NFL Week 3 futures odds: Bills' Josh Allen leads league in passing yards but not betting favorite to win season title

Third-year Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has set career highs in passing yards in back-to-back games to open the 2020 NFL season and leads the NFL with 729 yards through the air. Yet, William Hill oddsmakers apparently aren't all that confident Allen will keep that pace up as he's only the +1200 fifth-favorite to win the passing yardage title on the updated futures entering Week 3. Atlanta's Matt Ryan is atop the list at +320.

In a Week 1 easy win over the New York Jets, Allen threw for 312 yards (his previous career best was 266), the first Buffalo quarterback to even reach 300 since Tyrod Taylor with 329 yards in an overtime loss to Miami on Dec. 24, 2016. Last Sunday in a 31-28 win at Miami, Allen threw for 417 yards and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Those 417 yards passing are more than five teams – Cleveland, Chicago, NY Jets, Washington and Minnesota – have as a team through two games.

No question that Allen has hugely boosted from the offseason trade acquisition of former Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs, a true deep threat. Allen has completed an NFL-high 14 passes that traveled at least 15 yards in the air (in 17 attempts), including two for TDs.

Allen has become the fourth quarterback in league history with at least 700 passing yards, six touchdown passes and zero interceptions through his team's first two games of a season. With at least 300 more yards and two more TDs with zero picks Sunday against the visiting and fellow unbeaten Los Angeles Rams, Allen would become only the third player ever with at least 300 passing yards, two TD passes and zero INTs in each of his team's first three games of a season.

The others were Patrick Mahomes last year and Peyton Manning in 2013. Mahomes' Chiefs won the Super Bowl and Manning's Broncos lost in it. Buffalo is a +1800 longer shot to win Super Bowl 55.

No Bills quarterback has won the passing yardage title since Joe Ferguson in 1977. Shockingly, Hall of Famer Jim Kelly never did. William Hill isn't giving Allen a ton of love on the MVP odds yet, either, listing him as the +2200 seventh-favorite. Seattle's Russell Wilson is atop the list at +320.

As for Ryan, he has been spectacular so far as well in throwing for 723 yards on a 67.6 competition percentage with six passing touchdowns and only pick. Ryan is looking to become the first Falcons QB to lead the NFL in passing yards. His career high of 4,944 yards came in his 2016 NFL MVP season. Drew Brees won it that year with 5,208 yards.

Unfortunately for Ryan, his team is 0-2 – first time under Ryan -- because the Atlanta defense is allowing a league-worst (by far) 39.0 points per game. The Falcons are actually 3.5-point home favorites Sunday against the unbeaten Chicago Bears.

William Hill favorites to win passing title

• Matt Ryan +320
• Dak Prescott +500
• Patrick Mahomes +750
• Josh Allen +1200
• Aaron Rodgers +1200

William Hill favorites to win MVP

• Russell Wilson +320
• Patrick Mahomes +450
• Lamar Jackson +500
• Aaron Rodgers +900
• Kyler Murray +1200

Who wins every NFL game this week? And which teams cover more than 50 percent of the time? Get picks here from the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times and ranked in the Top 10 on NFLPickWatch three of the past four years on straight-up NFL picks.