The Bills travel to Sin City for the first time ever to take on the 2-1 Raiders. After nearly succumbing to a 29-point comeback by the Rams, the Bills pulled out a victory and remain undefeated. The two main questions for Buffalo are, will Josh Allen continue his torrid start and will we see improvement from the defense? The last time the Bills started the season 4-0 was 2008. A victory on Sunday will solidify that change is no longer coming. It is now here.
What They’re up Against
Wins over the Panthers and Saints, had the Raiders riding high before New England handed them a loss last week. Many consider this a make or break year for quarterback Derek Carr. So far, he’s making it. With six touchdown passes and zero interceptions, he seems to be comfortable with head coach Jon Gruden’s offense in year three. His 784 passing yards don’t impress much but his 74 percent completion percentage should. He’s running through his progressions and taking whatever he can to move the chains without making mistakes. His offensive line is keeping him upright as well. Carr has been sacked just five times in the first three games. Just two seasons ago he was taking sacks at a rate of over three per game. Out of Alabama, second year running back Josh Jacobs is averaging over 20 carries per game. He already has three rushing scores and at his current yards per game pace would surpass the 1150 he ran for his rookie year. The soft spot so far looks to be their defense, especially against the run. They sit at 28th in the NFL, giving up almost 164 yards per contest. Because of this, not surprisingly, it equates to letting their opponents score 30 points per game.
Defense: Panic Time or Fixable
The Bills have their own issues on the defensive side of the ball. The pressure of getting to the quarterback is not as effective as it was last year. They have surrendered almost 26 points per game ranking them in the middle of the pack. Pro Bowl corner Tre’Davious White and one of the best safety tandems in the NFL in Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer had the Bills 4th in passing yards per game just last year. So far this season they are 28th in that category. Not much has changed in regards to personnel and coaching from the year prior. This gives a sense that the lack of reps during the shortened offseason may be a contributing factor and can be rectified in short time. We shall see if that turnaround starts on Sunday as the Raiders have put up over 29 points per game thus far.
Change it up or Continue to Ride the Allen Train
Up until now the Bills have given opponents a steady dose of Josh Allen. He’s off to a blistering start and was just named the AFC offensive player of the month. He has seemed to have taken that figurative step forward in year three. Buffalo has showcased that they are no longer a run heavy, grind it out club but have a serious air assault game to contend with. Because of the gains gotten on the ground this season against the Raiders, an obvious assumption is that Buffalo feeds Devin Singletary more this contest. He’s had less than 11 carries per game so far but has 4.9 yards per carry in that limited workload. Another assumption is scripting more plays where Josh Allen uses his legs. After running the ball 14 times in the season opener against the Jets, he has run just four times in each of the last two outings. Logic dictates sticking with what works. Logic also dictates a two headed monster offense is more difficult to stop than a single headed one.
Predictions
It will be interesting to see if the offense lets Singletary and Allen off the porch to run free or if they stick with what’s been working remarkably well with Allen slinging the ball. With both teams giving up points you may consider going with the over, currently set at 52 and a half. This should be a well-played and fun game to watch. Fans are hoping another last second comeback isn’t needed but will gladly have the Bills stay undefeated any way they can.
My spotlight player prediction: The Bills take advantage of the porous Vegas run defense. I spotlight four players this game. Singletary, TJ Yeldon (playing for injured Zack Moss), Allen and jet sweep specialist Isaiah McKenzie combine for over 200 rushing yards.
My final score prediction: The Buffalo defense improves this game with more movement and hiding packages from Carr. Meanwhile, the offense gains more respect, shakes off the prefix “unexpected” and gets to 4-0 for the first time in a dozen years.
