Wild Card weekend gets underway on Saturday, January 9, 2021, when the Indianapolis Colts (11-5) visit the Buffalo Bills (13-3). Buffalo won the AFC East, are the second seed in the conference, and are the hottest team in the NFL right now. Indianapolis snuck into the seventh seed on the last day thanks to a win over Jacksonville and Buffalo beating Miami. This game will air live on CBS at 1:05 p.m. EST.
Jonathan Taylor leads Indy with 1,169 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, and T.Y. Hilton has a team high 56 receptions for 762 yards and five touchdowns. Indianapolis is back in the playoffs after missing out last season and will look to get back to their first conference championship game since the 2014 season.
Devin Singletary leads Buffalo with 687 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and Stefon Diggs has a team high 127 receptions for 1,535 yards, and eight touchdowns. Buffalo is in the playoffs for the third time in the past four seasons and are looking for their first playoff win since 1995.
Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills (-7.5): O/U 52.0 (-108/-113)
Last time out, Indianapolis hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars and came away with a 28-14 win. It wasn’t comfortable, but Indianapolis needed a win, and some help, to get into the playoffs and that is exactly what happened. Philip Rivers went 17/27 for 164 yards, one touchdown, and one interception on the night. Jonathan Taylor went crazy in this game as he rushed the ball 30 times for 253 yards, an 8.4 average, and two touchdowns. Defensively, the Colts allowed 283 total yards and recovered one Jacksonville fumble. Indianapolis needed to win their game and needed the Miami Dolphins to lose and that is what happened, so the Colts have Buffalo to thank for the postseason.
Buffalo hosted those Miami Dolphins and completely bullied them, winning 56-26. Miami led 3-0 after the first quarter, but Buffalo won the second quarter 28-3 to start pulling away. Buffalo continued their good play in the second half as they put up 28 points with mostly backups in. Josh Allen and Matt Barkley combined to go 24/38 for 377 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions in this one. Gabriel Davis was the Bills leading receiver with two receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, the Bills allowed 454 total yards, forced four Dolphins turnovers – three interceptions and one fumble, and returned one of those interceptions for a touchdown. Isaiah McKenzie also made an impact on special teams as he returned a punt 84-yards to the house.
Series History: Buffalo has won two of the last three meetings and leads the all-time series 37-32-1.
Game Prediction: Give me Buffalo -7.5 on Saturday.
2020-2021 NFL Season Picks Results: 62-46-2
