Kickoff is in less than 24 hours from Carolina where the Buffalo Bills will be looking bounce back from their two consecutive losses before their bye week last Sunday. The Bills are once again on the road against the Panthers, who are at a surprising 4-3 themselves. With the Bills set to take on Andy Dalton rather than Bryce Young, there is an advantage that Buffalo’s defense may have.
Buffalo’s offense started out very strong this season, but has declined in production a bit in their last two games. Heck, you could make the argument that in their Week 4 game against the Saints, the offense was a little out of sync despite up 30+ points. Against the Patriots and Falcons, they haven’t been playing complimentary football and Joe Brady has called some very questionable playcalling, too.
As for the defense, well, we already know that narrative. They can’t stop the run and their situational football on third downs has been bad. Many fans are hoping that the Bills will make a trade to improve their defense before the trade deadline. They are facing multiple injuries and they need some sort of help to keep their championship window open.
Overall, the Bills got the extra week of rest and they have been successful after their bye under Sean McDermott. However, Carolina hasn’t lost at home this season. What should have been a potentially easy game for the Bills coming into this season, is now a must-win for them against a sneaky good Panthers team.
Bills vs. Panthers Week 8 final score prediction
At this point, the Bills cannot afford to lose games. They aren’t just potentially losing out on the No. 1 seed in the AFC, they are behind the Patriots in the AFC East. If they continue to play bad football, it’s going to be a long second half of the season.
For this week, Buffalo should be coming out more aggressive and leaving no room for the Panthers to get into this game. Sure, maybe the defense will give up a big run at some point. However, situationally, they should be much improved from the bye and they handle the Panthers with a little bit of ease to get back into the win column.