Bills Open as Super Bowl Favorites for First Time Since 1992

Bills Open as Super Bowl Favorites for First Time Since 1992 article feature image
Credit:

Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images. Pictured: Josh Allen.

Let's take you back to Sept. 6, 1992…

  • The top song was Boyz II Men's "End Of The Road"
  • The top movie was "Honeymoon in Vegas"
  • Brett Favre played his first game for the Packers.
  • The average price of gas was $1.12 per gallon.
  • The live programming that night on network TV: "America's Funniest Home Videos", "Murder, She Wrote" and "In Living Color".

Almost exactly 30 years to the day, the Buffalo Bills enter the regular season as the favorites to win the Super Bowl once again.

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Of course it's important to remember back in 1992, the Buffalo Bills were coming off of back-to-back Super Bowl appearances. This season, Buffalo is coming off a heartbreaking loss in the Divisional Round of the AFC playoffs against the Chiefs.

Overall, the Bills are one of 13 teams to be favored to win the Super Bowl entering the regular season in the Wild Card era (since 1990).

Of the 13 teams to be listed as the betting favorite during that span and the 32 seasons in the record books since 1990, only five of those teams won the Super Bowl:

When it comes to the Bills win total this year, the circumstances are the same. Buffalo went 29 years between having a double-digit win total in the preseason (1992-2021). With a win total of 11.5 in 2022, it's their first season of consecutive double-digit win totals since 1991.

When it comes to Buffalo's opener, expectations are no different.

The Bills are currently listed as a 2.5-point favorite on the road, as of Tuesday night, against the defending-Super Bowl-champion Rams on Thursday Night Football. Buffalo is just the sixth team to be favored against a defending Super Bowl champion in Week 1 since 2000.

Looking at the betting markets, they've taken the bait. A whopping 69% of bets and 87% of the handle are on the Bills.

Since Matthew Stafford arrived in Los Angeles before last season, this looks set to be just the second time the the Rams are listed as home underdogs. The other time? Week 3 last year against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, a game that ended as a 34-24 Rams win.

About the Author
Evan is a Content Producer for The Action Network. Born and raised in New York City, he solely roots for teams who cover. His fears: bullpens, quicksand and stoppage time.

Follow Evan Abrams @EvanHAbrams on Twitter/X.

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