Best Matchups to Watch in Bills vs. Jaguars

Sunday will be a first in NFL history.

No, not a game in London. Those have been going on for years. There's already been one this season. There will be another after this.

On Sunday, for the first time ever, an NFL game will be streamed exclusively online, when Yahoo Sports broadcasts a matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars.

It's a game featuring two teams headed in opposite directions. Well, sort of. The 1-5 Jaguars are headed in the same direction they seemingly always are—into the AFC South cellar.

The Bills, on the other hand, have been all over the place. One week, a fearsome Bills defense is dominant in a win over the Indianapolis Colts; the next, it's taken apart by Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals.

OK, that was their first game and their last one, but you get the point.

Will the 3-3 Bills get back on the winning track? Can the Jaguars salvage some respectability across the pond?

Here's a look at the matchups that will decide the answers to those questions.

Jaguars Offensive Line vs. Bills Defensive Line

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Heading into the 2015 season, there were a couple of presumptions about the Bills and Jaguars.

After allowing a staggering 71 sacks in 2014, the belief was that the Jaguars offensive front would be, well, ungood.

And after leading the NFL with 54 sacks a season ago, the belief was that the Bills would once again field one of the NFL's best pass rushes.

Well, the Jaguars held up their end of the deal, unfortunately. Yes, the line has improved a bit. But the Jaguars have still surrendered the sixth-most sacks in the NFL through six weeks.

However, that fearsome Bills pass rush has been anything but. In fact, the Bills rank a moribund 24th in the league going into Week 7, having reached the passer only nine times.

And defensive end Mario Williams is none too happy about it, according to Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News:

"

When we’ve got four guys rushing, we can do some different things. Some of the calls that we had, we just didn’t have four guys out there rushing in certain situations, things like that. You know, you’re just playing the call.

We don’t make the calls as players. We’ve got to execute whatever’s called. If it’s three guys going, it’s three guys going and we’ve got to figure out an opportunity, a different way to get there faster.

As far as the amount that’s given out to the players on this team, as far as income, I would assume those four guys, a lot is on their shoulders to get after the quarterback or stop the run, be disruptive.

"

Fellow end Jerry Hughes echoed Williams' displeasure with head coach Rex Ryan's 3-4 scheme, which has seen the pair drop into coverage much more than they ever did before:

"

What people don’t understand is you’re not running the same defense that we ran last year. This isn’t the 4-3, four down linemen, go after the quarterback. This is a 3-4 defense. We know what the 3-4 defense entails because we’ve had it before. I just think it’s going to take guys some time to get used to making those calls and get that mindset to 4-3. Last year’s gone.

"

It's hard to blame the scheme entirely, as two years ago the Bills ranked near the top of the NFL in sacks in a three-man front.

But whether Ryan's front needs tweaking or Williams, Hughes and tackle Marcell Dareus just need to get after it, the fact remains that the NFL's highest-paid defensive line has disappointed in a big way.

And if that line can't get pressure against the turnstile that is Jacksonville's offensive front, the Bills' playoff aspirations will be in real trouble.

LeSean McCoy vs. Paul Posluszny

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

Both Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy and Jacksonville Jaguars middle linebacker Paul Posluszny have experienced their share of success as individuals in the NFL. The pair have a combined four trips to the Pro Bowl.

And neither player is 100 percent heading into Sunday's matchup.

McCoy has been nursing a sore hamstring since before the season even started, returning to action in Week 6 after missing two games. ESPN.com's Mike Rodak admitted after last week's loss to the Bengals that he was impressed by McCoy's effort in gaining 94 total yards and scoring a touchdown:

"

He surprisingly was the Bills' most effective player on offense Sunday, even after admitting last week that he wasn't 100 percent after missing two games because of a lingering hamstring injury. It was vintage McCoy from the get-go, as he ran for 33 yards on the first play of the game. His change-of-direction skills are impeccable when he's healthy; I just wasn't expecting to see that level of play from him so soon after returning from his injury.

"

It will fall to Posluszny to spearhead the effort to slow down McCoy on Sunday. The 31-year-old is nursing an sore ankle of his own, but as Evan Reier of Bleacher Report wrote, it didn't show in Week 6:

"

His return in Week 6 didn't result in a win, but he had no trouble topping the stat sheet with nine solo tackles, two tackles for loss and a hit on Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer.

He was one of only three Jaguars players to register a TFL and was the only one to register more than one. His QB hit was one of five total, with each one of the hits coming from a different player.

"

If the Jaguars are going to register their first win in London, stopping McCoy is key. And that's going to require a big game from Poz.

Bills Offense vs. the Trainers Table

Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

McCoy had better have a big game.

Because he's about the only Bills skill player who won't be watching the game from the sidelines.

Starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor? As Marc Sessler of NFL.com reported, head coach Rex Ryan ruled him out Thursday.

"Not going to force him out there when he's not fully healed," Ryan told the media.

Top wideout Sammy Watkins? According to Joe Buscaglia of WKBW, Ryan ruled him out with an ankle injury.

No. 2 wide receiver Percy Harvin? Not only did Harvin not even make the trip to London, but as ESPN's Mike Rodak and Adam Schefter reported, the Bills have no earthly idea where Harvin even is.

"I'm not going to say anything more than what we said yesterday about it," Ryan said Thursday. "I don't know where he is right now."

Seriously, Harvin went Where's Waldo? on the team. AWOL. MIA. Just...gone.

Oh, go ahead and add reserve running back Karlos Williams and offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson to the list as well.

Other than that, though, everything's great.

Charles Clay vs. the World

Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

So the Buffalo passing game is sort of a hot mess at the moment.

No Taylor. No Watkins. No Harvin.

That leaves tight end Charles Clay, who is himself nicked up. Clay paced the Bills with nine catches for 62 yards against Cincinnati.

Clay insisted via the team's website that he doesn't feel any added pressure in Week 7.

"I don't feel like it will put any added pressure on me," Clay said. "We have great, high-quality players who can step in there and make plays."

Clay may not want to come right out and say it, but it's a good bet the fifth-year veteran will be the top target for...well, for whoever plays quarterback for the Bills against the Jaguars (EJ Manuel, for those of you keeping score at home).

Did we mention that the Bills passing game is a hot mess right now?

Allen Robinson vs. Stephon Gilmore

Brian Blanco/Associated Press

It hasn't all been doom and gloom for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2015.

Lost amid another rapidly growing pile of defeats has been the fact that wide receiver Allen Robinson is quietly becoming one of the better young players at his position in the NFL.

Through six games, Robinson is tied for fourth in the NFL in touchdown catches with five. His 81.3 receiving yards a game tie him with Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions.

Not bad company to keep.

Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles isn't one bit shy about throwing the ball Robinson's way, either. According to Pro Football Focus, the second-year pro ranks 10th in the NFL with 56 targets.

And in Week 7, quite possibly the most intriguing individual matchup pits Robinson against Buffalo cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who has really come into his own in his fourth NFL season.

According to PFF, Gilmore ranks fifth at his position this season, higher than the likes of Darrelle Revis of the New York Jets and Patrick Peterson of the Arizona Cardinals.

Gilmore's play in 2015 hasn't escaped the attention of pundits like Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle:

"

This guy is really playing well, and I would have to believe some of the Gilmore hate will start to subside. For some reason fans have really ridden the 2012 first-round draft choice, and while he may not have been an instant star his first two years, he was tremendous last year, and he's been even better this year.

"

Whether Robinson can escape Gilmore will go a long way toward determining who wins Sunday's Merry Olde Matchup.

Jaguars vs. Jet Lag

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

It's no secret that the London games aren't especially popular with some players, in large part because England is sort of, um, far away.

In fact, at least one sleep expert who works with pro sports teams thinks the Jaguars are flat-out doomed in this game due to the havoc the team's travel plans are going to wreak on the players' sleep habits.

According to Eric Adelson of Yahoo Sports:

"

"Jacksonville is going to lose this game," says W. Christopher Winter, who just completed his seventh training camp working with the Oklahoma City Thunder. "My guess is: pretty badly."

His reasoning: the Jags decided this year to arrive in the United Kingdom on Friday morning, two days before kicking off against the Bills. Buffalo landed here Monday, giving the team nearly a full week to get acclimated to the five-hour time change.

"They'll have a lead of four days?" Winter says. "Bet the farm on Buffalo. That's absurd. Why did [the Jaguars] do that?"

"

Hey, I get tired on long car trips, so I'm not going to argue.

Of course, the Jaguars arrived early in London each of the past two years and were outscored 73-27.

So it may just be that they stink.

Julius Thomas vs. Corey Graham

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

The Jaguars shelled out big bucks in the offseason to upgrade the passing game, signing tight end Julius Thomas to a lucrative free-agent contract.

Thomas spent most of the first part of this season on the shelf with a hand injury, but the fifth-year veteran found the end zone for the first time as a Jaguar in last week's loss to the Houston Texans.

As Ryan O'Halloran and Hays Carlyon of the Florida Times-Union wrote, Thomas remarked that a safety biting on a clear-out helped set up the score: "Great play call [by offensive coordinator Greg Olson]. Every once in a while, it works out exactly how you expect it to. I just ran a clear-out route and saw one of the safeties dip down and was able to find the opening behind him."

Sunday, it will likely fall to Bills safety Corey Graham to keep Thomas in check. As Christian Smith of Today's Pigskin reported, Graham has excelled in his conversion from cornerback to strong safety:

"

Graham has been lining up almost exclusively as the strong safety in Rex Ryan’s new defense The recent injury to star free safety Aaron Williams has cause [sic] a switch the free safety position, allowing Graham to be the rover in Ryan’s defense. He has been excelling in his new home on the back end of the Bills’ secondary.

"

With Jaguars wideout Allen Hurns banged up and iffy for Sunday and one of the game's best cover corners locked on Robinson, Blake Bortles is going to need to lean on his tight end.

If Graham shuts Thomas down, the Jaguars could be in real trouble, because...

Jaguars Running Backs vs. Bills Run Defense

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

...The odds don't look good for the Jaguars being able to run the ball Sunday.

It would have been a tall task for the Jaguars even if the team were at full strength. The Bills may be having trouble getting to the quarterback, but the team's run defense has been stout. Entering Week 7, the Bills rank fourth in the NFL in defending the run, allowing just over 87 yards per game.

As Carlyon reported, rookie tailback T.J. Yeldon is far from a sure bet to play against the Bills after missing last week's loss to Houston with a groin injury.

And as his colleague O'Halloran wrote, the ground game minus Yeldon was grounded against the Texans:

"

The Jaguars’ longest carry against the Texans was a 12-yard Blake Bortles scramble. He has accounted for five of the team’s nine “explosive” carries (at least 12 yards) this year.

Toby Gerhart, Denard Robinson and Corey Grant combined to gain 46 yards on 17 carries (2.7-yard average). The tape showed little space for them to operate.

"

Simply put, if Yeldon sits, things don't look good for the Jaguars. A Bills team that has struggled to pressure opposing quarterbacks will be able to pin its ears back and attack a Jacksonville offensive line that has struggled dating all the way back to last year.