The Bills are 2.5 favorites according to most sportsbooks as the team prepares to face the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Monday night.
Here's a list of game predictions from national analysts.
The Bills are still the team to beat in the AFC East, even if the Jets have received most of the preseason hype. Yes, Aaron Rodgers got them that, and he will play well, starting here. But the Jets have to learn how to win. Buffalo has won big games and playoff games. That matters. Josh Allen -- remember him? -- gets the best of Rodgers and the Jets.
Pick: Bills 24, Jets 19
Aaron Rodgers' debut with the Jets is here. Brett Favre won his New York debut in a 20-14 road victory at Miami. Rodgers has a tougher task. Buffalo lost 20-17 at New York last season, and Josh Allen was 34 of 61 (55.7%) with one TD and two interceptions against the Jets last season. Rodgers will be the focus, but the Bills are still the better team. Bold prediction: Buffalo stops a potential game-tying two-point conversion, and the post-game reaction centers on the Jets' and how good they can be with Rodgers.
Pick: Bills 25, Jets 23
The Bills are hoping to maintain their hold on the AFC East but they have a brash new challenger in the Jets, now led by Aaron Rodgers on the field to help support a budding dominant defense under coach Robert Saleh. The Bills are remixing offensively a little and making up for some lost pieces on the other side, too. The Jets will build on already being put together well around the QB and be "Hard Knocks" pumped to come through right away under the lights.
Pick: Jets win 23-20
Schuster: Buffalo -2.5
Aaron Rodgers is about to learn that playing home games outside of Lambeau Field isn't as much fun.
Grimes: New York +2.5
This one is going to be funnnnnn.
Curtis: New York +2.5
Aaron Rodgers, in primetime, against a Bills team I have some questions about? Give me those points.
Darney: Buffalo -2.5
JOSH ALLEN HIVE, ASSEMBLE.
Zeglinski: Buffalo -2.5
Aaron Rodgers is kinda washed up and no one wants to talk about it.
D'Andrea: New York +2.5
No way I'm betting against Aaron Rodgers in his home opener. After that, however …
Storyline to watch: The Jets have gone eight straight games against the Bills without scoring more than 20 points. Enter Aaron Rodgers, their new offensive catalyst. He will be tested by a defense that allowed only 5.7 yards per dropback last season (sixth in the NFL). -- Rich Cimini
Bold prediction: Whichever defense finishes the game with more sacks will win. For both teams in this big AFC East matchup, the offensive line is an area of weakness, and they will be tested in significant ways against two strong defensive fronts. The team that protects its quarterback better will come out with the early advantage in the division race. -- Alaina Getzenberg
Stat to know: Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen is 3-1 with seven passing touchdowns, three rushing touchdowns and four interceptions in season openers as a starter. He will become the first Bills quarterback to start five straight openers since Jim Kelly (11 straight from 1986-96).
Moody's pick: Jets 27, Bills 24
Walder's pick: Jets 20, Bills 17
FPI prediction: BUF, 57.6% (by an average of 2.8 points)
After an inspiring season of HBO's Hard Knocks, the New York Jets will look to enter the Super Bowl discussion with the addition of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, running back Dalvin Cook and the return of a defensive core largely responsible for allowing the fourth-fewest points and yards last season.
With all the excitement around the Jets, they must show why they can topple the Buffalo Bills for the AFC East title.
Buffalo has won the division for three consecutive years, but Moton has some concerns about the way its 2022 season came to an end in the playoffs. ...
"In the Monday Night Football spotlight, Rodgers shines with his new team and immediately raises the standard with a three-touchdown-performance against a Bills defense without Von Miller and a big question mark at linebacker following the loss of Tremaine Edmunds in free agency."
Predictions
Davenport: Bills
Gagnon: Bills
Hanford: Bills
Knox: Bills
Moton: Jets
O'Donnell: Bills
Sobleski: Jets
ATS Consensus: Bills
SU Consensus: Bills
Score Prediction: Bills 26, Jets 21
I cannot wait for this one. When was the last time Jets fans had real expectations going into a season? 2011? All things considered, the summer went well for them. The offensive line is far from perfect, but Mekhi Becton finally won the right tackle job, and Duane Brown should be able to offer competency at left tackle. Aaron Rodgers looks healthy and comfortable on his new team. Wide receiver Garrett Wilson could be a breakout star. And the defense is loaded.
The Bills seem to be weirdly flying under the radar, even though they're 37-12 in the past three regular seasons with Josh Allen as their starter. I still have Buffalo winning the AFC East. They are legit Super Bowl contenders. But for this game, I don't love the matchup for them. Every time the Bills seem to struggle, it's because the pass protection doesn't hold up. I think that Allen could be running for his life with the way this Jets team rushes the passer. The Jets hype has to reach a crescendo before it comes crashing down. I think this game is part of the buildup stage.
Pick: Jets + 2.5
This is a perplexing game. I like the Bills to win the Super Bowl. They were a lot better last season than most people remember. But the Jets should be really good too and they'll be fired up for the first game of the Aaron Rodgers era, especially on Monday night against a team that has taken over the AFC East. This is a fantastic game, maybe the best of Week 1, but it's hard to have a strong betting opinion on it. I'll just sit back and watch. Welcome back, NFL.
Pick: Jets +2.5
The pressure is on Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. With two high-caliber quarterbacks such as Rodgers and Josh Allen, a shootout is always on the table. However, when these division rivals met last season, both games were close, low-scoring affairs.
Both the Jets and Buffalo Bills' defenses have high-end secondaries, and both fronts have at least a moderate edge against the opposing offensive line. There are more paths to a physical, defensive contest than a high-scoring one.
Pick: Jets 23, Bills 20
The N.F.L.'s schedule makers have a knack for chaos, and having Week 1 build up to a Monday night game in which the Rodgers Experiment takes on Josh Allen and the Bills feels almost too good to be true.
The game will be the Jets' debut of Rodgers and running back Dalvin Cook. It will mark the regular-season return to the field of Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who went into cardiac arrest on the field during a "Monday Night Football" game last season. It will be two of the A.F.C.'s best teams, head-to-head and hype-to-hype, trying to gain an early edge in bragging rights in the East division.
If your TV isn't on when the "Monday Night Football" theme music starts playing, you probably don't like football.
Pick: Jets +2.5
Why Dan is taking the Jets: Perhaps I'm a prisoner of the moment, trusting the Jets hype train to stay on the tracks when in reality I'm asleep at the wheel. But I do know the Bills couldn't score more than 20 points in either of their meetings with the Jets last season. I don't know if New York's defense will be as good as it was last season, but the offense is better -- and I can't say the same thing about Buffalo with nearly as much confidence.
