Will the Bills stay hot in London?
London Calling – Part 2 is the name of the game on Sunday, but this time from the stadium of Tottenham Hotspurs. That’s when the Buffalo Bills meet the Jacksonville Jaguars and fans will be hoping for a slightly more even affair than the first London Game.
However, we are sceptical that it will come to that, because Josh Allen and Co. presented themselves too well in form on the last matchday in their outstanding 48:20 victory against the also strong Miami Dolphins.
The Jaguars also won their game against the Falcons, but it was still not a convincing performance. 300 total yards were enough for them to win and in the end only 16 first downs. Atlanta and especially their quarterback Desmond Ridder were too weak.
The Bills are of a completely different calibre and Jacksonville should not be able to keep up with their fire power.
Kick-off of this second Europe Game of the season is on Sunday at 15:30 in London. The match can be watched live on RTL.
Buffalo Bills – Statistics & current form
The Bills got off to a weak start but have improved with each game, eventually leading to an impressive 48-20 win over the Dolphins. Anyone who destroys a top Super Bowl favourite like that definitely has to be counted among the favourites themselves.
In their last three games they won by an average of 30 points difference, which is already a real board for the NFL. With the Raiders, the Commanders and the Dolphins, the opponents were not even fall fruit, but serious playoff contenders (Dolphins, of course, even more so).
Allen got it
The improvement in performance can be pinned on one player in particular: quarterback Josh Allen. After his disastrous three-interception start, he bounced back and has since rushed for eight touchdowns and only one other interception.
His passer rating against the Commanders was 124.6, and against the Dolphins even 158.3 – the highest rating to be achieved. He has understood again, at least for the time being, that it is better for the team to play with a little less risk and rather score four times for a safe ten yards than to throw an attempt over 40 yards.
A cleverly playing Allen is very dangerous for every team. Even though the Jags defence has intercepted two balls from Ridder recently, it is still a bit too green behind the ears to stand up to Josh Allen – if he doesn’t completely lose the plot again.
Jetlag no longer a problem
While the London Games and jet lag used to be a problem for some teams in previous years who arrived at too short notice, the teams have now adjusted much better and arrive early to midweek.
So the Bills won’t have any problems with their fitness either. With that, we see them as the clear favourites against Jacksonville and so the odds on Buffalo are clearly favourable for Bills vs Jaguars – even with a handicap of up to 5.5 points.
Key Players:
- QB: Josh Allen
- RB: James Cook
- WR: Stefon Diggs
- TE: Dawson Knox
- K: Tyler Bass
Jacksonville Jaguars – Statistics & current form
This was a must-win against the Atlanta Falcons – nothing more, nothing less. With 2-2 wins, all four teams are now tied in the AFC South and the season practically starts all over again. For the Jaguars, however, it’s now against one of the teams with the best form.
What could be in their favour, though? The ball security of Trevor Lawrence, perhaps, who has only thrown two interceptions this season. This also leads to the Jags being a good +4 in turnover differential, which puts them in the top 8 teams in the league.
Not really in the flow yet
But that’s also the only statistic that has Jacksonville on top this season – and even there, they’re still behind the Bills, who have a +/- ratio of +6 and have already stolen the ball from their opponents 11 times.
So Lawrence and Co. have to dress warmly and we don’t expect them to stay without turnovers against these ballhogs from Buffalo. Then it’s up to their defence to turn the tables. A festival of mistakes on both sides would certainly play into the Jags’ cards.
Offense as a problem zone
The Jaguars are scoring just 20.0 points so far this season, which is 14.8 points less than the Bills. Incidentally, it’s also 3.8 points less than they scored in the preseason, which shows they haven’t yet taken the step forward we’d expect.
But the point standings alone speak so clearly against the Jaguars that we can’t help but see the Bills clearly ahead in our predictions. So for Bills vs Jags, a bet on Buffalo -5 is our number 1 betting option.
Key Players:
- QB: Trevor Lawrence
- RB: Travis Etienne
- WR: Christian Kirk
- TE: Evan Engram
- K: Brandon McManus
Buffalo Bills – Jacksonville Jaguars Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
The head-to-head record between these two teams reads like a true rollercoaster. Not only did the teams regularly take turns winning in the last six games, there were some very bizarre results among them.
The last meeting in 2021, for example, went to the Jaguars 9-6 – a game in which absolutely nothing went right for Josh Allen and his Bills. He will certainly still have that in mind and be looking for revenge – and there is no better place for that than venerable London.
If we take into account the current form of both teams, then this revenge should also succeed and so the betting odds on Buffalo vs. Jacksonville on the Bills are well playable both with a handicap and as a half-time/final result tip.
Buffalo Bills – Jacksonville Jaguars betting tips
Can the Bills hold their form or will it be lost on the flight towards London? Other than jet lag, we can’t think of any reason why things won’t go well again for Buffalo this week, and they should have planned well for and avoided jet lag.
So for Bills vs Jaguars, a tip on Buffalo -5 is our bet of choice. Followed by halftime/final score bets on them and a combo bet with over points. The 48.5 set should be good to go on their own 34.8 points average.
Alternatively, predicting a touchdown on Stefon Diggs in the Bills’ clash against the Jaguars is also worth considering. He found the end zone three times against the Dolphins and should remain Allen’s No. 1 target against Jacksonville.
