While it will be a boring weekend without Buffalo Bills football, it also means not having to worry about anything major happening that could impact the Bills in a bad way. Buffalo hasn’t lost since Week 5 and they are the hottest team in the AFC. They handed the Kansas City Chiefs their first loss of the season in Week 11 and the Bills officially own the tiebreaker over them.
The Bills offense has been steam-rolling opponents since their loss to the Houston Texans. The defense has made the right adjustments throughout each game. Overall, the roster has come together and it has helped them rip off six consecutive wins and sitting at a 9-2 record.
They have a tough last six weeks beginning in Week 13. They will play three straight out-of-conference games against the 49ers, Rams, and Lions before taking on the Patriots twice and the Jets.
It’s more than likely that unless a major collapse happens, the Bills are going to win the AFC East. Now it’s a race for the #1 seed in the AFC. However, in order to make the AFC run through them, there are two major improvements that they will need to make down the stretch.
2 major improvement Buffalo Bills need to make after bye week
Get Ray Davis more involved on offense
James Cook is the lead back for the Bills, no one is arguing that. However, Buffalo has created a young great duo in the backfield with Cook and rookie running back Ray Davis. With his first breakout game taking place in Week 6 against the New York Jets, Davis has proven that when he gets his opportunity, he makes more of an impact than most of us thought.
He can run in-between or outside the tackles, as well serve as a weapon in the receiving game. Just ask the Miami Dolphins who let Davis take a simple 2-yard dump off pass and turn it into a 63 yard touchdown.
With the weather starting to get colder, Davis’ physicality is going to mean more than it has. Joe Brady needs to open up the playbook more for Davis as the snow starts to hit.
Improve the run defense
This unit for Buffalo has been torched all season long. Giving up 119 rushing yards per game is going to come back to haunt them in December and January. Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones have been disappointing this year and the rotation in the middle of the trenches hasn’t been great.
The Bills defense is getting ready to face some tough running back competition like Christian McCaffrey, Kyren Williams, and the dangerous duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. While Bobby Babich has demonstrated that he can get the defense adjusted, these backs are no joke.
It’s time to step up and prove that they won’t be a liability going into the final month of the season.