Bills have caught short-handed Patriots as William Hill betting favorites for AFC East Division title
There's a deadlock at William Hill sportsbook to win the AFC East title this season.
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Entering this week, the New England Patriots were +115 favorites on the William Hill moneyline odds to win their 12th straight AFC East Division title – the 11 in a row already is an NFL record – despite losing Tom Brady in free agency to the Tampa Bay Bucs. The Buffalo Bills were +140 to win the division for the first time since 1995. However, then the Patriots lost three starters and six players overall to opt-outs of the 2020 NFL season and now both the Pats and Bills are +125.
The AFC East is the only division in the league with co-favorites, although the NFC North is close with Green Bay at +140 and Minnesota +150.
This week, the Patriots lost three starters in linebacker Dont'a Hightower, safety Patrick Chung and right tackle Marcus Cannon as well as three reserves in running back Brandon Bolden, fullback Danny Vitale and reserve offensive lineman Najee Toran to opt-outs.
There could be more by the opt-outs deadline, which currently is set for Aug. 5 but has been getting pushed back because the revised collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFLPA hasn't been signed. The opt-out deadline will be seven days after the agreement is signed.
If you read social media, some anti-Patriots fans are accusing Bill Belichick of trying to tank this season so the Patriots could potentially be in position to draft Trevor Lawrence next year. Here was a tweet from ESPN's Adam Schefter about a conversation he had with an NFL executive after all the opt-outs:
Him: "You know Bill is masterminding all of this somehow."
Me: "For what reason?"
Him: "I don't know! That's why he is who he is!"
Buffalo has lost one player to an opt-out thus far as well in defensive tackle Star Lotulelei. He signed a five-year, $50 million deal with the Bills in 2018 and has started every game since. Lotulelei hasn't put up big numbers as his primary job is to simply plug holes, and he comes off the field on passing downs.
New England visits Buffalo on Nov. 1 and hosts the Bills in Week 16 on Monday night. The Patriots have not been underdogs in this series since Sept. 20, 2015, in Buffalo when New England won 40-32 behind 466 yards passing and three TDs from Brady – who utterly owned Buffalo in his career. The Bills do currently project as short favorites on the NFL odds for the 2020 home matchup.
The SportsLine Projection Model forecasts the Pats to win 9.0 games and with a 50.2 percent chance of the AFC East title and the Bills with 8.8 wins and a 40.4 percent shot.
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