The Buffalo Bills reclaimed the top spot in the AFC East with their emphatic 48-20 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The win moved Buffalo to 3-1 on the year and vaulted it to the best point differential in the league. Now, the Bills shift their attention to another country as they “host” the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. The Bills opened at 3.5-point favorites. That line has moved to 5.5 at most gambling outlets. Without further ado, here are my top five storylines to watch as Bills Mafia gets set to enjoy fish and chips at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England.
London Calling
If you’ve opened Twitter this week, you’ve been bombarded by local media documenting their every move in London. That’s a long way to tell you it’s Jaguars vs. Bills across the pond Sunday morning. The Jags are coming off of a win in London. As for Buffalo, they are returning to London for the first time since 2015. They lost that game 34-31 to Jacksonville.
Secondary Holes
The Bills will be without Tre White for the rest of the season with a torn Achilles suffered in the win over Miami. This almost certainly means that second-year corner Kaiir Elam will be active. The former first-round pick has been inactive for Buffalo’s first four games. Elam was a massive piece of fans’ trade discussions so far this season, but holding firm with his depth looks like a great decision by Brandon Beane.
The other question is the health of safety, Jordan Poyer. He didn’t play last week against the Dolphins. The vet was listed as limited on Wednesday’s injury report, but the good news is he was back to full on Thursday. Having Poyer would be a welcomed site, knowing it’ll be a youngster stepping up in the secondary for White.
Despite initial concerns, Bills’ defense has improved with Sean McDermott as play-caller
Miller Time?
On the flip side of White/Poyer, Von Miller is starting to peak when it comes to his return from an ACL he suffered at Ford Field last season. The future Hall-of-Famer practiced on Wednesday, marking the first official practice for Miller after missing the first four games because he started the year on the reserve/PUP list due to his knee injury. You can argue that Buffalo hasn’t needed Miller so far this season, but when you can inject a guy who had eight sacks in 11 games in 2022, you do so. So far this week, Miller has been listed as limited on both Wednesday’s and Thursday’s injury reports.
Josh Allen(s)
We know how phenomenal the Bills’ Josh Allen has been this season. He is the reigning AFC Offensive Player of the Week after shredding up the Dolphins. The Jaguars’ Josh Allen is also balling out so far this year. His six sacks are tied for the most in the league. ProFootballFocus gives him a 90.5 pass rush grade, good enough for ninth in the NFL. Allen’s six hits rank third among EDGE, per PFF.
Go On a Run
The Bills, as a team, need to take the schedule week-by-week. I, a media nerd for the last two decades, look at the schedule as a whole. With that, the Bills have a chance to go on a run. They’ve won three straight, and you can argue the 2-2 Jaguars are their toughest opponent until they visit the Eagles on Sunday, November 26th. Between those games Buffalo plays the Giants (1-3), Patriots (1-3), Buccaneers (3-1), Bengals (1-3), Broncos (1-3), and Jets (1-3). We hear it all the time from the locker room “The NFL is a day-to-day league.” but if you wanna put a couple of greenbacks on a parlay, Buffalo winning the next seven games would be one hell of a Bills Mafia flex.
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