Trust shows signs of erosion at a dangerous time for the battered Buffalo Bills as the team heads west to play Indianapolis Colts to 1 p.m. Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
THE Invoices have racked up four straight wins since losing to the Texans 23-20 on October 6. Despite this roll, Buffalo went from being a 6-point favorite last week to just a 4-point favorite against the 4-5 Colts, according to PariMGM. The money line is Invoices -210 (bet $210 to win $100) and Colts +170 (bet $100 to win $170). The over-under is 46 points.
Injuries are mounting for Buffalo, with rookie receiver Keon Coleman and defensive end Dawuane Smoot suffering wrist injuries last Sunday. The severity of Coleman’s injury was not disclosed, but the team placed Smoot on injured reserve Monday.
Smoot’s injury also doesn’t help the Bills defense which has struggled to consistently stop running backs on running plays and rush the quarterback on passing plays.
So far, Most NFL analysts predict a Bills win, according to our weekly expert roundup. But confidence in a Bills victory, as reflected in ESPN and Dimers’ predictions, has dropped to the same levels as before the Seahawks game.
Regardless of Sunday’s outcome, that drop in confidence will almost certainly continue in next week’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the defending Super Bowl champions and the team the Bills must beat to be considered as legitimate threats.
Sal Maiorana writes: “For the second week in a row, the Bills will face a desperate team. They survived at home against division rival Miami, and now they hit the road to face the 4-5 Colts in the AFC. wild card mix, but currently sits outside the top seven.
“Despite their mediocre record, the Colts are not an easy out. Each of their nine games has been decided by eight points or less, so they’re still in it until the end. The Bills have only played four one-score games, but they’ve won three, including Sunday’s thriller against Miami.
“Ultimately, the Bills have the better team with the better quarterback, and if Allen plays cleanly, Buffalo — a team that has topped 30 points six times this year — will do enough to pull out a victory, even if it doesn’t make it 30 because the Colts’ offense ranks 22nd at 20.9 points per game.
Jeremy Cluff writes: “You can expect the Colts to be in every game they play, since all nine of their games have been decided by eight points or less this season. We just don’t expect that they are capable of beating Josh Allen and the Bills.
The website states: “After extensive simulations, our model gives the Bills a 63% win probability, while the Colts have a 37% win probability.”
ESPN Analytics gives the Bills a 65.1% chance of winning.
This article originally appeared on the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills vs Colts prediction, NFL odds week 10. What the experts are saying
