NFL betting: After great opener, odds on Bills Super Bowl and Josh Allen MVP shift
We've seen one of 272 NFL regular-season games, but that was enough for a fairly significant shift in the odds for Super Bowl and MVP.
When the Buffalo Bills kicked off with the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night, they were +600 to win the Super Bowl. Josh Allen was +700 to win NFL MVP. If you liked either of those bets, hopefully you got them before Week 1 started.
The Bills dominated the Rams in the opener. Josh Allen looked very good, with three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in the 31-10 win.
It was clear the Bills are an elite team. And the odds at BetMGM moved.
Bills, Josh Allen odds shift
The Bills moved from +600 to +500 to win the Super Bowl on Friday morning. Allen's MVP odds shifted even more. Allen went from +700 to +450. Nobody else is shorter than +800 for MVP. That's a big gap before 30 of the 32 NFL teams have even played a game.
It was easy to get excited about the Bills before the season started, and Thursday night offered up a lot of confirmation bias. The Bills turned the ball over four times in a road game at the reigning Super Bowl champs and still won by 21 points. The Bills were efficient on offense, with top receivers Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis and Isaiah McKenzie all catching touchdown passes. The defense was really good, with its deep defensive line getting a ton of pressure on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. The Bills barely blitzed and still had seven sacks.
Most bettors were on the Bills in the opener, causing the line to shift from Rams -1 when it opened months ago to Bills -2.5 by kickoff. It won't be the last time bettors load up on the Bills this season.
Allen for MVP?
Allen could go wire-to-wire as the MVP favorite. He has the talent for that, the team around him and now has a high-profile big game in his back pocket. He was fantastic against the Rams.
Allen threw for 297 yards and rushed for 56 more. There should be some question over whether he can keep up his rushing pace, especially with some of the big hits he was a part of on Thursday night, but he's one of the NFL's most dangerous players. If the Bills have a huge season and Allen stays healthy, it's hard to imagine he won't be on a very short list for MVP.
It should be an exciting season in Buffalo. Just because they're Super Bowl favorites doesn't mean they'll win it all (the recent history of preseason Super Bowl favorites winning the title isn't great). But through one game they look like the class of the NFL. The odds are probably going to keep dropping from here.
