The Buffalo Bills have an easier path to the AFC title and a Super Bowl appearance following the recent Russell Wilson trade to the Denver Broncos, per oddsmakers. And that means the path got just a bit more difficult for the Kansas City Chiefs, as the AFC West is now the most difficult division in the entire NFL.
The Broncos picked up Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks in a recent blockbuster trade that altered the power structure of the AFC from the Broncos as an obvious choice at the bottom to a real contender for the crown.
While the road to AFC West supremacy has run through Kansas City for the last six seasons, the Broncos are a much more formidable opponent with the upgrade from Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater to Wilson and the odds show it.
How the Russell Wilson trade altered Super Bowl odds.
According to the oddsmakers at Caesar’s, the Wilson trade shifted things for several teams. Given that Wison is now out of the NFC, which was already hurting for franchise quarterbacks, the Green Bay Packers moved from 15-1 to 10-1 with Aaron Rodgers deciding to return and the NFC lightening up a bit in competition.
As for the AFC, the Broncos’ odds changed to 12-1 odds from 22-1 following the trade which makes sense. However, the Bills were also among the teams to be rewarded with better Super Bowl odds in the process because the schedule looks that much tougher for anyone coming out of the West—including the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers. The Bills are now +750 to the Chiefs at +850 heading into free agency.
It’s quite possible with the NFL now at 7 playoff spots in each conference that the AFC West ends up sending three of four competitors to the postseason. It’s also possible that if Josh McDaniels can help the Raiders turn things around, the AFC West could take up all four spots themselves, although each team will have to run through the vast majority of their non-divisional opponents to make that happen.