The Buffalo Bills are back in action this Sunday, and they are back in Orchard Park for the first time since their Week 4 loss against the New England Patriots. After gaining back-to-back west coast wins and then having their bye week, the Bills will host the Baltimore Ravens in what will be a heavyweight AFC battle.
Since 2015, the Bills haven't lost coming out of their bye week so Joe Brady faces some pressure to keep that streak alive in his first year as the team's head coach. The Ravens are coming off back-to-back divisional losses so they are starting to get a little desperate. If they end up losing to the Bills, then not only do they drop to 4-4, but their chances to make a run in the AFC start to take a major hit.
These battles between Buffalo and Baltimore are physical, and sometimes it comes down to just pure luck. Even though the Ravens have dropped their last two games, they have the 4th-best rushing attack in the league that is led by the king himself, Derrick Henry.
Ravens' rushing attack is their big X-factor for Week 8
Henry leads all RBs in carries on the season with 147, and he has rushed for 579 yards which ranks as 6th overall. He has had 4 games of 23+ carries and most of them have come when Lamar Jackson was on the field.
Not to mention, his backup in Justice Hill has a little bit of breakaway speed and if he gets to the second level, he can cause some damage.
Whether Lamar Jackson plays this week or not, the Bills have one major task to complete; stop Baltimore's rushing attack.
Bills' run-defense must set the tone against Ravens
Buffalo's defense is not good whatsoever this season. They are in the middle of some major growing pains under DC Jim Leonhard, and it's starting to get very frustrating amongst the fanbase.
With that being said, the majority of their failures are coming against the pass. Believe it or not, Buffalo's run-defense has significantly improved from last year. They are allowing just 101 yards per game on the ground which is in the middle of the pack in the league. Compare it to last year, and it's a noticeable improvement.
If the Bills are able to slow down Baltimore's rushing attack and take Henry out of the gameplan, it will put a ton of pressure on their passing attack to win them the game.
Now, if Henry can get the rushing attack going early on and get Buffalo out of their rhythm, then the Bills are in big trouble.
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