The second-seeded Bills opened their NFL playoff schedule with a 31-7 rout of the Denver Broncos on Wild Card Weekend, but suffered stunning losses as betting favourites in their past two NFL Divisional Round appearances on home turf. The Ravens look to return to the AFC Championship game for a second straight year after rolling to a dominating 28-14 Wild Card win over Pittsburgh and have now won and covered in five straight contests.

The Ravens’ recent dominance has lifted them to slim 1-point road favourites on Sunday’s NFL Divisional Round odds. The Bills sport +100 NFL moneyline odds and the total is set at 51.5.

NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis

Sunday evening’s matchup marks just the second all-time NFL playoff meeting between these AFC rivals. The Bills claimed a 17-3 home victory when they last met in the AFC Divisional Round four years ago but suffered a crushing 35-10 defeat in Baltimore in Week 4 of the current campaign and have fallen to defeat in four of six overall meetings since 2013. The Ravens have emerged found a new gear on both sides of the ball since overcoming a middling 3-3 midseason run. Baltimore has surrendered just 11.4 points per game during their current 5-0 run and have regularly run up the score in those wins while scoring an average of 32 points per game. The Bills ranked second in the NFL this season, trailing only Detroit with 30.9 points scored per game while compiling a 13-4 record that earned them the AFC East crown and the No. 2 seed in the AFC. The Bills attack has scored 35 or more points four times in their past seven outings, but this team has historically struggled to generate offence when facing the Ravens, averaging just 14.5 points during their current 2-4 head-to-head run.

Baltimore Ravens

Lamar Jackson further boosted his NFL MVP hopes with another stellar outing on Wild Card Weekend. Now trailing only Patrick Mahomes as a +550 bet on the NFL MVP odds, Jackson tossed for 175 yards and two touchdowns while providing an additional spark with 81 rushing yards in the Ravens’ win over the Steelers last weekend. Jackson ranked second in the NFL with 41 scoring passes this seasons and has connected for multiple TDs in each of his past seven games. Derrick Henry has also played a pivotal role in the Ravens’ late-season surge, running for five total touchdowns over the past three games and averaging over 158 rushing yards over the past four games. While Jackson has been missing his favourite target Zay Flowers, who missed last week’s game with a knee injury and is listed as doubtful for Sunday, the Ravens otherwise enjoy good health, with receiver Deonte Harty being the only other player to join Flowers on the injury report.

Buffalo Bills

The Bills showed immense benefit from resting their starters in Week 18 in last weekend’s crushing victory over the Broncos. After spotting Denver an opening-drive score, the Bills slammed the door, scoring 31 unanswered points while limiting the Broncos to just 224 total yards of offence and a meagre 13 first downs. The Bills now sport a perfect 9-0 record at home this season, which they hope to now leverage in their bid to snap their Divisional Round swoon. Josh Allen completed 76.9 per cent of his passes versus Denver, his highest completion rate since Week 1, finding the end zone twice and has tossed 19 of his 30 TDs on the season at home. While the Bills published a lengthy injury report this week, just two players were limited at practice including rusher Ray Davis, who reportedly entered the weekend in concussion protocol.

NFL Prediction: Who Will Win Ravens vs. Bills?