The Bills are 9.0 point favorites according to most sportsbooks for Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Highmark Stadium.
Here's a list of game predictions from national analysts.
The Bills are playing on a short week, but they will be fuming after blowing the Monday game to the Jets. Look for Josh Allen to bounce back in a big way at home against the Raiders. He will throw for 340 yards and three touchdowns to quiet his critics as the Bills get back on track.
Pick: Bills 33, Raiders 23
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Josh Allen's greatest gift is his biggest curse. He treats every play like it's the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. That leads to the "How'd he do that?" plays. It also leads to the "What's he thinking?" plays. The latter was the story in Monday night's horrendous loss to the Jets in which Buffalo just gave the game away.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Garoppolo and the Raiders put together two impressive fourth-quarter drives in Denver for a Week 1 victory. First, they went 75 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Then, they milked the final 5:08 off the clock to secure the win. Was that performance enough to make me a believer? Of course not. I think the Bills will bounce back here in a big way.
The pick: Bills (-9.5)
No one is a bigger favorite than the Bills despite a crushing loss to the Zach Wilson-led Jets. But Buffalo is still a heavyweight in the AFC, and the model remains low on the Raiders despite a close win against the Broncos on the road. The game being in Buffalo only makes this more lopsided in the Bills' favor.
Pick: Bills (-9) to beat Raiders
Win probability: *77.8%, Bills
Storyline to watch: After a four-turnover day for quarterback Josh Allen, the Bills' home opener against the Raiders is an opportunity to bounce back. Buffalo has scored 20-plus points in 11 straight home games, while the Raiders are looking to start 2-0 via two road wins for the first time since 1982. -- Alaina Getzenberg
Stat to know: The Raiders have had 14 games decided by one score (eight points or less) since the start of last season, tied with the Broncos for the most over that span. Their 5-9 record in one-score games is the sixth worst in the NFL since the start of last season.
Betting nugget: The Bills are 0-4 ATS in their past four games on short rest.
Moody's pick: Bills 28, Raiders 17
Walder's pick: Bills 35, Raiders 27
FPI prediction: BUF, 71.4% (by an average of 8.0 points)
Josh Allen isn't going to turn it over four times every week. The Raiders got a nice win last week, but this is a tough spot on the road for a second straight week, playing an early game in the Eastern time zone.
Pick: Bills (-9.5) over Raiders
... "Even though the Raiders beat the Broncos 17-16 in Week 1, they allowed Russell Wilson to stand in the pocket for an average of 2.7 seconds per dropback before he threw the ball or felt pressure, which tied for the fifth-longest time across the league.
"Allen put the Bills' loss to the Jets squarely on his shoulders. He'll turn down more of those hero-ball throws downfield for short passes and throwaways on Sunday, which will limit the Raiders' opportunities to capitalize off turnovers.
"The Bills rebound from a divisional loss with a 10-point victory at home."
Predictions
Davenport: Raiders
Gagnon: Raiders
Hanford: Bills
Knox: Bills
Moton: Bills
O'Donnell: Bills
Sobleski: Raiders
ATS Consensus: Bills -8.5
SU Consensus: Bills
Score Prediction: Bills 31, Raiders 21
Raiders at Bills (-8.5)
The Bills are quickly in must-win mode after blowing a sure thing on Monday night. I think the Jenga tower will stay upright for at least another week. Simms is rolling the dice on an upset. If Simms is right, things could quickly get interesting in Buffalo.
Florio: Bills, 31-20.
Simms: Raiders, 24-20.
Four careless turnovers from Josh Allen doomed the Bills (0-1) against the Jets' formidable defense. He can rebound against the Raiders (1-0), who face uncertainty over the playing status of two key contributors. Defensive lineman Chandler Jones was away from the team last week amid a conflict with staff that trickled out in a since-deleted social media rant, and it is unclear if he will play this week. The team's No. 2 receiver, Jakobi Meyers, entered the concussion protocol after he was leveled on the game-ending drive against the Broncos and could be out this Sunday. If Allen is more precise and varies his downfield looks to Stefon Diggs, the Bills could run away with this one.
Pick: Bills -9.5
Jimmy Garoppolo and Jakobi Meyers finally helped "Patriot-ify" the Raiders' offense for Josh McDaniels, but they didn't exactly light it up in Denver. Maxx Crosby and the defense overachieved against a still sputtering Russell Wilson. They won't get the same dual threat and weaponry breaks from Josh Allen on the road.
Pick: Bills win 31-17 and cover the spread.
The Buffalo Bills lost to Zach Wilson's New York Jets in front of a national audience Monday night. The Bills now host a Las Vegas Raiders team that beat the Broncos in Denver by a single point in Week 1. Buffalo has a better roster than Las Vegas, and Josh Allen's offense could conceivably shred the Raiders' secondary. The Bills are another contender in a classic correction spot.
Prediction: Bills 27, Raiders 17
Why Brooke is taking the Bills: Another four-turnover outing that led to a prime-time defeat had Josh Allen again sulking over his performance. The Jets' D played incredibly well, but Allen's turnover history is worrisome, with the Bills quarterback registering the most giveaways (84) in the NFL since being drafted in 2018. This week's opponent presents an opportunity to bounce back, with the Raiders having the fewest takeaways (28) league-wide since 2021. The Josh McDaniels-Jimmy Garoppolo marriage must build off its decent performance from last week -- getting Davante Adams more involved is a good place to start, especially if Jakobi Meyers remains in concussion protocol -- and the Raiders must get more out of Josh Jacobs if they want to go toe to toe with a Bills offense looking to get right.
