If the Bills are going to come away from this very-important conference game with a win, then the Bills must win the matchup between the Broncos secondary and the Bills wide receivers.
I really went back and forth on this and a case could be made for the Broncos defensive line and the Bills running game being the key matchup of the game. While we know that the Bills ability to run the football is of the upmost importance, I am interested to see how the WR’s will respond to last week’s loss, and see how they will pull their weight on this struggling offense.
The Broncos bring one of the best starting CB groups into the game on Sunday. Last year, Aqib Talib and Chris Harris graded out as the highest CB duo in Pro Football Focus history. So far this year, both CB’s have played extremely well. In Week 2, Chris Harris was named to PFF’s team of the week. It is going to be tough sledding for a Bills WR group that many would consider one of the worst in the league. The Bills wide receivers have struggled to gain separation through two weeks of the season and Bills WR’s have combined for 11 catches through 2 games. The Bills leading receivers are RB LeSean Mccoy and TE Charles Clay, neither of which would typically be covered by a starting CB. The Bills struggled mightily against a very good defense last week in Carolina, managing only 107 passing yards. It is hard to foresee the Bills having much more success through the air this week against the best CB duo in the league.
If the Bills can establish any sort of consistent passing attack, then that will open up LeSean McCoy on the ground, and will allow the Bills to do what they do best, which is run the football. We saw firsthand last week what will happen to the Bills if their run-first offense is shut down, so that is why this week it is essential for Jordan Matthews, Zay Jones, and Andre Holmes to get separation on the Broncos all-pro starting cornerbacks. If they do, it is up to Tyrod to pull the trigger. I do not think the Bills will win this game without Tyrod taking some chances; 4 yard out routs to McCoy and Clay is not going to get the job done against this Broncos team. Unless the Bills can infiltrate the Broncos’ “no fly zone” secondary, then the Bills will be stuck in the “no win zone.”
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