The Buffalo Bills completely dominated the Redskins yesterday in Toronto.  Ryan Fitzpatrick was very solid once again as he completed 21 of 27 passes for 262 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  RB Fred Jackson had another outstanding game for the Bills as he rushed for 120 yards on 26 carries (4.6 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 74 yards.  WR Steve Johnson (6 rec, 57 yards), WR David Nelson (4 rec, 47 yards) and TE Scott Chandler (2 rec, 35 yards, 2 TD grabs) really boosted the passing game for the Bills yesterday.  The Bills finished up with 138 yards rushing on 33 carries (4.2 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 27 passes (77.8%) for 252 yards as they had possession of  the ball for 34:51.

The Bills came into this game with only 4 sacks, but they sacked Redskins’ QB John Beck an amazing 9 times yesterday.  LB Nick Barnett (10 tackles, 1/2 a sack and 1 QB hit) and safety George Wilson (9 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) dominated for the Bills’ D yesterday.  Rookie DE/DT Marcell Dareus was outstanding in this game with 4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks and 3 QB hits).  DE Dwan Edwards pitched in with 4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1.5 sacks and 4 QB hits also had a very, very solid game for the Bills.  The Redskins could only muster 26 yards rushing on 12 carries (2.2 ypc) and they completed 20 of 33 passes (60.6%) for 152 yards in this game.  The Bills are now 5-2 on the year.

The Buffalo Bills will look to get back on the right track tomorrow at home (in Toronto) against a Redskins’ team that is really beat up right now.  The Redskins have lost two games in a row and they will also be looking to get back on the right track tomorrow.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills are going to be pretty balanced tomorrow, but I think they will come out of the locker room running the ball with Fred Jackson.  The Redskins are giving up 117.5 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry this year, so Jackson could have a pretty big game.  The Bills need to establish a running game early, to help slow down the Redskins’ pass rush as they already have 21 sacks this year.  If Ryan Fitzpatrick has time to throw the ball, he will spread it around to all of his WRs, RBs and TEs to keep everyone happy.  That has worked so far this year as opposing teams often pay for doubling any one receiver.

When the Redskins have the ball:  The Redskins have lost a lot of key players in the last couple of weeks.  Still, they are going to be dangerous tomorrow because of the fact that the Bills’ D scares no one.  The Redskins are likely going to be balanced offensively tomorrow.  Ryan Torain and rookie Roy Helu are going to take aim at a Bills’ D that is giving up 135.7 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry so far this year.  The Bills only have 4 sacks this year, so John Beck should have time to throw the ball.  TE Fred Davis and WRs Jabar Gaffney and Anthony Armstrong are Beck’s favorite targets.

PREDICTION:  BILLS 27, REDSKINS 24

The Buffalo Bills have signed 28-year old Ryan Fitzpatrick to a six year contract extension worth $59 million bucks, with $24 million bucks guaranteed.  Fitzpatrick has played in 6 games (all starts) for the Bills so far this year and he has completed 134 of 202 passes (66.3%) for 1,477 yards with 12 TD passes and 6 INTs (95.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 17 times for 40 yards (2.4 ypc) so far in 2011.  Fitzpatrick has now played in 29 games (27 starts) for the Bills in his first three years with the team and he has completed 516 of 870 passes (59.3%) for 5,899 yards with 44 TD passes and 31 INTs (81.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 88 times for 450 yards (5.1 ypc) with 1 TD run so far with the Bills.  The Bills are 12-15 (44.4%) in games started by Fitzpatrick.  This is a big risk for the Bills as Fitzpatrick was a pretty poor QB before arriving in Buffalo.

The Bills have placed 27-year old OLB Shawne Merriman on the Injured Reserve List (ending his season) due to a Achilles injury.  Merriman played in 5 games for the Bills this year and he had 9 tackles and 1 sack.  The Bills took a gamble with Merriman, and they lost.  This could be it for his NFL career.  Merriman has played in 65 games in his 7 years in the NFL and he has 241 tackles, 44.5 sacks, 17 tackles for a loss, 8 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, 16 passes defensed and 1 interception.

The Bills’ WRs have been very effective so far this year and they need them to keep up the good work.  Steve Johnson is still Ryan Fitzpatrick’s go-to man.  He has caught 33 passes for 382 yards (11.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs so far this year.  Look for his average yards to start to spike as Fitzpatrick is going to likely start going down the field more in the passing game the rest of this year.  David Nelson has also been outstanding as he has caught 27 passes for 319 yards (11.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this year.  He has really been a nice asset for the Bills as he is playing the best ball of his career right now.  Donald Jones is a little banged up right now.  He has caught 16 passes for 174 yards (10.9 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  Naaman Roosevelt is now the #3 WR until Jones is ready to get back into action.  He has caught 7 passes for 129 yards (18.4 avg) with 1 TD grab as he has the speed to get down the field.  The Bills are in good shape at WR right now.

The Buffalo Bills are running really well so far this year.  30-year old RB Fred Jackson is leading the way for the Bills so far this year on the ground with 601 yards rushing on 106 carries (5.7 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He has also caught 24 passes for 279 yards (11.6 avg) so far this year.  Jackson will be the main man in the running game for the Bills unless he gets hurt this year.  C.J. Spiller is next in line at RB for the Bills.  He has played in all six games for the Bills so far this year and he has carried the ball 15 times for 107 yards (7.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Spiller has also caught 11 passes for 55 yards (5.0 avg) so far in 2011.  Brad Smith has pitched in for the Bills in their version of the Wildcat Formation.  He has played in all six games for the Bills in 2011 and he has carried the ball 15 times for 70 yards (4.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 2 passes for 25 yards (12.5 avg) this year.  The Bills are averaging 141.0 yards rushing per game so far this year and 5.2 yards per carry.

The Buffalo Bills were good offensively and pretty terrible defensively yesterday, which has pretty much been the case all year so far.  Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 21 of 30 passes for 244 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 8 yards (2.7 ypc) in this game.  Fred Jackson led the way on the ground for the Bills in this game with 121 yards on 16 carries (7.6 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 5 passes for 47 yards (9.4 avg).  Brad Smith carrried the ball 4 times for 26 yards (6.5 ypc) in this game.  C.J. Spiller didn’t carry the ball at all but he did catch 5 passes for 39 yards (7.8 avg).  WRs Naaman Roosevelt (1 rec, 60 yards, TD), David Nelson (4 rec, 62 yards) and Steve Johnson (5 rec, 39 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Bills yesterday.  The Bills finished up with 155 yards rushing on 23 carries (6.7 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 30 passes for 219 yards as they had possession of the ball for 29:13.

The defense was pretty lousy for the Bills in this game.  CB Terrence McGee (11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 passes defensed) and safety George Wilson (10 tackles) led the way for the Bills on D in this game.  CB Drayton Florence (7 tackles) and DE Dwan Edwards (7 tackles) also pitched in for the Bills.  The Giants finished up with 122 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 32 passes (65.6%) for 292 yards in this game.  The Bills are now 4-2 on the year.

The Bills are 1-1 on the road this year and the Giants are 1-1 at home this season, so the home field is not that big of an advantage for the Giants.  The Bills are going to try to keep rolling while the Giants are going to try to get back on track after losing a stunner at home to the Seahawks last weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  Something has to give this weekend as Ryan Fitzpatrick has only been sacked 4 times so far this year, while the Giants already have 18 sacks on defense.  If the Bills can protect Fitzpatrick, he’s going to have success throwing against the Giants as they are giving up 251.2 yards passing per game so far this year.  The Bills are also likely going to give the ball a lot to RB Fred Jackson as the Giants are giving up 122.2 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry so far this year.

When the Giants have the ball:  The Bills are giving up 421.8 yards per game so far this year, so the Giants are apt to get their fair share of yards this Sunday in New Jersey.  The bad thing for the Bills this weekend is that they only have five sacks so far this year, so Eli Manning is going to have a lot of time to throw the ball.  WRs Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham are going to give the Bills’ secondary fits in this game.  Still, the Bills do have 12 pickoffs so far this year and Eli Manning has been known to take chances down the field with the ball.  Ahmad Bradshaw has struggled so far this year, but the Bills’ D is allowing 138.4 yards rushing and 5.5 yards per carry, so he might awaken this weekend.

PREDICTION:  GIANTS 31, BILLS 27

28-year old QB Ryan Fitzpatrick came out of nowhere in 2010 as he was very effective for the Bills.  Still, a lot of people had to think that Fitzpatrick’s play last year was a mirage.  But, he is proving all of the skeptics wrong so far in 2011.  Fitzpatrick has played in 5 games for the Bills so far this year and he has completed 113 of 172 passes (65.7%) for 1,233 yards with 10 TD passes and 4 INTs (96.4 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 14 times for 32 yards (2.3 ypc) so far this year.  It’s starting to look like Fitzpatrick is a late bloomer.

The Buffalo Bills will be without 23-year old WR Donald Jones for four to six weeks due to a serious ankle injury.  Jones has played in 5 games for the Bills so far this year and he has caught 16 passes for 174 yards (10.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  23-year old Naaman Roosevelt will be counted on to step up for the Bills while Jones is out of action.  Roosevelt has played in 3 games for the Bills so far this year and he has caught 6 passes for 69 yards (11.5 avg).  This is Roosevelt’s big chance to prove himself.