The Buffalo Bills are going back-and-forth of being at home and on the road, and they will head out to Indianapolis this Sunday for what should be a physical matchup against the Colts. Buffalo is riding a four-game winning streak while the Colts have dropped their last two games.
Coming in at 7-2, the Bills are looking to expand their huge lead within the AFC East. On the other sideline, the Colts are looking to get their record back up to .500 and stay within the hunt for the AFC South division. Indianapolis has beaten the Bills in their last two regular season matchup, winning by a combined score of 78-20 and running back Jonathan Taylor had an absolute field day in 2021 against Buffalo by scoring five total touchdowns.
The Bills have not won in Indianapolis since 1998, Peyton Manning’s rookie season with the Colts. Sean McDermott will be looking to change that narrative this Sunday. With that, we take a look at four bold predictions for the Bills that could very well help them secure their eighth win against a tough Colts team.
Bills defense forces 4+ turnovers
Starting off strong with a prediction about the defense shining against the Colts offense. There has only been one game where the Colts did not turn the ball over this season. In their last two weeks, they have four turnovers and that should give Sean McDermott and Bobby Babich some key factors on how they can create turnovers.
The Bills defense has forced atleast one turnover in every game this year and they will be the unit that will either be the reason why Buffalo wins or loses this game. In order for the Colts to feel pressure and abandon their run game with Jonathan Taylor, Buffalo has to be able to take the ball away, no questions asked.
Ed Oliver records 2+ sacks
Staying on the topic of defense, it’s about time Bills fans see a wildly productive game from Ed Oliver. We learned earlier this week that the Colts have placed their starting center Ryan Kelly on IR, which gives Oliver an advantage going into this game. Going up against a backup, Oliver has to find a way to utilize his quickness off the ball and pressure Joe Flacco up the middle.
Oliver has just one sack on the year, one year removed from a career year 9.5 sacks last season. He has been a disappointment up to this point this season, and if there is one game for him to turn things around, it would be this Sunday against a banged up Colts offensive line.
James Cook has a career day in rushing yards
Both Indianapolis and Buffalo have similar run-defenses in terms of not having the ability to stop the run. The Colts are allowing 150 rushing yards per game, which includes giving up 200+ yards the first two weeks of the season. While they can run the ball on offense, their defense has no answer against any running back. Enter James Cook into the conversation, and this sounds like the perfect career day for him.
Since last season, Cook has proven to be a bellcow back for the Bills but mixing him in with Ray Davis has formed one of the better young duos in the league. However, if the Bills can avoid third down situations throughout the game, Cook may get a lot of touches which could result in a lot of production.
Bills offense has no more than 20 passing attempts
While Cook may be the star of the show, it would obviously take the passing attack out of the plan and Josh Allen may not have the chance to make any dynamite-like throws. It’s very rare to not see Buffalo’s passing attack be the main reason why the ball gets moved down the field. However, we have seen it before. Just ask the Miami Dolphins back in Week 2 when Allen was a non-contributor in a Buffalo blowout 31-10 victory.