After an abysmal 9-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars back in Week 9 of the 2021 season, the Buffalo Bills needed a bounce-back win to get back on track and remain ahead of a surging New England Patriots squad in the AFC East.
Buffalo responded in a massive way last Sunday, putting up 45 points on the New York Jets in a 45-17 win at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Josh Allen and the Bills offense fired on all cylinders for most of the contest in the Meadowlands. Allen led the way with 366 yards in the air on 21-of-28 passing, with two touchdown passes to running back Matt Breida and wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
The running game also got in on the action, with four different rushers finding the end zone on the afternoon. All three of Buffalo's running backs - Breida, Devin Singletary and Zack Moss - all punched in scores on the ground, while wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie also ran in a touchdown to contribute to Buffalo's overall offensive success.
As of Saturday, the Bills currently rank fifth in the NFL in total offense, averaging 401.1 yards per-game this season. Buffalo also ranks in the top-10 of the league in passing and rushing offense, while also ranking as the second-best scoring offense with an average of 31.1 points per-game.
Meanwhile, the defense came up with another five takeaways of the Jets offense on Sunday. Every member of the starting secondary forced a turnover of New York, which included interceptions from Tre'Davious White, Levi Wallace, Taron Johnson and Jordan Poyer, as well as a forced fumble and recovery by Micah Hyde.
Buffalo continues to rank as the best overall defense in the NFL this season, averaging a league-low 274.1 yards-against per-game. The Bills also sit second in defending the pass, third in defending the run, and also give up the fewest average points per-game (15.0) this year.
Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier's defense also leads the NFL this season in takeaways, forcing the opposition into 24 turnovers on the year. Their plus-14 turnover differential is also a league-best total.
As the Bills look ahead to Week 11 of the season, they'll get ready to face the defense with the second-best turnover rate in the league in the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at Highmark Stadium. The Colts have forced a total of 21 turnovers this season, and are second in turnover differential at plus-11.
The Colts enter Sunday's matchup with the Bills looking to stay within striking distance of the Tennessee Titans for the AFC South, while also contending for one of the three wild card spots in the AFC.
Even though the Colts have been able to take the football away from their opposition this season, their offense has been relatively inefficient when turning those takeaways into points on the scoreboard. Led by former second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, Carson Wentz has not the beacon of hope that maybe Colts fans had been hoping for, as his inconsistent play has held Indianapolis back in some cases this season.
Where the Colts' offense has really excelled this season is on the ground with Jonathan Taylor becoming one of the league's best running backs. The second-year running back currently leads the league with 937 rushing yards, while accounting for 10 total touchdowns this season. Thanks, in large part to Taylor's performance, the Colts currently rank sixth in the NFL with 136.3 rushing yards per-game.
The last time these two teams met was just last season in the AFC Wild Card Round when the Bills held off a Philip Rivers-led Colts team, 27-24, to advance in the playoffs at, then, Bills Stadium.
While the stakes for this game in the 2021 season are not as high, Howard Simon knows how important a win this week will mean for the rest of the season.
After a bummer of a week for "Howard Picks the Bills" in Week 10, Howard is much more optimistic about the Bills' finish for the 2021 campaign in Orchard Park. This time around, not only does Howard have the Bills beating the Colts on Sunday, but he also has Buffalo finishing 13-4 this season. This includes a win on the road in Week 14 over Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Be sure to follow along on Twitter for the latest picks from Howard by using the hashtag #HowardPicksTheBills. You can also track all of Howard's picks throughout the season with Brayton Wilson's picks tracker on Twitter: @BJWilsonWGR.
You can listen to the latest edition of "Howard Picks the Bills" and watch our Facebook Live video below:
