Bills vs Chargers Player Props: Bets for Josh Allen, James Cook, Easton Stick
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images. Pictured: James Cook.
Bills vs Chargers Player Props
In the table below, you'll find each of Michael Crosson's Bills vs Chargers player props for Saturday's primetime clash, which features prop picks for Josh Allen, Easton Stick and James Cook.
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Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NFL Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | |
Bills vs. Chargers
It has been quite the roller coaster for Buffalo so far this season. The Bills posted a record of 5-5 in their first 10 games of the season, and the ship appeared to be sinking quickly entering Week 11 after posting back-to-back losses to Cincinnati and Denver, which resulted in the firing of offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.
The move came with heavy criticism too, as Buffalo’s tandem of issues seemed like it couldn’t be resolved by simply making a change at offensive coordinator. However, interim OC Joe Brady may beg to differ. Prior to the firing of Dorsey, the Bills were constantly plagued by their turnover woes and inability to run the ball. But to the surprise of many, the identity of Buffalo’s offense has quickly changed – and now all of a sudden, the Bills are playing like the powerhouse that everybody envisioned prior to the season.<
The Bills are 3-1 since the transition from Dorsey to Brady at OC, with their wins during that span coming in a pair of blowouts against the Jets and Cowboys as well as a tight win over the Chiefs – and their only loss coming in a 37-34 overtime shootout in Philly.
In last week’s blowout win over Dallas, Bills QB Josh Allen completed just 47% of his 15 pass attempts for 97 yards to go along with one touchdown and zero interceptions. However, prior to his latest outing, Allen had thrown an interception in nine straight games – and he’s thrown an interception in 11 of 14 games overall.
I promised myself that I wouldn’t bet this prop once Allen’s interception streak ended, but I can’t stay away from the even-money price tag.
Pick: Josh Allen Over 0.5 Interception (-105)
Bills vs. Chargers
Chargers QB Justin Herbert is out for the season – and in the last two games with backup QB Easton Stick, LA scored just seven points in a 24-7 loss to Denver, and 21 points in a 63-21 loss to Vegas. So, I wouldn’t bank on the Chargers lighting up the scoreboard in this contest.
LA’s defense is also terrible. The Chargers rank 28th in points allowed and 27th in yards allowed per play, and that’s bad news heading into a matchup against a Buffalo offense that’s put up 31-plus points in much tougher matchups in three of the last four weeks (DAL, PHI, NYJ).
In his first start of the season vs. Denver, Stick completed just 13 of 24 pass attempts for 179 yards despite losing the game by 17 points – and then last week vs. Vegas, he completed 23 of 32 attempts for 257 yards in a 42-point loss. However, his yardage total from last week is heavily inflated by a 79-yard touchdown strike to Josh Palmer as a result of a Raiders’ blown coverage. Take away that huge TD strike, and Stick would have finished with 178 passing yards in last week’s massive blowout.
Tread with caution. Stick is likely staring down the barrel of another pass-heavy script as a 12.5-point underdog vs. Buffalo this week. However, as we’ve seen in his first two starts of the year, he’s likely to stay under this number regardless of point deficit unless the defense decides to give him 79 free yards again.
Bills vs. Chargers
There’s no denying the fact that Josh Allen is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the NFL. However, he isn’t Superman – and just like all talented QBs, he still needs members of his supporting cast to step up and make big plays in order to take some of the weight off his shoulders and operate at maximum efficiency.
The most encouraging part of the Bills’ recent success has been the utilization of RB James Cook over the last handful of games, which has been a huge help in cleaning up some of their frustrating offensive issues. After falling short of the 100-yard rushing mark in nearly half of their first 10 contests (4), the Bills offense has rushed for 118-plus yards in four straight games – and after turning the ball over 13 times in the six games preceding Dorsey’s firing, they’ve turned the ball over just three times during their latest four-game stretch.
Cook has recorded 73-plus rushing yards on 16-plus carries in three of the Bills’ last five games. While in the receiving department, he’s caught two or more passes for 29-plus yards in four straight games. I think we’ll see Cook continue his success as a pass-catcher against a Chargers defense that ranks 27th in yards allowed per pass attempt.
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