Buffalo Bills @ Cincinnati Bengals: Three Keys to the Game

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ORCHARD PARK, NY – OCTOBER 13: Andy Dalton #14 of the Cincinnati Bengals is pressured by Marcell Dareus #99 and Kyle Williams #95 of the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium on October 13, 2013 in Orchard Park, New York. Cincinnati won 27-24. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images) /

Bills need to get pressure on Andy Dalton

The last key to the game is getting pressure on Andy Dalton. The Bengals struggled mightily in their first two weeks of the season, but after firing offensive coordinator Ken Zampese and replacing him with Bill Lazor the teams’ offense has been much more productive.

The major change Lazor has implemented is that they are utilizing more short, quick passes to both running backs and receivers in order to make up for the Bengals poor offensive line. It’s similar to how the Jets were successful moving the ball on Buffalo week 1 at times during the game.

According to Pro Football Focus, last season Dalton had a 91.8 passer rating, but that dropped to 57.1 when he was under pressure which was seventh worst in the league. When he was blitzed, his passer rating was 76.2 which was fourth worst in the NFL.

Buffalo must find a way to collapse the pocket to get pressure on Dalton and get hands up in the passing lanes which will be critical to the defense getting off the field and the Bills winning the field position battle Sunday afternoon.

If they can’t get pressure on Dalton, he will be able to dink and dunk on them all afternoon with short passes which will tire out the Bills defense and limit their effectiveness late in the game.

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