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5 Bills to focus on vs. Ravens
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- 5 Bills to focus on vs. Ravens
The Buffalo Bills take on the Baltimore Ravens this week in what will be the first post-bye week game of head coach Joe Brady's tenure. Under former head coach Sean McDermott, the Bills were a perfect 9-0 following a bye. Can the Bills continue that trend under a new head man?
The week of rest came at a good time for Buffalo, as they were plenty banged-up for their last contest against the Las Vegas Raiders. Thanks to that extra week of rest coming into this game, it appears that the Bills will have some of their top players returning for what should be a tough matchup against a strong AFC foe.
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Here are our five players to watch this week as Buffalo battles Baltimore.
WR DJ Moore
After missing Buffalo's last two games thanks to a flare-up of the same shoulder injury that caused him to miss time against the Detroit Lions and New England Patriots, Moore is trending towards playing this week. He will be a welcome addition to a Buffalo passing game that has been outstanding this season. The Bills rank No. 12 overall in passing yards and No. 17 in passing touchdowns despite coming in at just No. 30 overall in passing attempts. This week, quarterback Josh Allen should be even better than he has been with his top wideout back in the game. Moore has 12 catches for 178 yards and a score on 20 targets this season.
In the two games where he's been able to start and finish the contest, Moore has 11 of those catches for 167 yards and a score. In those two games, Allen totaled 538 passing yards and two scores. Moore opens up the Buffalo passing attack, and thanks to the emergence of Keon Coleman this year, the Bills now have two solid wideouts joining Khalil Shakir at the top of the receiver depth chart. Look for the Bills to ease Moore back into action, but if it's as tight as I think it will be, expect No. 2 to see plenty of targets in the second half in big moments.
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WR Khalil Shakir
Given Baltimore's success in stopping the run this season—they're allowing just 3.8 yards per rush so far—I think the Bills might be wise trying to attack via their "11" personnel grouping more often than through their heavier packages. That means there should be plenty of targets for someone like Shakir, who has taken a bit of a back seat in the early going after serving as Allen's top target over the last two seasons. Shakir is on pace to catch 62 passes for 821 yards and three touchdowns on 91 targets.
Those be his lowest totals in targets, receptions, and touchdowns in a season since 2023, which is when he had Stefon Diggs absorbing the majority of the targets. Shakir is as dangerous as anyone in the NFL in space, and he can operate at all levels of the defense to create mismatches. I like Buffalo's slot targets—Shakir and tight end Dalton Kincaid—this week against the interior of the Baltimore defense, and I especially like Shakir if the Ravens use safety Kyle Hamilton to neutralize Kincaid.
OLB Greg Rousseau
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After a white-hot start to the season, Rousseau has cooled over the course of the Bills' last three games. Groot began the year by earning Defensive Player of the Month honors for September, totaling 15 tackles, six sacks, three forced fumbles, eight tackles for loss, 12 quarterback hits, and a pass deflection in Buffalo's first three games. In the three games the Bills have played since, Rousseau has six tackles, seven quarterback hits, four pass deflections, and zero sacks or tackles for loss.
Granted, teams took notice of Rousseau's play and have responded by devising blocking schemes to neutralize him as a result; however, Rousseau can't be invisible in the pass rush for Buffalo's beleaguered defense to turn their performance around. Against Lamar Jackson, who should be set to return from an ankle injury this week, the Bills will need to be sound in their assignments and force their opponents to beat them from the pocket. Jackson is excellent within structure, but he is absolutely devastating when allowed to scramble. Rousseau has always done a great job setting the edge, but he'll need to play up the elite status of his first three games this week in order for the Bills to come out with a win.
DL Ed Oliver
I was between Ed and linebacker Terrel Bernard for this spot, and while I think it's essential for Bernard to perform, I'm really intrigued to see what Buffalo's defensive line can do with a healthy Oliver back in the fold. If teams want to commit their resources to Rousseau on the edge, that likely means that someone like Oliver will have a one-on-one inside, especially given how good nose tackle Deone Walker has been this season.
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Oliver has dealt with hip and knee injuries this season, and just as the story of his career has gone, the injuries have prevented him from playing consistently enough to make an impact. Look for Oliver to lasso Jackson in the backfield at some point on Sunday for his first full sack of the season (he notched a shared sack during Buffalo's 29-26 loss to the New England Patriots).
S Damar Hamlin
I've already outlined the reasons why I think the starting safety spot alongside Cole Bishop should go to rookie Jalon Kilgore instead of the veteran Hamlin, but all signs point to Hamlin being the one to take C.J. Gardner-Johnson's place for most of the snaps on Sunday. Hamlin is limited in coverage, and while he remains a solid tackler, he's best suited for special teams work. If he finds himself in one-on-one situations against Mark Andrews, or worse yet, Zay Flowers, the Ravens will capitalize.
Perhaps Hamlin's mental acuity will help to settle the defensive secondary, but I'm more concerned that his lack of speed will lead to some big plays. Baltimore is going to try to find No. 3 and use him to their advantage this week. Just as he's done for the majority of his career, Hamlin will have to rise to that challenge. Here's hoping he turns in a solid performance, but don't be surprised if we see some Jalon Kilgore out there at times, as well.
