The Buffalo Bills have won 2 of their last three football games.  They have been playing solid football since their bye week as they are 2-4 but they have outscored their opponents 142-134 in those games.  The Vikings beat the Redskins 17-13 at Washington in Leslie Frazier’s first game as the head coach.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills are likely going to try to mix things up on offense.  The Vikings have a great run defense just like the Steelers do, but Fred Jackson still got his yards last week so the Bills are going to put the ball in his hands both running and catching passes out of the backfield.  The Vikings are giving up 215.2 yards passing per game this year so Ryan Fitzpatrick is going to be throwing the ball down the field if he has time to throw it.  Steve Johnson, David Nelson and Lee Evans will be taking on the Vikings’ secondary this Sunday.

When the Vikings have the ball:  The Bills are giving up 167.4 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry so far this year so look for the Vikings to keep the ball on the ground like they did last weekend.  The Bills are going to have their hands full in dealing with Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart.  After the Vikings establish a running game, I look for Brett Favre to take some shots deep off of play action.

PREDICTION:  VIKINGS 24, BILLS 20

The Bills are running hot right now as they have won two games in a row (against the Lions & Bengals).  But beating the Steelers is a completely different animal.  The Steelers have alternated wins and losses the last four weeks which means they are due for a loss this Sunday.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  The Steelers are only allowing 63.0 yards rushing per game and 2.9 yards per carry so it might be smart to use Fred Jackson more out of the backfield in the passing game.  The Steelers have 30 sacks this year so it’s going to be up to the offensive line to give Ryan Fitzpatrick time to throw the ball.  If Fitzpatrick has time to throw the ball there are plays to be made against a Steelers’ D that is allowing 239.1 yards passing per game.  Don’t be surprised if Lee Evans or Steve Johnson have a big game this weekend.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Bills’ D is likely in deep trouble this weekend as the Steelers have a solid running and passing game.  The Bills should be more concerned with Roethlisberger’s passing because if he has time to throw the ball the Steelers are going to light up the scoreboard.  Mike Wallace has turned into probably the best deep threat in the entire NFL so the Bills are going to have to give safety help to his side of the field.  That will likely open up things for Heath Miller and Hines Ward who should both have good games.  Rashard Mendenhall will be taking aim at a Bills’ run D that is allowing 163.5 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 34, BILLS 17

The Bills are playing much better football since the bye week.  They are 1-3 since the bye and they have been outscored only 84-77.  The Bengals have lost six games in a row and they are 1-3 at home this year where they have been outscored 83-71.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills would be smart to come out running the ball like they did last week as the Bengals are allowing 115.8 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  That means Fred Jackson is in line for a lot of work this Sunday.  The Bengals only have 9 sacks this year and they are giving up 213.6 yards passing per game so the Bills will likely be able to make some big plays in the passing game.  Ryan Fitzpatrick will be looking down the field for Steve Johnson & Lee Evans in this game.

When the Bengals have the ball:  This might be the game when the Bengals finally get it together on offense.  Cedric Benson will be taking aim at a Bills’ D that is allowing 166.9 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry.  Carson Palmer has a lot of weapons in the passing game with Terrell Owens, Chad Ocho Cinco, Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley going out for passes. 

PREDICTION:  BENGALS 24, BILLS 20

This is a matchup of two teams with nowhere to go but up.  The Bills are 0-8 on the season and they have played in three games in Buffalo in which they have been outscored 89-50.  The Lions are 0-4 on the year on the road where they have been outscored 115-70.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills will likely come out passing against a Lions’ D that is allowing 233.3 yards passing per contest.  Ryan Fitzpatrick will likely be throwing the ball deep to Lee Evans and Steve Johnson if he has time to throw as the Lions have 24 sacks already this year.  But the Bills also should give the rock to Fred Jackson & C.J. Spiller on the ground as the Lions are giving up 127.9 yards rushing and 4.7 yards per carry so far this year. 

When the Lions have the ball:  Shaun Hill is going to be coming after the Bills with his wide array of talented receivers.  Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson, Brandon Pettigrew, Tony Scheffler and Jahvid Best will likely put a ton of pressure on a Bills’ secondary that has given up 17 TD passes and they only have 1 INT.  Still, the Lions won’t be able to overlook the Bills’ run defense which has allowed 178.3 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry so maybe the running game will be revived this weekend.

PREDICTION:  LIONS 33, BILLS 30

The Bears have lost 3 of their last 4 games but they have had two weeks to get ready for the Bills.  The Bills are getting closer to winning that first game of the season and breaking the seal.  They have lost two tough road games in a row at Baltimore and at Kansas City in O.T.  Both of those teams are way better than the Bears.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bears are not much of a pass rushing team as Julius Peppers only has two sacks so far this year.  That means that Ryan Fitzpatrick will have time to throw the ball.  The Bills will likely spread out Steve Johnson, Roscoe Parrish and Lee Evans and try to throw it up a lot of times.  Fitzpatrick will have to be careful though as the Bears have 9 interceptions while allowing only 4 TD passes this year.  The Bears are only giving up 89.3 yards rushing and 3.6 yards per carry so Fred Jackson & C.J. Spiller will likely have to fight for every year.

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears are going to try to run a balanced offense because the Bills’ D sucks against the run (188.7 yards rushing per game) and the pass (opposing QBs have a 110.0 Rating with 15 TD passes and 1 INT).  The Bills only have 11 sacks this year so I look for the Bears to try to put the ball up a lot in this game with Jay Cutler chucking it.  Cutler sometimes makes big mistakes when he gets hit a few times so the Bills will likely try to blitz more than usual.  Matt Forte & Chester Taylor will also likely get a lot of touches both in the running and the passing game tomorrow.

PREDICTION:  BEARS 24, BILLS 17

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 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

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

These two teams each won on the other teams field last season with the Jets outscoring the Bills 32-29.  But, the Jets look like a much better team than the one that the Bills played last year.  The Bills are a team desperate for a win right now.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the football:  Ryan Fitzpatrick was awful last season against the Jets as he completed 19 of 48 passes (39.6%) for 214 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs.  But, he has played pretty well this season for the Bills and CB Darrelle Revis won’t play again this week due to injury.  I look for the Bills to throw the ball early in the game as the Jets are giving up 274.7 yards passing per game this year.  If Fitzgerald has time to throw the ball (Bills’ QBs have been sacked 8 times already this year) he should be able to find Lee Evans, Steve Johnson and Roscoe Parrish down the field.  The Jets are only giving up 61.7 yards rushing per game (2.4 ypc) so Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller will have to fight for every yard they get.

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets rushed for 567 yards in the two games against the Bills last year so expect to see heavy doses of LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene.  If the Jets get the running game going look for Mark Sanchez to attack the Bills deep on play action.  The Bills’ safeties and LBs will likely have to keep tabs on Dustin Keller who has turned into Sanchez’ go-to guy in the passing game.  If the Bills slow down the Jets running game they can win this Sunday.  That’s because Sanchez only completed 17 of 44 passes (38.6%) for 223 yards with 1 TD pass and 5 INTs against the Bills last year.

PREDICTION:  JETS 20, BILLS 10

The Patriots have beated the Bills 13 times in a row!  But, the Patriots only outscored the Bills 42-34 in last year’s sweep.  For the Bills to have any chance to breaking the losing streak with the Patriots they are going to have to play keepaway.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bills have the ball:  With Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB the Bills will probably be conservative on offense as he doesn’t have the arm to go deep.  That means the Bills will likely try to run the ball a lot in this game.  Even though Marshawn Lynch seems to be the #1 back right now the Bills need to get the ball in Fred Jackson’s hands a lot this week.  Jackson carried the ball 30 times for 137 yards (4.6 ypc) and he also caught 9 passes for 115 yards (12.8 avg) with 1 TD grab in the two games against the Patriots last year.  The offensive line has given up 7 sacks already this year but Fitzpatrick is very mobile in the pocket which should buy him some time to throw the ball.  The Patriots are allowing 270.5 yards passing per game so maybe this is the week that Lee Evans breaks out.

When the Patriots have the ball:  The Bills have solid DBs so they might decide to blitz Tom Brady more than usual this week.  It might be playing with fire to blitz but if Brady is just sitting in the pocket with time to look around he is going to pick the Bills apart.  The Bills safeties better be ready this week because not only do they have to watch Randy Moss deep but they will also have to deal with rookie TE Aaron Hernandez who is off to a good start to his career.  The Patriots won’t likely run much in this game unless they get a big lead.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 37, BILLS 17