Going into their third consecutive primetime matchup, the Buffalo Bills (5-4) are going back and forth with a win-lose-win-lose streak the last month of football. Since Week 5, they have split up the wins and losses, in which the Bills have not won against an AFC team since Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins.
Coming off a loss last Sunday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, the trend shows that the Bills should pick up a win this week but we know that is not how it works. They will need to bring their A-game.
While the whole team needs to step it up, there are five players for the Bills that had some sort of struggles last week that they cannot afford to do going up against the Denver Broncos. Last week, there were plays or lack of plays that cost the Bills momentum and ultimately, the win.
Here are the five Buffalo Bills that need to step up in Week 10 on Monday night.
5.) Greg Rousseau
In the first four weeks of the season, Greg Rousseau was consistently in the backfield and creating pressure. Since Week 5, it seems as if Rousseau has disappeared from the defense. He has only 9 combined tackles with no sacks since the Bills played against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
With the way Rousseau has been performing as of lately, in a defense that has been riddled with injuries in what seems like every week, he has not provided the impact on the edge that has been lacking as of lately from him.
The Broncos are allowing quarterback Russell Wilson to be sacked on average three times a game, which should be a confidence booster for this Bills’ defensive line and Rousseau. Even though the Bills have been able to rack up QB hits and sacks, the tape shows that the pressure has not been what it was in the beginning of the season.
This upcoming game against Denver needs to be a clean-up game, something that Buffalo has not had in the past month and it starts in the trenches by getting to Wilson.
4.) Jordan Phillips
Sticking with the defensive line route, Jordan Phillips has been underwhelming this season in more of an up-and-down production.
While he rotates in the starting lineup and in the overall defensive line rotation, the film doesn’t show him making the best impact in both stopping the run and creating interior pressure. Not only will Phillips need to push back to get into the face of Wilson, but also worry about the versatility of Jaleel McLaughlin and the powerback in Javonte Williams.
Overall, the defensive line in general needs to step it up and be a factor in helping contain the Denver offense. If you win in the trenches, you always have a shot in winning the game. Phillips will not need to be a full time starter with Linval Joseph in the lineup, but Phillips will have to create the double team blocks to allow a linebacker to fly into the backfield to make a play.
3.) Gabe Davis
In the last month of football, Gabe Davis has displayed himself as a boom or bust player in the Buffalo offense. In Week 6 against the New York Giants, Davis was targeted just 4 times for 3 catches and 21 yards.
In New England, Davis posted only one catch for 5 yards off of 5 targets. Then in Week 8 against Tampa Bay, he was more involved in the passing game than any other Bills’ receiver with 9 catches for 87 yards and one touchdown off of 12 targets. He had momentum going into last Sunday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, but was ultimately a letdown with 2 targets with no catches.
Whether it was Josh Allen not looking his way or Davis not being able to get open, last weeks’ performance hurt the offense and did not give Allen many options to throw to. Whether it is a lack of looks towards or Davis not getting separation, the offensive game plan that was displayed against the Bengals hurt Buffalo.
Get the weapons involved and know how to utilize them. Davis is not going to get separation outside the numbers, so maybe Ken Dorsey will want to use Davis more in between the numbers.
2.) Dorian Williams
The third-round pick for the Bills this past April may get a shot at a full go on Monday night with the injuries that the linebacker room is facing. Terrel Bernard is in concussion protocol, and both A.J. Klein and Baylon Spector are dealing with injuries that kept them out of action last week on Sunday night. Williams was eventually replaced last week by Tyrel Dodson, in which Williams only played 44% of the snaps. With the ongoing injuries at the linebacker spot, Williams should see an increase this week.
Williams still has yet to show that big play that catches everyone’s attention. To his credit, the film shows Williams going at full speed whether or not he makes or misses a potential play. If the other linebackers are either limited or not ready to go on Monday night, Williams will have plenty of opportunities to make an impact to help bring stability to the defense.
1.) Josh Allen
Whether you are on the side of lack of production from the players or the play calling from Ken Dorsey, there has to be some share of blame with Josh Allen. The offense has been shown to be predictable to opposing defenses and it limits what Buffalo can do to put points on the board.
Last week against the Bengals, Allen’s main targets in Dalton Kincaid and Stefon Diggs were eventually figured out. There were multiple points throughout the game where the Buffalo defense bailed the offense out from a mistake, and Allen and the offense could not capitalize.
The play is made or it breaks in Allen’s hands. Lately, there has been a confidence issue with Allen as the offense fails to get momentum going in the first half until late in the game when it might be too late. Allen is 2-0 against the Broncos in his career and he will take on a defense that is all over the board and inconsistent themselves.
Even though they gave up 70 points to the Miami Dolphins, they limited Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to 9 points two weeks ago. Depending on which Denver defense decides to show up, Allen will need to step it up and create some consistency for the offense.