Buccaneers vs. Bills: Matchup of the Week

Greetings and salutations to Bills Authority readers and football fans alike. The bye week is over, rejoice and be glad! We’re here for another week of NFL action with our favorite squad; The Buffalo Bills. What will our lovable Bills have in store for us this week? Well, hopefully it’s a nice pristine “W,” but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Regardless if Jameis Winston is under center or our familiar bearded friend Ryan Fitzpatrick, wins are hard to come by in the NFL. What matchup should we be gazing into specifically this week? Let’s dive in and take a closer look.

Bucs Receiving Corp vs. Bills Secondary
If you’ve been watching the Bills since the beginning of this season you can’t not be happy with the production out of their secondary. Through five games the Bills have accumulated 13 turnovers. (8 interceptions, 5 fumbles). Of those 13 turnovers, 10 were caused by the secondary including all 8 interceptions. What do these slew of numbers mean after five games? This defense (secondary specifically) is good. I’m not going to be leery about this either. I’ve been burned by making these takes too early in the past but they’re a good secondary with the potential to be great. I’m not going to sit here and say they’re one of the best in the league but they can get there. What causes me some concern is how well AJ Green matched up against them last week. I think Atlanta’s Julio Jones would have put up similar numbers had he not been taken out by the injury bug. Want to know who else has a formidable receiver?: Tampa Bay, in the form of 6’5’’ 225 pounds powerhouse, Mike Evans.

In my eyes Mike Evans is a top ten receiver. This weeks’ biggest matchup is: can the Buffalo Bills secondary slow down Mike Evans better than they could AJ Green? Young rookie Tre’Davious White will surely have his hands full. It is up to veterans Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer to help White with the big, physical Mike Evans. Careful though, they spend too much focus on Mike Evans and the homerun threat of DeSean Jackson could burn you for a long touchdown. It’s a tricky situation for this talented Bills secondary, one that I believe they can handle, but it will be interesting to monitor as the game progresses. The first quarter drives could end up being a precursor for the rest of the day. If they have success through the air, it could spell certain doom for this freshly rested Bills team. This is a team, who most fans probably aren’t betting on to win a shootout against a daunting Buccaneers offense. I’m sure in the mind of most Bills enthusiasts we’re all thinking “I sure hope Jameis Winston sits out this week.” Let’s face it, a wins a win and at the end of the season, beating Ryan Fitzpatrick does the same thing for this Bills team that a win vs. Winston does. Winning here keeps us trucking along and in a race for first place in the AFC East. Onward and upward Buffalo, time to spare the Bills a loss from the old Buccaneers.