Detroit, Mich. (WGR 550) - Under more than six feet of snow and amid a two-game losing streak, the Buffalo Bills travel to Detroit to take on the Cleveland Browns in a “home” game at Ford Field.
To get back in the win column, here are my three keys, plus notes and stats:
1.) Put the distraction behind you
It’s easier said than done, but with all of the chaos of the last several days, with the game location being moved, players stuck in their homes and having to find ways to travel to the airport and then Detroit - not to mention not being able to practice - the Bills will somehow have to find a way to put all of that behind them, re-group and focus on playing football.
Eight years ago, under head coach Doug Marrone, the Bills did a great job of that in a very similar situation and beat the New York Jets in Detroit, 38-3.
It’s going to take an organization-wide effort to help everyone do that, and be in the right frame of mind once Sunday at 1 p.m. EST comes around.
2.) Stop the turnovers
Through the two-game losing streak the Bills are on, a huge factor in those games has been them turning the ball over to the opponent. Especially quarterback Josh Allen, who has thrown six interceptions over the past two-and-a-half games.
Allen and the entire offense needs to get back to making better decisions and taking care of the ball. When they do that, they hardly get stopped by any team.
The Bills will have a great chance to score against a Browns defense that’s allowed 26.5 points per-game, the second-highest average in the NFL.
3.) Stop Chubb
While the Bills offense needs to stop giving the ball to the other team, the defense will need to stop the other team from running on them.
In comes one of the best running backs - and overall running games - in the league in Nick Chubb, who is third in the NFL with 904 yards rushing, and fourth among all running backs averaging 5.65 yards per-run.
The Browns will most likely lean on their run game to keep the ball away from Allen and the Bills offense, especially after seeing the Bills having given up over 176 yards on the ground per-game over their last three contests.
Not allowing them to do that, and putting the ball in Jacoby Brissett’s hands to make plays in the passing game will go along way for the Bills in this one.
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