The Bills left Week 5 with a hard-earned win over the Los Angeles Rams, but the road doesn’t get gentler in Week 6. Las Vegas is coming off an ugly loss to the New England Patriots, yet the Raiders still have enough high-end talent to make Buffalo work for everything.
The player who can change the whole shape of the game is Brock Bowers. When he’s healthy, he belongs in the conversation with the NFL’s top playmakers, and even after missing the first two games of the season, he’s already second among tight ends in receiving yards.
The Raiders have also been moving him into the slot more often than using him as a traditional tight end, which only adds to the stress for Buffalo. The Bills won’t be surprised by him, but they may have to lean on double-teams often, especially since Las Vegas doesn’t have the wide receiver talent to make them pay for it.
Maxx Crosby is the other obvious headache. His sack total sits at 2.0 in five games, which makes his season look quieter than usual, but the pressure numbers still tell the real story.
According to Pro Football Reference, Crosby is third in the NFL with 21 pressures. Josh Allen is tough to bring down, but he has already been sacked 10 times this season, and Crosby has gotten to him once in his career.
If the Raiders are going to have any shot, they need Crosby creating chaos, and he’ll be plenty motivated to chase another big day.
There’s also Kirk Cousins, who has completely flipped the script after a forgettable run with the Atlanta Falcons. Nobody seemed eager to jump in during free agency, and that’s why he sat there for weeks before Las Vegas signed him.
Since then, he’s been one of the league’s best quarterbacks. He ranks second with 12 touchdown passes and has thrown for more yards than Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Brock Purdy and Drake Maye.
He doesn’t move much, but he’s playing some of the best football of his career, and he has only been sacked eight times despite a shaky offensive line. That makes him a real concern for a Bills defense that hasn’t stopped much of anyone this season.
On the other side of the ball, Nakobe Dean is another Raiders defender Buffalo has to account for. He’s emerging as one of the best free agent additions of the offseason, and while the Patriots game was rough for the entire Las Vegas defense, Dean had been playing at an All-Pro level before that.
As the leader of that unit, he’ll be coming into this matchup with a chip on his shoulder. With Allen running as well as he has this season, Dean should be around the quarterback plenty.
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Josh Allen Is One Run Away From Another Rare Bills Moment
Josh Allen has already carved out a place in NFL history with his legs, and the next milestone is sitting close enough to feel inevitable. The Bills quarterback owns the league record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 87, and his combination of power, patience and improvisation has made him one of the most dangerous dual threats the position has ever seen.
A meeting with the Raiders offers Allen a chance to add another rare marker to that resume, especially against a defense that has struggled to slow down runners. Buffalo has seen this before with Allen, where one productive Sunday can push him into territory occupied by only a tiny group of quarterbacks, and this matchup gives him another opportunity to keep climbing. [Read more 🡒]
Keon Coleman Is Giving The Bills A Reason To Rethink His Ceiling
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Through five games, Coleman has become a more consistent part of the passing game and has already given Buffalo a reason to revisit where his ceiling really sits. ESPN analyst Seth Walder was bullish on that possibility before the season, projecting a breakout that would put Coleman well above last years totals, and Colemans current pace makes that outlook look a lot less ambitious than it did in September. The question now is whether this start is the beginning of a true leap, or just the first stretch of a longer climb. [Read more 🡒]
Former Bills Starter Faces Buffalo With Plenty To Prove
Taron Johnsons return to Buffalo comes with a little more edge than the usual reunion. The cornerback, drafted by the Bills in 2018, spent years carving out a meaningful role in Buffalo and left behind a highlight reel that still stands out, especially that 101-yard interception return in the 2021 playoffs.
Now with the Raiders, Johnson is set to line up against the team that once made plans to move on from him before the offseason trade sent him to Las Vegas. He has settled into a new uniform and a new defense, and this matchup offers a familiar backdrop with a personal incentive attached, since a takeaway against his former team would also give him a first that has yet to arrive in silver and black. [Read more 🡒]