The Buffalo Bills have rolled up 37.7 points and 431.0 yards of offense per game so far this year, which is amazing.  But, the Bengals are a solid defensive team allowing only 18.0 points and 276.3 yards per game (3rd best in the league).  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills have been incredible so far this year offensively.  They are likely going to try to be a little more balanced offensively to try to keep the Bengals’ solid defense honest.  That means that Fred Jackson is going to get the ball a lot both in the running game and out of the backfield in the passing game.  The Bengals are only giving up 88.0 yards rushing per game and 2.9 yards per carry, so Jackson is going to have to fight for every yard he gets.  The Bengals’ coaching staff knows Ryan Fitzpatrick better than any of the Bills’ opponents this year as he used to play for them.  The Bengals already have 9 sacks this year while the Bills have only given up 2 of them, so something has to give in this game.  The Bills will want to move the ball around and use everyone in the passing game, so that they can make the Bengals’ pay if they try to double cover Steve Johnson.  That means that David Nelson, Donald Jones and Scott Chandler are going to have to step up this weekend.

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are likely going to come out trying to pound the ball at the Bills’ D with Cedric Benson.  Benson is a very physical runner who gets stronger as the game goes on.  The Bills are giving up 115.7 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry, so the Bengals are likely going to try to run the ball at least 30 times in this game.  The Bills only have 2 sacks so far this year, so if they can’t get any pressure on Andy Dalton, he might have success throwing against them.  He likes throwing the ball down the field to his WRs (A.J. Green and Jerome Simpson), but that doesn’t mean that he won’t throw to his TE Jermaine Gresham and Andre Caldwell on the short stuff.

PREDICTION:  BILLS 21, BENGALS 20

The Bills have released 32-year old TE David Martin.  Martin played in 3 games for the Bills this year but he didn’t catch any passes.  Martin played in 19 games in two years with the Bills and he caught 7 passes for 43 yards (6.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Bills as Martin wasn’t adding much to the offense.

30-year old RB Fred Jackson is proving one and for all that he is by far the best RB on the Bills’ roster.  It always seems like they are trying to replace this guy, but he always steps up.  Jackson has played in all 3 games for the Bills so far this year and he has carried the ball 47 times for 303 yards (6.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He has also caught 8 passes for 115 yards (14.4 avg) so far this year.  The Bills’ passing game is getting all of the headlines but Jackson and the rest of the Bills’ runners are averaging a very impressive 155.0 yards rushing per game and 5.6 yards per carry.  Jackson is one of the most underrated RBs in the entire NFL and he is going to make a run at the Pro Bowl if he can stay healthy all year in 2011.

The Bills will be without rookie CB Aaron Williams for a while due to an injury in his chest around the collarbone area.  Williams has played in all 3 of the Bills’ games so far this year and he has 11 tackles.  The Bills are giving up 271.7 yards passing per game so far, so they can’t afford to lose any DBs.  The Bills hope that Williams recovers sooner than expected because they are going to need him.

Kicker Rian Lindell made a 28-yard field goal as time expired to give the Bills a sweet win over the Patriots in Buffalo yesterday. The Bills’ offense was excellent yesterday and the defense picked off Tom Brady 4 times, returning one of them for a TD, so this was an entire team effort.  Ryan Fitzpatrick was very solid again as he completed 27 of 40 passes for 369 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs.  Fred Jackson was very effective in this game also with 12 carries for 74 yards (6.2 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 5 passes for 87 yards (17.4 avg).  WRs Donald Jones (5 rec, 101 yards), Steve Johnson (8 rec, 94 yards, TD) and David Nelson (6 rec, 84 yards) led the way for the Bills in the passing game.  TE Scott Chandler pitched in with 2 grabs for 10 yards (5.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Bills finished up with 79 yards rushing on 20 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 40 passes (67.5%) for 369 yards as they had possession of  the ball for 28:45.

Safeties Jairus Byrd (11 tackles, 2 passes defensed), George Wilson (11 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and Bryan Scott (11 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and LB Nick Barnett (11 tackles) led the way for the Bills’ D yesterday.  CBs Leodis McKelvin (interception) and Drayton Florence (interception that he returned 27 yards for a TD in the 4th quarter) also made huge plays for the Bills in this game.  The Patriots finished up with 108 yards rushing on 26 carries (4.2 ypc) and they also completed 30 of 45 passes (66.7%) for 387 yards in this game.  The Bills are now 3-0 on the season.

The Buffalo Bills are going to show whether they are legit contenders or if their fast start is a mirage this weekend at home against the New England Patriots.  The Patriots have beaten the Bills 15 straight times including a 34-3 beatdown in Buffalo last year.  The Patriots outscored the Bills 72-33 last year.  Here is a look at the matchups this Sunday against the Patriots:

When the Bills have the football:  The Buffalo Bills are rushing for 190.0 yards rushing per game and 5.9 yards per carry so far this year.  Giving the ball to RBs Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller is going to be the best gameplan for this weekend’s game against the Patriots.  The Bills need to control the clock and keep their defense off the field.  Ryan Fitzpatrick is off to a great start this year but he had issues against the Patriots last year as he only had 2 TD passes and 5 INTs against them.  The Patriots are giving up 381.0 yards passing per game this year, so if Fitzpatrick has time to throw the ball (he has only been sacked 1 time so far this year), he should have better success than last year.  The Patriots are likely going to double Steve Johnson and force Fitzpatrick to beat them by throwing to David Nelson and TE Scott Chandler.

When the Patriots have the ball:  The Patriots rushed for 417 yards (208.5 avg) against the Bills last year, so look for BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead to get their fair share of carries this weekend.  The Bills are giving up 119.5 yards rushing and 5.0 yards per carry this year, so the front seven is going to have to step up.  The Bills only have 2 sacks this year and Tom Brady has already thrown for 940 yards, which is a recipe for disaster.  The Bills are going to have to blitz the OLBs in an attempt to get to Brady before he gets the ball off.  That is playing with fire though due to the fact that Brady gets rid of the ball so quick to Deion Branch, Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker and Danny Woodhead out of the backfield.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 37, BILLS 20

28-year old QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has been incredible so far this year for the Bills.  He has played in both of the Bills’ games so far this year and he has completed 45 of 71 passes (63.4%) for 472 yards with 7 TD passes and 1 INT (109.6 QB Rating).  Fitzgerald has also carried the ball 6 times for 26 yards (4.3 ypc) so far this year.  Fitzpatrick is a big reason why the Bills are averaging 39.5 points per game so far this year as the Bills loaded up on defense in free agency and the draft.

29-year old WR/PR Roscoe Parrish is going to miss a while with a injured left ankle.  Parrish has played in 1 game for the Bills this year and he has caught 1 pass for 16 yards.  He has also returned 5 punts for 46 yards (9.2 avg) so far this year.  David Nelson will replace Parrish at WR and he’s having a solid year already.  Nelson has played in both of the Bills games this year and he has already caught 14 passes for 149 yards (10.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  C.J. Spiller will likely replace Parrish on punt returns.  He has returned 1 punt for 5 yards for the Bills so far this year.  I have a feeling that Spiller is going to do a solid job while Parrish is out of action.

The Buffalo Bills have lost starting guard Kraig Urbik for the next 2-4 weeks due to a sprained MCL.  He started the first two games for the Bills this year.  26-year old Chad Rinehart will replace him in the starting lineup and he played pretty well against the Raiders last week after Urbik was injured.  Rinehart has played in 10 games (7 starts) in his first four years in the NFL.  The Bills have confidence that Rinehart will do a decent job while Urbik is out of action.

This was a truly amazing win for the Bills as they were down 21-3 at the half.  The Bills scored a TD in all five possessions in the second half of the game yesterday!  The last TD came on a 6-yard TD pass to David Nelson from Ryan Fitzpatrick with only 14 seconds left in the game!  Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 28 of 46 passes for 264 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 23 yards (7.7 ypc) as they was outstanding yesterday.  Fred Jackson also had a monster game with 15 carries for 117 yards (7.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 2 passes for 23 yards (11.5 avg).  C.J. Spiller was also electric with 4 carries for 63 yards (15.8 ypc) in this game.  Despite playing with a groin injury, Steve Johnson led the way in the passing game with 96 yards on 8 grabs (12.0 avg) with 1 TD catch.  David Nelson also stepped up as he caught 10 passes for 83 yards (8.3 avg) with 1 TD grab (the game winner).  TE Scott Chandler pitched in with 2 grabs for 16 yards (8.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Bills finished up with 217 yards rushing on 25 carries (8.7 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 46 passes for 264 yards as they had possession of the ball for 30:47.

The defense was awful for the Bills yesterday as the Raiders did whatever they wanted to offensively.  LB Nick Barnett (14 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), safety Jairus Byrd (10 tackles) and George Wilson (8 tackles) led the way for the Bills on D in this game.  LB Danny Batten (2 tackles, 1 fumble recovery) also pitched in.  Rookie safety Da’Norris Searcy made the play of the game though as he intercepted a pass in the end zone on a Hail Mary by the Raiders to end this game.  The Raiders finished up with 131 yards on 30 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 33 passes (69.7%) for 323 yards in this game.  The Bills are now 2-0 on the season.