NFL sports betting nears its last call Sunday with the AFC Conference Championship as the Buffalo Bills travel to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs. The BetUS Bills vs Chiefs injury report details who’s hurt.
| Game: Buffalo Bills (15-3) vs Kansas City Chiefs (15-2) Location: Arrowhead Stadium Time: 6:40 p.m. ET Television: CBS |
The sportsbook opened the Kansas City Chiefs as 2½-point favorites but quickly moved to three. Bets have been even but first came in favor of the Bills taking the line back down to 2½ briefly, before settling at three with juice on the Chiefs. The total opened at 55½ before crashing down to 53½ shortly thereafter. It’s since notched back up to 54.
Bills vs Chiefs Injury Report Betting Lines
| Team | Point Spread | Moneyline | Over/Under | Team Total |
| Bills | +3 -105 | +130 | 54 | 24½ |
| Chiefs | -3 -115 | -150 | 54 | 28½ |
Buffalo Bills
Heading into last week’s win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Bills listed their two key wide receivers on the injury report. This week, only the seemingly less injured one returns.
Cole Beasley is free and clear of the list, but Stefon Diggs returns with the oblique injury that also kept him limited during last week’s practice. He’s still expected to play and will likely upgrade as the week progresses.
Buffalo did add a few new names to the injury report over last week. DT Vernon Butler (quadriceps) and WR Gabriel Davis (ankle) both missed Wednesday’s practice. Their names are worth keeping an eye on in the next practice update to see if their availability is in jeopardy.
Also new to the report this week, DE Quinton Jefferson (ankle) was limited on Wednesday. As a result, he’s listed as questionable.
Backup DE Darryl Johnson’s knee sidelined him last week, but he’s now back to a full practice on Wednesday and free of an injury designation.
Previously lost to injured reserve RB Zack Moss’ surgery was a success and he’s looking forward to next season. And the Bills waived LB Del’Shawn Phillips from the injured reserve, just to remind you this can be a vicious game and someone who might have aspired to play in a Conference Championship game is no longer on the team.
Kansas City Chiefs
It’s all about Patrick Mahomes’ noggin. Sort of.
As it turns out, Mahomes may not have suffered a concussion at all in last Sunday’s win over the Cleveland Browns. Instead, he may have suffered from a tweaked stem nerve, like an internal stinger. Regardless, he’s in the concussion protocol based largely on an examination question he answered incorrectly during his assessment.
Adding to the fun of trying to project Mahomes’ availability, the Chiefs reported he made “some big steps” earlier in the week with regard to clearing the protocol. (He apparently had no symptoms.) But the hype went a little far when the Chiefs first listed him as having a full practice on Wednesday, the opening day of practice. They corrected that description shortly after, either a mistake or a reflection of their practice being an overall limited walkthrough. That said, he was described as taking all the snaps, presumably with the first team.
Mahomes will still need to be cleared by an independent neurologist, but it’s expected his practice participation will upgrade as the week progresses. It’s also expected his condition will dominate NFL news right up until kickoff. (We never even mentioned his turf toe, which is apparently not a problem.)
Kansas City also listed a handful of other non-Patrick Mahomes players on their NFL injury list. Notably, RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire who returns to limited practice still tending to the ankle injury that kept him sidelined last week. The same goes for WR Sammy Watkins, though his availability is a bit hazier where he hasn’t played since Week 16.
Defense
On defense, two cornerbacks are listed. Bashaud Breeland finds himself on the concussion protocol and was limited in Wednesday’s practice. That puts some extra pressure on Rashad Fenton to rehab the foot injury that kept him sidelined last week.
Less likely to work back to return, backup MLB Willie Gay (ankle) missed Wednesday’s practice. He was scratched last week for an injury sustained in the season finale.
Finally, the Chiefs lost backup TE Deon Yelder to the injured reserve for a groin injury that will end his season.
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