As the Buffalo Bills have been preparing to play the Carolina Panthers during their bye week, we have found out that backup quarterback Andy Dalton will be starting this week against the Bills. Starting quarterback Bryce Young suffered a high ankle sprain this past week against the New York Jets, per Tom Pelissero.
While the Bills were off working on their areas of improvement, they know mentally they cannot repeat the same mistakes they've made over their past two games. They will start to prepare to play against Dalton and continue in other areas of concern.
4 challenges the Bills must overcome heading into week 8 facing the Panthers
1. Can the defense stop running back Rico Dowdle?
Remember when running back Rico Dowdle ran for 1,079 yards last year in his only season with the Dallas Cowboys? The young runner, so far, is tearing it up with the Carolina Panthers, rushing for 551 yards on 98 carries.
The Bills really need to start getting that run defense figured out, or it's going to be a long day for defensive tackle Ed Oliver and others. The only player who's been able to play against the run well is defensive tackle Deone Walker.
He's only a rookie, but he has NFL size for his position. The 6-foot-7-inch, 331-pound giant is quick on his feet and was fantastic in bringing down Atlanta Falcons' running back Bijan Robinson despite his big day on the ground on Monday night.
If he and Oliver both have a good day shooting the gap and tackling Dowdle in the backfield, then this run defense could be hard to play against by the end of the year.
2. The receivers must get open for quarterback Josh Allen
While the Bills are committed to the "Everybody Eats" philosophy in terms of the number of catches their receiving core makes, the unit hasn't done a great job of getting open for Allen to throw to. This has led to Allen having to take unfortunate sacks or throw the ball away.
Sure, Allen is an MVP quarterback, but he can't always play superhero when the receivers are covered and no receiver is open to throw to.
If the unit can finally find ways to break open and create separation from man-man coverage, then every Bills fan circle should be calm for at least a week. That's why the Bills' Brass still needs to be on the lookout for a big-play receiver before the trade deadline ends.
3. Can the Bills keep their undefeated record of winning after coming off a bye?
The Bills have achieved an impressive feat, especially when coming off a bye week. Since head coach Sean McDermott took over in 2017, the Bills are (8-0) coming off their week off from football.
History has shown that this could make it (9-0) coming off the bye, but the Bills are heading into this game with a lot of questions that need to be answered, despite being (4-2).
They need to be able to stop the run and also have their receivers get open to create separation from the Carolina defenders. They also need to start playing more man coverage and creating more pressure on the quarterback in order to force more sacks.
If the Bills just stay the course and get back to being "playoff caliber", then they will improve to (5-2) on the season. If not, we could start hitting that panic button.
4. Panthers are 3-0 at home (can the Bills stop them from winning at home?)
The only roadblock standing in the way of the Bills' undefeated record coming off a bye is the Panthers' perfect play at home. The Panthers are (3-0) at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, and they will want to earn a statement win at home against Allen and the Buffalo Bills in front of their rapid fan base.
The Bills Mafia will travel well, too, and will look to travel to Charlotte to create a road advantage for their beloved Bills.