The Bills almost broke the seal last week before falling in OT to the Ravens in Baltimore.  They face another tough task this weekend as the Chiefs have been dominating at Arrowhead Stadium this year.  The Chiefs are 3-0 at home this year and they have outscored the competition 94-44!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills will likely come out passing this Sunday and why not?  The Chiefs are giving up 243.8 yards passing per game this year and they only have 12 sacks on the year.  That means that Ryan Fitzpatrick should have a lot of time to throw the ball.  If he does, look for him to get the ball down the field to Lee Evans, Steve Johnson and Roscoe Parrish.  Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller could have a hard time against the Chiefs’ D as they are only giving up 89.7 yards rushing per game and 3.7 yards per carry so far this year.

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs are averaging 176.5 yards rushing per game (5.0 ypc) which leads the NFL and the Bills have the worst run D as they are giving up 174.5 yards rushing per game (4.8 ypc) so far this year.  This means that Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles are going to likely both have monster games this Sunday.  The Bills are also terrible against the passing game as opposing QBs have a 114.1 Rating against them this year.  That means that Matt Cassel will likely have another solid game for the Chiefs throwing to Dwyane Bowe and TE Tony Moeaki.

PREDICTION:  CHIEFS 38, BILLS 20

The Bills played keepaway today on offense and they almost pulled out a huge road win.  But in the end it was just another disappointing loss.  TE Shawn Nelson was stripped on a pass in O.T. by Ray Lewis and then the Ravens drove down the field for a 38-yard game winning field goal by Billy Cundiff.  Ryan Fitzpatrick was outstanding in this game for the Bills as he completed 29 of 43 passes for 374 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 20 yards (5.0 ypc) today.  Fred Jackson (23 carries, 73 yards, 3.2 ypc) and C.J. Spiller (7 carries, 33 yards, 4.7 ypc) gave Fitzpatrick some ground support today.  Steve Johnson (8 rec, 158 yards, TD) and Lee Evans (6 rec, 105 yards, 3 TD grabs) led the way in the passing game for the Bills as they were both outstanding today.  Roscoe Parrish pitched in with 8 grabs for 49 yards (6.1 avg) today to help out the Bills’ cause.  The Bills finished up with 132 yards rushing on 35 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 43 passes for 374 yards as they had possession of the ball for 38:36 today.

Safety Donte Whitner (8 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and DT Dwan Edwards (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Bills on D today.  Safety George Wilson & DT Kyle Williams each had a fumble recovery apiece in this game.  The Ravens finished up with 135 yards rushing on 29 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 31 passes for 229 yards.  The Bills are now 0-6 on the year.

The Bills have been awful this year as they are playing absolutely no defense.  They are allowing 382.4 yards per game (182.4 yards rushing, 200.0 passing) and 32.2 points per game.  The Ravens are 2-0 at home and they are likely to be in a nasty frame of mind after losing in O.T. to the Patriots last week.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills will probably try to mix it up on offense.  If they were smart they would try to run the ball with Fred Jackson & C.J. Spiller against a Ravens’ D that is allowing 105.5 yards rushing and 4.3 yards per carry.  With the O-Line in a state of flux the Bills would be smart to keep the passing game of the shorter variety.  That means that Lee Evans, Steve Johnson and Roscoe Parrish are going to have to take some hits tomorrow.

When the Ravens have the ball:  Ray Rice & Willis McGahee have to be foaming at the mouth watching game film of the Bills’ D which is allowing 182.4 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry so far this year.  The Bills only have six sacks and opposing QBs have a 114.8 Rating against them so look for Joe Flacco to have his first really big game of the year throwing the ball tomorrow.  Look for Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason and T.J. Houshmandzadeh to all have decent games for the Ravens against the Bills.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 34, BILLS 10

24-year old WR Steve Johnson has really stepped up for the Buffalo Bills this year.  Johnson played in 16 games in his first two years with the Bills and he only caught 12 passes for 112 yards (9.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has topped those numbers in only five games this year for the Bills.  Johnson has caught 17 passes for 214 yards (12.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs so far this year as he is second in yards receiving (217 for Roscoe Parrish) for the Bills this year and he leads them in both receptions and TD grabs.  As long as Johnson keeps playing like he is right now the Bills would be foolish not to keep throwing the ball his way.

There is no way to sugarcoat things….the Bills’ D sucks big time right now!  Opposing teams are putting up 32.2 points and 382.4 total yards offensively per game this year.  Teams have been able to do whatever they want against the Bills this year as they average 182.4 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry (7 TD runs this year).  Opposing teams are averaging 200.0 yards passing per game but QBs have a 114.8 QB Rating which is amazing.  The Bills only have 6 sacks this year as opposing QBs have all day to throw the ball and as a result they have 14 TD passes and only 1 INT against them so far this year.  I know that the offense hasn’t been helping much this year but at least the Bills are showing signs of life on that side of the ball!

The Bills will be without starting right tackle Cornell Green for several weeks with a knee injury.  Green has started all 5 games for the Bills so far this year.  Undrafted rookie Cord Howard will replace Green in the starting lineup for the Bills while Green is out of action.  He has played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Bills so far this year.  This is a big blow to the offensive line of the Bills.

The Bills played well offensively in this game but their defense was brutal!  Ryan Fitzpatrick was solid passing the ball in this game as he completed 20 of 30 passes for 220 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Fred Jackson (12 car, 73 yards, 6.1 ypc) and C.J. Spiller (5 car, 31 yards, 6.2 ypc) led the way on the ground for the Bills in this game.  WRs Lee Evans (5 rec, 87 yards, TD), Roscoe Parrish (4 rec, 58 yards) and Steve Johnson (5 rec, 46 yards, 2 TDs) led the way in the passing game for the Bills today.  The Bills finished up with 110 yards rushing on 21 carries (5.2 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 30 passes for 196 yards despite only having possession of the ball for 25:39.

LB Paul Poslusny led the way for the Bills’ D today with 13 tackles.  Safety Donte Whitner (11 tackles, 1 fumble recovery) and LB Andra Davis (11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also were very busy for the Bills on D today.  The Jaguars finished up with 216 yards rushing on 40 carries (5.4 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 20 passes for 165 yards.  The Bills are now 0-5 on the year.

The Bills need to get their act together soon or they can really start scouting college QBs because they will have the pick of the litter next April.  The Jaguars are coming off a huge win at home against the Colts so maybe they will come out flat this Sunday.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  I think this in the week that the Bills should throw caution to the wind and throw the ball 40 times!  The Bills don’t have a lot of talent at WR but that might not matter this weekend as the Jags’ are giving up 303.8 yards passing per game and opposing QBs have a 103.9 rating against them this year.  The Bills will also likely get the ball in Fred Jackson & C.J. Spiller’s hands both running the ball and catching passes out of the backfield. 

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Bills better tighten up the chinstraps this weekend because Maurice Jones-Drew and David Garrard are going to run the ball right at them.  The Bills are giving up 174.0 yards rushing and 4.6 yards per carry so the only thing stopping the Jags’ running game would be a injury to Jones-Drew.  The Bills have given up 8 TD passes and they don’t have any INTs yet which means that David Garrard could be deadly on playaction passes this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  JAGUARS 27, BILLS 20

The Bills are averaging 22.0 points in Ryan Fitzpatrick’s two starts this season but Chan Gailey is already considering starting Brian Brohm.  That means that Fitzpatrick better step up this weekend against the Jaguars.  The Jaguars are giving up 303.8 yards passing per game an opposing QBs have a 103.9 QB Rating against them so far this year.  So if Fitzpatrick can’t pass against the Jags you have to wonder if he will have success against anyone.  Fitzpatrick has completed 32 of 55 passes (58.2%) for 375 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs (88.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 10 times for 92 yards (9.2 ypc) so far this year.  It’s really hard for me to blame Fitzpatrick for the Bills’ offensive problems as they don’t have much talent around him on that side of the ball.

With Marshawn Lynch off to Seattle, Fred Jackson and rookie C.J. Spiller will have to handle the load in the running game.  Jackson has carried the ball 20 times for 87 yards (4.4 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 0 yards so far this year.  He will likely get more carries than Spiller going forward.  Spiller has carried the ball 14 times for 49 yards (3.5 ypc) and he has also caught 12 passes for 45 yards (3.8 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  I think the Bills will be fine without Lynch as Jackson & Spiller both have nice upsides.