Predicting the Buffalo Bills record against the NFC West in 2020
Week 9 vs. Seattle Seahawks
Once again, the Bills will get the advantage of staying in Buffalo for this matchup, while the Seahawks must travel east to Buffalo. Since entering the NFL, Russell Wilson has played the Buffalo Bills just twice, but he has yet to lose.
For years the Seahawks have done the same thing in terms of roster construction, which is pay their skill positions and defensive players while neglecting to truly focus on the offensive line. It’s not crazy to assume that the Seahawks believe in Wilson’s improvisational skills in the pocket, but again in 2020 he doesn’t have anyone elite protecting him from pass rushers.
This is where the Bills will have the upper hand in this game as the defensive line rotation by Buffalo should keep legs fresh and ready to disrupt Wilson in the pocket. Expect Bills rookie A.J. Epenesa to have big opportunity to show off his versatility on the defensive line in this game. Epenesa has the ability to penetrate the opposing offensive line with a mix of speed, strength, and technique from the interior and edge spots.
On the other side of the ball, the Bills will be playing former AFC East colleague, safety Jamal Adams, as the Jets traded him to Seattle in July. Optimistically, this means the Buffalo Bills will only have to play Adams once in 2020 as opposed to twice if he were still a member of the Jets.
Expect the Bills to establish their two-headed running machine of Devin Singletary and rookie running back Zack Moss. The Seahawks defensive line isn’t the greatest in run defense but where they get physical is at the linebacker level with Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright. Ideally, the concept for the rotation between Moss and Singletary is to keep legs fresh while wearing down the energy of the opposing defense.
The Buffalo Bills should be able to win the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball. On offense, this will allow the running game to get going as well as give Josh Allen time to make smart decisions. On defense, this should give the Bills the opportunity to apply pressure to Russell Wilson while containing him in the pocket. This sets the Bills up nicely to win this game and advance their record against the NFC West to 1-1 in 2020.
Prediction: Win (1-1)