Buffalo @ Minnesota: Players to Watch

Here we are, week three. Have you checked any power rankings this week? I of course did. I thought, “hey you know what? Maybe someone will ease up on my Bills and make the Cardinals the 32^nd best team in the NFL.” Nope. Still the Bills. I’m not going to argue it, they’re not good. Only two games in and I’m already circling games on the schedule of teams they play where it would be “fun” to play spoiler to. (See you Monday October 29^th New England!) Luckily for us, this weekend is another game against a Super Bowl perennial team in the Minnesota Vikings. Can Buffalo pull out the upset? Currently Minnesota is a 16.5 point favorite. If I was a gambling man, I’d say they cover, easily. If you’re looking to make a quick buck, that’s my betting advice for you this weekend. Go all-in on Minnesota. If you want advice on how Buffalo can pull this out, keep reading this column. We’re going to jump into the players to watch and how they will give the Bills their first W of the season.

Offense: Josh Allen

What’s there to say about our “quarterback of the future” Josh Allen? Well, for one, the future is now whether we like it or not. Secondly, he did…okay last week? His QBR ended at a 16.1 which is better than Nathan Peterman’s .7 QBR, so… progress… Anyway, no one expected Allen to start this early in his NFL career and now that he is, did anyone expect him to move the needle as far as turning this offense around? I sure didn’t, there is a lot to fix here. I think the best news to come out of Sunday’s game against the Chargers is Buffalo is not using their ‘child locks’ on Josh. He had 18 completions on 33 attempts which is much higher than I thought they’d go with him for attempts. Those numbers are inflated as Buffalo was playing catchup ball, however, it’s a good sign that they’re going to let him throw the ball. Keep watching Josh each week and watch him grow as a player. If he stays healthy for the rest of the season, we should have a good sample size to know if he’s the guy we want to build around. As previous commenters have mentioned in my comments (always appreciate the interaction!) Peyton Manning had a subpar first year on a lousy team in the Indianapolis Colts, however, it was still clear to their front office, he was the guy to build around. That’s what we want to see with Josh Allen this year.

Defense: Vontae Davis

I don’t know about you guys but I think this dude is going to be a key player in our victory this Sunday. There is a reason Buffalo went after him this offseason and I think he will be a stud in games going forward. The guy just screams talent, not to mention….……alright, I kid. What a bizarre story that was. What a chump, okay, moving on.

Defense: Tremaine Edmunds

Let’s stick with rookies and take a look at Tremaine Edmunds. Through two games he has nine tackles (one for a loss) one sack, two passes deflected and one forced fumble. For a rookie, who has to play one of the most important spots on defense and has to essentially be a field general, I LOVE that stat line. Making the jump from college to the NFL is no easy feat and from what I’ve seen thus far, Edmunds is doing a fine job picking up the new speed of the game and forcing him in on just about every play. I implore you to keep your eye on 49 on every play Sunday. You will see him close to the ball just about every time. It’s hard not to see him, he’s in just about every camera shot at the end of the play. He may not be making every tackle but there are growing pains jumping up to the ‘big leagues’. He’s learning and he’ll be a player. He has my stamp of approval. (Side note: I actually don’t have a stamp on me but I may invest in one. An approval stamp would be pretty sweet.)

Alright you guys, another week of Buffalo Bill football. Can they get their first win? Unlikely but it’ll be fun to watch nevertheless. Fun for me anyway, I’ll just speak for myself on this one. We have guys on this team to be excited about. We may not be a playoff bound team this year but we can look towards the future with some key players. That’s just my sentiments though. What do you guys think. Comment below or tweet at me @bblehar. Love to have you join in on the discussion. Let’s circle a wagon or two this weekend!