Browns vs. Bills: Breaking Down Buffalo's Game Plan

There will be a lot of storylines to follow when the Buffalo Bills welcome the Cleveland Browns to the no-longer-buried Ralph Wilson Stadium for Sunday's Week 13 contest.

First and foremost, the Bills will be fighting for their playoff lives. A win would move them to 7-5 and drop the Browns to 7-5, so the Bills would still have a puncher's chance for the playoffs. If the Bills lose, the narrative will start to shift to Jerry Hughes contract speculation and how good the defense can be with Kiko Alonso back next year.

In addition, Browns head coach Mike Pettine will be facing his former team. One of the main reasons Pettine landed the gig with the Browns was the way he turned around Buffalo's defense last year. Per ESPN.com's Mike Rodak, Pettine even said he wouldn't have gotten the Browns job if it weren't for the Bills.

There are also the Donte Whitner comments on Twitter (h/t ESPN). We will have to wait until Sunday to see what, if any, effect they had on the Bills.

It would have been hard to believe in August that Week 13 against the Browns would turn out to be the biggest game of the Bills' season, and yet here we are. A win keeps their playoff hopes alive. A loss essentially ends the season.

You would think having the game at The Ralph would be an advantage for the Bills, but they are 2-3 in Orchard Park this year. What do they have to do to protect their home field? Let's take a look at the game plan.

Throw It Back

That is to say go back in time on offense. Go back to a time when the team wanted to be a run-first offense that controls the clock and leans on its running game.

That may seem counterproductive since the Bills are missing one of their top two backs, and Fred Jackson is getting over an injury. But Bills fans are familiar with Pettine's defense. It creates a lot of pressure on the quarterback, but it is vulnerable against the run.

Take a look at Buffalo's rush defense last year under Pettine compared to the Browns defense this year.

2013 Bills	28th overall	128.9 YPG	4.4 YPC
2014 Browns	29th overall	134.9 YPG	4.5 YPC

For the Bills to exploit Cleveland's defensive weak spot, their best option is to use the power game. The Bills' beefy offense lends itself better to power running, which we covered earlier this week. If Buffalo has success on the ground, it will take a lot of pressure off of an offense that has been struggling.

Locate No. 12

The Bills are familiar with players who wore No. 12. One of the best players in franchise history wore that number, so it should be easy to spot.

The Browns currently have a No. 12 who can go off on the Bills if they aren't careful. It's not the quarterback, though. It's wide receiver Josh Gordon.

Gordon returned last week against the Atlanta Falcons after serving a suspension. He looked like he hadn't missed a beat against Atlanta, catching eight balls for 120 yards on 16 targets. Brian Hoyer targeted Gordon twice as much as any other receiver.

Gordon is one of the best receivers in the league, and he's on fresh legs after sitting out the first 10 games. If the Bills don't give Gordon extra attention, he will make them pay.

It's hard to know exactly how the Browns will use Gordon since he's only played in one game. But we can use some of what the Browns did against the Falcons as a guide.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Here, Gordon is lined up alone on the right side of the formation. The Browns use play action, and the defensive back gives Gordon a healthy cushion.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Gordon is afforded a free release and makes the catch in front of the defender around the 30-yard line for a 17-yard gain. If you give Gordon (or really any receiver) that much space, he will take those free yards all day.

The Bills have a physical corner in Stephon Gilmore, so they should try to use him to jam Gordon at the line and not give him an easy running start off it.

If the Bills are worried about Gordon running by Gilmore, they can give him some safety help over the top.

Of course, another strong showing from the Bills defensive line could mitigate some of these issues. If its players are continually in Hoyer's face or putting him on the turf, he won't have time to find his receivers downfield. 

The Browns are solid in pass protection, though, ranking seventh in adjusted sack rate at 4.7 percent, according to Football Outsiders. The Bills defensive line, however, is first in the league in adjusted sack rate at 9.9 percent. Something will have to give in that battle, and it could very well decide the game.