By Justin DiLoro / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills travel to Baltimore to battle the Ravens during the opening weekend of the NFL season. Much in the same realm as last year, Buffalo opens as an underdog for the matchup.
The Bills are listed as a seven-point underdog in the matchup, according to Odds Shark. Neither offense boasts a plethora of breakout players, so it makes sense that the over/under total of is a defensive-minded score of 40.5. In fact, this is the lowest total line highlighted of any game in Week 1, via Vegas Insider.
It’s obviously a new year, but we can still garner some data from last year’s production. Buffalo averaged 18.9 points on offense in 2017 while allowing an average of 22.4 points on defense. Baltimore, for their part, averaged 24.7 points per game last year while allowing 18.9 points on defense.
Nathan Peterman takes the helm of the Bills offense for the first time since Buffalo’s Wild Card game, one in which the quarterback was thrust into duty late in the game due to an injury to Tyrod Taylor. His struggles during his rookie season as well-documented. However, a strong preseason from the second-year pro has earned him the vote of confidence from head coach Sean McDermott.
Baltimore’s defense features several players who could hinder the progress of the Bills offense. Terrell Suggs, entering his 16th year in the league, led the Ravens last year with 11 sacks, while “Sam” linebacker Matt Judon added eight sacks on the season. In addition to Suggs, linebacker C.J. Mosley and safety Eric Weddle were named to the Pro Bowl. Baltimore was number-one in turnover differential last year as well, ending the season with a plus-17 total.
The Ravens wide receiver corps underwent a massive overhaul this offseason. If the team can get more production out of the unit, they may rise from their ninth-place ranking last year in points per game.
Nevertheless, both teams seem to lean on their defenses, which means a low-scoring affair could be on the horizon.