Rams’ head coach Scott Linehan could have his job on the line in this football game which is bad news for him against a surging 3-0 Buffalo Bills football team.  The Bills will likely come out running the football against a Rams’ defense that is allowing 184.3 rushing yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry.  Look for Marshawn Lynch to have a huge game today and for backup Fred Jackson to scoop up some scraps.  After the running game is established look for Trent Edwards to attack the young Rams’ CBs with Lee Evans and Josh Reed down the field.

The Rams’ offensive line will have to protect veteran QB Trent Green better than they did for Marc Bulger (11 sacks) if he’s going to have any success moving the offense against a Bills’ defense that is only allowing 247.3 yards of total offense per game.  The Bills’ linebackers better be ready for a fight as the Rams will likely lean heavily on Steven Jackson in both the running and the passing game this week.  Look for rookie WR Donnie Avery to be the secret weapon in this game for the Rams as he is getting his first NFL start and he will be working with single coverage as the Bills gang up on Torry Holt.

PREDICTION:  BUFFALO BILLS 24, ST. LOUIS RAMS 20

The Bills have lost WR/PR Roscoe Parrish for the next 4-6 weeks due to thumb surgery.  He has caught 7 passes for 60 yards (8.6 avg) with 1 TD grab and he also has returned 11 punts for 167 yards (15.2 avg) with 1 TD return.  Rookies will likely replace him as the #3 WR (James Hardy) and the punt returner (Leodis McKelvin).  Hardy has only caught 2 passes for 12 yards this season (6.0 avg) but the Bills still have high hopes for him.  McKelvin has returned 7 kickoffs for 180 yards (25.7 avg) but he hasn’t returned a punt this season yet.  The Bills are hoping that the rookies step up for them as they want to keep rolling along this season.

The Bills were down 23-14 in the 4th quarter and things weren’t looking good but that was when Trent Edwards went to work.  He led the Bills to 10 points late in the game to finish off the Raiders.  Rian Lindell hit a 38-yard FG on the last play of the game to give the Bills a nice win.  Trent Edwards completed 24 of 39 passes for 279 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  Marshawn Lynch was very busy against the Raiders with 83 yards rushing on 23 carries (3.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also pitched in with 31 yards receiving on 4 catches (7.8 avg).  Josh Reed led the way for the Bills in the passing game with 6 catches for 72 yards (12.0 avg).  Roscoe Parrish pitched in with 42 yards receiving on 3 catches (14.0 avg) with a 14-yard TD reception in the 4th quarter.  The Bills finished up with 116 yards rushing on 30 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 39 passes for 262 yards.

The Bills’ defense played very well in this football game essentially giving the team a chance to come back and win.  LB Paul Poslusny (6 tackles, fumble recovery), DT Marcus Stroud (6 tackles) and safety Ko Simpson (6 tackles) led the way for the Bills.  The Bills allowed 98 yards rushing on 30 carries (3.3 ypc) and the Raiders completed 9 of 19 passes for 149 yards.  The Bills are now 3-0 on the season and are sitting atop the AFC East by themselves with the Patriots’ loss to the Dolphins.

The Oakland Raiders got a nice road win last week but beating the Bills in Buffalo will be much harder.  The Raiders will use the recipe that worked against the Chiefs last week by pounding the football with rookie RB Darren McFadden (210 yards rushing, 7.0 ypc) and Michael Bush (90 yards rushing, 5.6 ypc) with Justin Fargas out of action due to injury.  But, they will have to mix things up a little better against a Bills’ defense that is only allowing 91.5 yards rushing per game and 3.8 yards per carry.  The Raiders will likely be careful throwing the ball down the field and challenging the solid corners of the Bills, prefering to settle for short stuff to TE Zach Miller.

The Buffalo Bills have run a pretty balanced offense this season (56 passes, 55 runs) and look for them to keep that up this week against the Raiders.  Look for the Bills to try to pass early to get a lead and take the Raiders out of there vaunted running game.  The Bills have been throwing a lot of shorter passes this season but look for them to let Trent Edwards (107.7 QB Rating) test the Raiders’ defense deep with Lee Evans (8 rec, 179 yards) often in this game.

PREDICTION:  BUFFALO BILLS 21, OAKLAND RAIDERS 10

The Buffalo Bills had another solid overall effort yesterday and the result was another impressive victory.  Trent Edwards was very effiecient in this game completing 20 of 25 passes for 239 yards with a 7-yard TD pass to rookie WR James Hardy.  Marshawn Lynch led the Bills in rushing with 59 yards on 19 carries (3.1 ypc) with a TD run.  Fred Jackson was also very busy in this game for the Bills as he rushed for 17 yards on 6 carries (2.8 ypc) and he also caught 7 passes for 83 yards (11.9 avg).  Lee Evans pitched in with 4 receptions for 77 yards (19.3 avg) in this game.  The Bills finished up with 75 yards rushing on 26 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 25 passes for 210 yards.

The Bills’ Defense had a solid overall effort against the Jags.  CB Terrence McGee led the way for the Bills in this game with 7 tackles and a interception.  Safety Donte’ Whitner and linebacker Paul Poslusny each pitched in with 6 tackles apiece.  The Jaguars finished up with 98 yards rushing on 27 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 28 passes for 145 yards.  The Bills are off to a very impressive 2-0 start to the 2008 season.

The Jaguars pounded the Bills 36-14 in Jacksonville last season but both teams are coming into this game going in opposite directions as the Bills throttled the Seahawks 34-10 last week while the Jags were beaten 17-10 at Tennessee last week.  Last season RB Marshawn Lynch didn’t play against the Jags but he’s ready to go this week against a Jags’ defense that allowed 137 yards rushing to the Titans last week.  The Bills’ would like to run the ball but they will likely try to stay balanced on offense against the Jaguars.  Trent Edwards will likely have to be careful throwing the ball to Lee Evans as Rashean Mathis will likely draw him in coverage.  Jags’ safety Reggie Nelson better be ready to hit and defend TE Robert Royal who caught 6 passes for 52 yards (8.7 avg) with a TD grab against the Seahawks.

The Jaguars will likely have some trouble running their brand of offense due to injuries along the interior of the offensive line which caused them to allow 7 sacks and rush for only 33 yards (1.9 ypc) against the Titans last week.  With new starters at both guard slots, former Jags’ DT Marcus Stroud could have a huge game and that would be trouble.  Look for the Jags to attempt to run the ball on the perimeter of the Bills’ defense with Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor.  The Jags will also likely keep the passing game short to protect David Garrard.

PREDICTION:  BUFFALO BILLS 17, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 13

The Bills have lost linebacker Angelo Crowell for the season after undergoing knee surgery last week.  Crowell played in all 16 games (16 starts) for the Bills last season and he made 126 tackles, had 2 sacks, defensed 4 passes and he intercepted a pass.  Crowell was replaced in the starting lineup by Keith Ellison.  Ellison  played in 26 games (16 starts) in his career with the Bills prior to this year and he made 104 tackles, had 2 sacks, defensed 6 passes and he intercepted 2 passes.  Ellison had three tackles against the Seahawks last season.  Ellison is a decent player but the Bills will definately miss Crowell who was the leading tackler on the team in 2007.

The Buffalo Bills dominated all three facets of the game on Sunday against the Seahawks.  Trent Edwards was very efficient in the passing game completing 19 of 30 passes for 215 yards with 1 TD pass.  Marshawn Lynch was running hard as usual as he carried the ball 18 times for 76 yards (4.2 ypc) with a TD run.  He also added 18 yards receiving on 3 grabs (6.0 avg) out of the backfield.  Fred Jackson gave Lynch a breather once in a while as he carried the ball 10 times for 31 yards (3.1 ypc).  Lee Evans led the Bills in yardage with 102 on 4 catches (25.5 avg) while TE Robert Royal caught the most passes for the Bills with 6 for 52 yards (8.7 avg) and a TD.  The Bills finished up with 106 yards rushing on 29 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 31 passes for 232 yards.

The Defense was outstanding especially against the pass for the Bills on Sunday.  CB Ashton Youboty carried over his fine preseason play into the season opener leading the Bills in tackles with 8.  Fellow CB Terrence McGee also had a good game with 6 tackles and a interception.  The Bills held the Seahawks to 85 yards rushing on 21 carries (4.0 ypc) in this game.  The Seahawks also completed 17 of 41 passes for only 167 yards.  The Defense deserves high grades for the performance in the season opener.  The special teams is what put this game out of reach for the Seahawks.  Roscoe Parrish returned punt 63 yards for a TD in the second quarter of this game while Punter Brian Moorman threw a 4th quarter 19-yard TD pass to DE Ryan Denney on a fake field goal that essentially ended this football game.  This was a great performance by the Bills who hope they can play like this all of the time.

The Seahawks are really banged up coming into this football game especially at WR.  With that in mind look for the Seahawks to throw a lot to the TEs and RBs in the passing game.  Rookie TE John Carlson could have a huge game against Bills’ safeties Donte Whitner and Ko Simpson who are much better in run support than defending a pass.  The Seahawks will rotate carries between Julius Jones and Maurice Morris giving them both a big workload in this game.  It will be up to Bills’ DTs Marcus Stroud and Kyle Williams to stop the Seahawks’ ground game with the help of MLB Paul Poslusny.  OLBs Keith Ellison and Kawika Mitchell will be responsible to contain the outside running game of the Seahawks.  Seahawks’ QB Matt Hasselbeck has been banged up this season but he will start.  WRs Deion Branch and Bobby Engram are out for this game so Nate Burleson will be the go-to man by default.  Hasselback will have to be careful when he challenges CB Terrence McGee who will probably follow Burleson around the football field.  The Seahawks will need Courtney Taylor, Jordan Kent or Logan Payne to step up in this game if they are going to have any kind of a passing game.

The Bills will probably focus on running the football in this game as that will give them their best chance to win.  RB Marshawn Lynch will have to deal with one of the best linebacking corps in the NFL (Lofa Tatupu, LeRoy Hill and Julian Peterson) but he has the skill to succeed against them.  The Bills will have to pick their spots to throw the football because the Seahawks have a couple of good pass rushing ends (Patrick Kerney and Lawrence Jackson) and they also have a nice set of starting CBs (Kelly Jennings and Marcus Trufant).  The Seahawks will likely double Lee Evans (everyone does) and force Trent Edwards to beat them with someone else.  With that in mind I think that TE Robert Royal could be the secret weapon in this game for the Bills as he will square off with safeties Brian Russell and Deon Grant.

PREDICTION:  BUFFALO BILLS 17, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 14