The Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers feature wildly different offensive attacks. One is in the top ten in terms of points scored, while the other is in the bottom five. So when the two teams meet on Monday during the NFL Wild Card weekend, it’s hard to know what to expect from the score, and it’s even harder to predict when you factor in the weather.
NFL Odds: Over/Under on BUF/PIT game has gone up and down
Movement over/under Steelers-Bills…
+ Open: 43+ Currently: 34.5@ActionLabs_HQ has tracked opening and closing totals for 20 years. Of the 224 NFL playoff games in that span, this is the biggest O/U move we’ve ever seen ➡️ https://t. co/ADERAerzgm pic.twitter.com/n9adM5gXf1
– Evan Abrams (@EvanHAbrams) January 12, 2024
The over/under betting line for the wild card game between the Bills and Steelers has been going up and down all week. Given the state of the two offenses, the number was listed at 42.5 when the lines were opened at the end of Week 18 (with Buffalo listed as a 9.5-point favorite).
But the forecast weather conditions caused that number to drop considerably. The National Weather Service had announced blizzard-like conditions during the time the game was scheduled to be played Sunday afternoon, including heavy snowfall and strong winds that were forecast to reach between 55 and 60 miles per hour. hour.
Reports of inclement conditions caused a serious drop in over/under designation. Seemingly overnight, the number dropped from the original 42.5 to where it was Friday afternoon at 33.5. The new number would be the lowest over/under for a playoff game since 2009.
Line back up after game moves to Monday
The Steelers-Bills total is now down to 33.5…
That would be the lowest playoff O/U since Ravens-Titans (33.5) in 2009, a game started by Kerry Collins and Joe Flacco 15 years ago this week. https://t.co/IQJVKSgdEz pic.twitter.com/PH8QqVW0OJ
– Evan Abrams (@EvanHAbrams) January 13, 2024
But due to a decision made by Buffalo’s mayor, the NFL has been forced to delay the game a full 24 hours, and it will now be played Monday afternoon under much less adverse conditions. And because of the change in weather and the change in how much the game will be affected by Mother Nature, the over/under number has skyrocketed again.
As of Saturday night, the number had risen to 37.5, lower than the original mark but much higher than it would have been if they had played the contest in the worst of the elements.
It won’t be the only game during NFL Wild Card weekend where weather is a factor. The Chiefs and Dolphins will meet in a game that will feature sub-zero temperatures and a potential wind chill of -30 degrees, but no changes have been made to that particular contest, and the teams will play Saturday night as originally. programmed.
