Bills vs Panthers Odds, Predictions: NFL Preseason Betting Picks

Don't look now, but the Buffalo Bills have won 10 straight preseason games.

Since taking down the Bears in their 2018 preseason finale, a game that saw Buffalo score an amazing 25 fourth-quarter points en route to a one-point win, the Bills have been August-football juggernauts.

That makes it odd to see them as a six-point underdog tonight in Carolina.

Why is that the case? Well, Josh Allen isn't going to play and Baker Mayfield is. As backup quarterbacks go, though, Case Keenum is among the better ones and will start for Buffalo.

If this game was taking place in Week 1, the line would likely be close to a straight swap. The Bills are, in fact, the favorites to win the Super Bowl.

Two of our writers scoured the odds board, and they came up with the same bet as their favorite for Friday night in the NFL preseason. Check out which side Brandon Anderson and Sam Farley are on below.

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Bills ML +220

Brandon Anderson: The Buffalo Bills look like the best team in football.

The Bills have the best roster in the NFL. Allen is the MVP favorite, but it's not just him. The team has a slew of receivers and great depth on the offensive line, and they've added RB talent too. The defense led the league in both DVOA and points allowed last year, and what it lacks for stars it makes up in depth.

Really, the story of this roster is that it's much more about depth and floor-raising talent than it is superstars. That matters in the preseason because even when the stars and starters don't play much or at all, the depth pieces are still very talented and good enough to get the job done — especially when the coaching and scheme set them up for success.

That formula has led to a lot of Buffalo winning in the preseason, even when it's not expected. The Bills are actually 9-3 straight-up as preseason underdogs under McDermott — and they've won nine times in a row as 'dogs!

History tells us it's profitable to play the underdog Bills in the preseason. At 9-3 to the moneyline, we're getting 71.5% return on investment (ROI). A $100 bettor blindly backing McDermott as a dog would be up $857 over the past half a decade, per BetLabs.

Yes, we expect Carolina to play more of its starters as it tries to find a rhythm. But are you really afraid of the Panthers starters? Or of their QB room or coaching staff, or their young, reworked offensive line? I'm not.

I love the price we're getting on a winning trend, and I'll back the Bills ML as underdogs and hope McDermott's streak hits 10.

Bills ML +220

Sam Farley: The main reason that the Bills are such big underdogs is that we won’t see Allen under center. We know that the Panthers have said we will see their starters, but I really don’t believe Rhule will play them for more than a series. It just isn’t worth it.

When it’s backups against backups there’ll only be one winner and that’s the Bills. We’ve seen Keenum and Matt Barkley lead this offense to 69 points through two games, and they can rack up the points against a poor Panthers second-string defense

McDermott is a winner, even in preseason with a 12-5 record. Not only that, but he’s been unbeaten in preseason since 2018. He is a smart operator and will put Rhule’s Panthers to the sword.