchup and think this game is destined to go over, but that hasn't been the case for the majority of the season as the Under is a combined 19-10-1 between these two teams. On the road, the Under is 7-1 with the Bills, which makes that 87.5% hit rate the best in the NFL. Both of these teams sport stout defenses capable of turning this game into a slog, and I do think that the absence of starting tackle La'el Collins (torn ACL) does have a chance to give Cincinnati some problems as well. Meanwhile, Josh Allen leads the NFL in red zone turnovers this season. If that rears its head on Monday night, that could lower the scoring ceiling as well. 

Key trend: Under is 7-0 in the Bengals last seven games vs. teams with a winning record.

Props

Josh Allen
BUF • QB • #17
CMP%63.4
YDs4029
TD32
INT13
YD/Att7.52
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  • Passing touchdowns: 1.5 (Over -166, Under +120)
  • Passing yards: 260.5 (Over -137, Under +100)
  • Rushing yards: 48.5 (Over -131, Under -104)
  • Passing attempts: 34.5 (Over -119, Under -115)
  • Completions: 22.5 (Over -101, Under -135)
  • Longest pass completion: 36.5 (Over -119, Under -115)
  • Interceptions: 0.5 (Over -131, Under -104)

My favorite look for Allen in this matchup is his anytime touchdown prop at +190. He's rushed for a touchdown in three of his last five games and is Buffalo's main weapon on the ground when they enter the red zone. The Bills will likely need Allen to use his legs in this matchup as they are facing a tough Cincy secondary. They are allowing a league-low 60.2 completion percentage entering this game and just 206.7 passing yards per game at home. With that in mind, I'll lean under on Allen's passing yards prop at 260.5 at +100. Allen has gone under that number in five of his last six games. 

Joe Burrow
CIN • QB • #9
CMP%69.0
YDs4260
TD34
INT12
YD/Att7.55
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  • Passing touchdowns: 1.5 (Over -189, Under +136)
  • Passing yards: 286.5 (Over -111, Under -123)
  • Rushing yards: 13.5 (Over -123, Under -111)
  • Passing attempts: 38.5 (Over -121, Under -113)
  • Completions: 26.5 (Over -103, Under -133)
  • Longest pass completion: 37.5 (Over -113, Under -121)
  • Interceptions: 0.5 (Over -129, Under -106)

There's not a ton of value with Burrow's passing touchdown prop, but he has thrown for multiple scores in five of his last six games, including four straight coming into this matchup. I would also roll with the Under on his rushing yards prop at -111. Burrow hasn't rushed for over 13 yards in his last three games.  

Player props to consider

Evan McPherson total made field goals: Over 1.5 (+108). The Bills are allowing opponents to score a touchdown on just 44.4% of their red zone trips this season, which is the best mark in the NFL. Naturally, that should set up Cincinnati with multiple field goal attempts for McPherson. The second-year kicker has been a bit shaky in 2022 but has netted at least two field goals in four of his last six games. 

Dawson Knox total receiving yards: Over 37.5 (-108). Knox has gone over this number in each of his last three games and has averaged 6.7 yards per game over that same stretch. Cincinnati has given up 60.3 receiving yards a game to tight ends since Week 11.