Orchard Park, NY (WGR) - The Buffalo Bills will look to move to 6-1 on the season when they host the Baltimore Ravens in a key AFC matchup. In order to do that, here are my three keys to the game, plus notes and stats:
KEYS
- Slow down Zay Flowers
The Bills have been excellent against running backs this year, allowing just 3.6 yards per carry. But they have given up far too much through the air, and especially to team’s top wideouts. Nico Collins caught 7 passes for 75 yards. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught 9 balls for 142 yards. Puka Nacua had a whopping 17 catches for 178 yards. Now Flowers cones to town, and despite not even having starting quarterback Lamar Jackson throwing to him the last three games, he’s already totaled 40 catches for 608 yards on the season. The Bills cannot let Flowers loose and control the game in their secondary.
- Contain Lamar Jackson’s legs
While the Bills defense has done an excellent job on running backs this season, quarterbacks have been able to run on them a little too much. QBs have run 17 times for 93 yards on them this season, averaging 5.47 yards per run. Some of those runs have been critical third down gains that led to a first down. Lamar Jackson is one of the greatest running quarterbacks in the history of the league. He’s going to take off once in a while, and when he does, the Bills defense has to keep him contained enough to not allow big gains or important yards in critical situations.
- Get DJ Moore involved
It looks like the Bills will get DJ Moore back on the field. While they still scored 70 points over two games without him, it’s clear the offense functions better when he is playing. Moore has missed the last two-plus games with a shoulder injury. He only has only 12 catches for 178 yards on the season, but teams look to take him away. That opens the field up for other players, including Dalton Kincaid, who had a hot start to the season, but a much tougher time without Moore on the field.
NOTES AND STATS
Outlet Liquor
