24-year old WR Steve Johnson has exploded on the scene this year.  The Bills have waited for years for Lee Evans to be the receiver that Johnson is now but it never happened.  Johnson has played in 15 games for the Bills so far this year and he has caught 77 passes for 1,001 yards (13.0 avg) with 10 TD grabs!  Those are really shocking numbers when you consider that Johnson only caught 12 passes for 112 yards (9.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his first two years with the Bills!  I happen to think that Johnson is for real and that he’s going to continue to get better which should worry CBs and safeties in the AFC East.

The Bills had no chance in this game as they turned the ball over 7 times and it’s almost impossible to win when you do that.  Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 18 of 37 passes for 251 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs.  He also lost 2 fumbles in this game.  Fitzpatrick rushed for 14 yards on 2 carries (7.0 ypc) also.  Fred Jackson led the way on the ground for the Bills in this game with 81 yards rushing on 13 carries (6.2 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 11 yards (5.5 avg).  C.J. Spiller carried the ball 6 times for 30 yards (5.0 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 54 yards (27.0 avg) in this game.  But, Spiller also lost a fumble.  WRs Naaman Roosevelt (4 rec, 74 yards), Steve Johnson (5 rec, 58 yards) and Donald Jones (5 rec, 54 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Bills today.  The Bills finished up with 125 yards rushing on 21 carries (6.0 ypc) in this game and they also completed 18 of 37 passes for 244 yards.

The defense had to defend a lot of short fields in this game but they didn’t play well either.  LB Akin Ayodele (17 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), LB Paul Poslusny (13 tackles), safety Donte Whitner (12 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and safety Jairus Byrd (8 tackles) led the way for the Bills on D.  The Patriots finished up with 217 yards rushing on 41 carries (5.3 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 27 passes for 131 yards.  The Bills are now 4-11 on the season.

The Buffalo Bills have won two games in a row and 4 of their last 6 games so they are feeling good about themselves right now.  They also played well in the first game between these two teams losing only 38-30 to them inn Foxboro.  The Patriots have the best record in the AFC and they have won six games in a row so they are coming into this game red hot!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills are going to likely be balanced in this game as they don’t want to get into an all-out scoring war.  Fred Jackson, C.J. Spiller and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick are likely all going to take some shots at a Patriots’ D that is giving up 111.4 yards rushing and 4.2 yards per carry.  The Patriots are not much of a pass rushing team so Fitzpatrick is going to have time to throw the ball.  He will need his young receivers (Steve Johnson, David Nelson and Donald Jones) to make some plays down the field.

When the Patriots have the ball:  BenJarvus Green-Ellis & Danny Woodhead are likely going to be a big part of the Patriots’ offense in this game so the Bills’ front seven will have to step up.  The Bills must also get a pass rush on Tom Brady because if he has time to throw the ball he’s going to torch the Bills’ secondary.  I think it would be a good idea for the Bills’ corners to play bump and run to try to screw up Brady’s timing with his WRs.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 34, BILLS 27

The Buffalo Bills played hard in this game but they were aided by the fact that Dolphins’ kicker Dan Carpenter was o for 4 on field goals.  Ryan Fitzpatrick was solid in this game for the Bills as he completed 16 of 26 passes for 223 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 19 yards (6.3 ypc).  Fred Jackson had a hard time yesterday with 36 yards rushing on 15 carries (2.4 ypc).  C.J. Spiller pitched in with 9 carries for 16 yards (1.8 ypc) but he also caught 2 passes for 21 yards (10.5 avg).  Steve Johnson (6 rec, 69 yards, TD) and David Nelson (3 rec, 61 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Bills.  The Bills finished up with 71 yards rushing on 27 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 26 passes for 211 yards.

Safety Donte Whitner (8 tackles, 1/2 a sack and 1 QB hit) and rookie LB Arthur Moats (6 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 QB hits) led the way for the Bills in this game.  Safety George Wilson also pitched in with a interception.  The Dolphins finished up with 65 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 33 of 45 passes for 261 yards.  The Bills are now 4-10 on the year.

The Bills won last weekend against the Browns 13-6 and they are 3-5 since their bye week as they have played pretty well lately.  The Bills lost 15-10 in the season opener at home against the Dolphins and the Fins are a much better road than home team….giving the Bills hope this weekend.  The Dolphins have alternated wins and losses the last 10 weeks and they beat the Jets 10-6 last weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills are likely going to mix things up on offense.  Fred Jackson & C.J. Spiller will have to fight for every yard they get against a Dolphins’ D that is only allowing 3.6 yards per carry this year.  The Bills must be able to keep Cameron Wake (14 sacks) away from Ryan Fitzpatrick if they want him to have any chance of making plays against a Fins’ D that is allowing 200.6 yards passing per game this year.  David Nelson will likely enter the starting lineup in Lee Evans’ spot and the Bills will need him to produce so the Fins don’t double Steve Johnson all the time.

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins are going to run the ball a lot this Sunday.  The Bills are giving up 165.8 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry so far this year so Ronnie Brown & Ricky Williams could both have big games this Sunday.  The Dolphins better hope they get a running game going because Chad Henne has been awful lately and the Bills’ secondary has been playing better as of late.

PREDICTION:  DOLPHINS 20, BILLS 17

When the Buffalo Bills used the #9 overall pick of last April’s NFL Draft on RB C.J. Spiller out of Clemson the plan was for him to return kicks while backing up Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson.  After the trade of Lynch to Seattle, Spiller started to see more work on offense but he’s still behind Fred Jackson on the depth chart….and he should be.  Spiller has played in 11 games for the Bills so far this year and he has carried the ball 56 times for 232 yards (4.1 ypc).  He has also caught 20 passes for 82 yards (4.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Spiller has remained effective on special teams the whole year long.  He has returned 34 kickoffs for 835 yards (24.6 avg) with a TD and he has also returned 8 punts for 97 yards (12.1 avg).  Spiller has touched the ball 118 times so far this year and he has a combined 1,246 yards (10.6 yards per touch) which averages out to 95.8 total yards per game.  He has also scored 2 TDs so far this year.  Spiller has a nice upside and he might eventually bump Fred Jackson from the starting lineup some time in the near future.

The Buffalo Bills have signed 28-year old OT Erik Pears.  Pears played in 12 games (4 starts) for the Raiders last season.  He has now played in 44 games (30 starts) in his first four years in the NFL.  Pears is a big guy at 6’8″, 305 pounds and he has some experience so look for him to possibly get on the field as early as this Sunday for the Bills.

The Buffalo Bills have placed 25-year old TE Shawn Nelson on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to migraine headaches.  Nelson played in 5 games for the Bills this year and he caught 3 passes for 25 yards (8.3 avg).  Nelson has now played in 17 games in his first two years with the Bills and he has caught 20 passes for 181 yards (9.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.

The Bills will be without 29-year old WR Lee Evans for a little while with a high ankle sprain.  Evans has played in 13 games for the Bills so far this year and he has caught 37 passes for 578 yards (15.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  The Bills will be depending on undrafted rookies David Nelson (Florida) and Donald Jones (Youngstown State) to step up.  Nelson has played in 13 games for the Bills so far this year and he has caught 28 passes for 292 yards (10.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs and Jones has played in 13 games in which he has 12 catches for 130 yards (10.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  It will be interesting to see if one of the rookie WRs steps up with this opportunity in front of them.

UPDATE:  (12/15/2010) – The Bills have placed Lee Evans on the Injured Reserve List ending his season.

The Bills won this game by running the ball on offense and playing solid defense.  Ryan Fitzpatrick was solid for the Bills in this game.  He completed 14 of 23 passes for 142 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 49 yards (12.3 ypc) in this game.  Fred Jackson was tough with the ball in his hands today as he carried the ball 29 times for 112 yards (3.9 ypc).  C.J. Spiller pitched in with 33 yards rushing on 8 carries (4.1 ypc) in this game.  TE Jonathan Stupar (3 rec, 45 yards), WR Steve Johnson (5 rec, 42 yards) and WR David Nelson (1 rec, 11 yards, TD) led the way for the Bills in the passing game.  The Bills finished up with 192 yards rushing on 46 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 23 passes for 131 yards as they had possession of the ball for 36:10.

LB Akin Ayodele (10 tackles, 1 pass defensed), LB Paul Poslusny (9 tackles) and safety Jairus Byrd (8 tackles) led the way for the Bills on D in this game.  CB Leodis McKelvin (interception), NT Kyle Williams (fumble recovery) and safety Bryan Scott (fumble recovery) all had huge plays on D for the Bills today.  The Browns finished up with 105 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.2 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 20 passes for 82 yards in this game as the Bills’ D was outstanding.  The Bills are now 3-10 on the season after this hard fought win.