Week 4 at Las Vegas Raiders
The Buffalo Bills will be welcomed to the newly built Allegiant Stadium to face the first of four AFC West opponents. In addition to their new home, the Raiders seem to be all in on a new style of roster, and this style is speed.
All across the roster, this Raiders team is young and fast. In this past NFL Draft, the Raiders doubled down on this concept by drafting wide receiver Henry Ruggs out of Alabama in the first round as well as Lynn Bowden Jr. in the third round. Bowden is a bit of a hybrid offensive player that can start in the backfield or line up out wide as a receiver, but regardless, him and Ruggs will be tough to cover.
However, if there’s a safety duo in the league that can keep the cap on this speed it would be the likes of Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. In addition to this tall task though, the Bills defense still has to contain 2019 breakout tight end Darren Waller in the middle of the field. Ideally, Bills middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds can chip away at that responsibility throughout the game, but Waller will likely require extra attention from the defense.
On the other side of the ball, the Bills offense should get the better of this young Las Vegas Raiders defense. There is some experience out there for the Raiders, but a lot of the players they expect contributions from are entering their first and/or second year.
For instance, Clelin Farrell and Johnathan Abram come to mind as players with plenty of talent but may not contribute to the Raiders expectations. Farrell was drafted high in the 2019 NFL Draft at fourth overall, and he did not live up to that draft stock in Year 1 with only 4.5 sacks. Abram on the other hand was less fortunate, he did not get to play in his first year due to injury. Although Abram has a lot of potential with his versatility from both the safety and nickel positions, he is still a question mark entering 2020 due to his lack of playing experience in the NFL.
All that being said, the improved Buffalo offense should take care of business in this matchup upgrading the Bills to 1-0 against the AFC West in 2020.
Prediction: Bills win (1-0)