Buffalo Bills vs Washington Redskins: Week 8 Preview and Keys to the Game

This coming Sunday, October 30, the Buffalo Bills (4-2), will play host to the Washington Redskins (3-3), in the Bills other home city, Toronto, Canada. The game will be played in the Rogers Centre and will be broadcast by Fox. This is a late kickoff game, scheduled for 4:05 PM.

This game features two teams that are coming off of losses, that have already had their bye week, yet have a large number of key players injured. So much for getting healthy over the bye week. Both teams are only one game out of first place in their respective divisions, so it is an important game for both.

The Redskins have lost a number of key players; WR Santana Moss (broken hand), RB Tim Hightower (torn ACL), Guard Kory Lichtensteiger (torn ACL and MCL), T Trent Williams (high ankle sprain) and LB London Flectcher (hamstring) all were hurt in the past two weeks.

The Buffalo Bills aren't strangers to key injuries either. The Bills just placed LB Shawne Merriman on I.R. this week, ending his season. The Bills also figure to be without starters; WR Donald Jones, T Demetrius Bell, NT Kyle Williams and CB Aaron Williams. They also expect to be without Bell's backup T Chris Hairston and might not have NT Torell Troup. These injuries are leaving the Bills depth very thin at several key spots.

Can the Bills Finally End Their Losing Streak in Toronto?

The Bills have played three regular season games so far in Toronto, and they have lost all three. In 2008, the Miami Dolphins won the first game 16-3. In 2009, the New York Jets won 19-13. Last year, the Chicago Bears won 22-19, which turned out to be the last loss of their 0-8 start to that season.

The original agreement called for one regular season game for a five-year stretch. With the series ending in 2012, it would sure be nice to see the Bills win at least one, or hopefully the final two games, of the series, if there are going to be talks about extending the agreement beyond 2012.

For a team on the verge of making the playoffs after a long absence, that is all you need is to have added years to a deal where every time you play there you lose. Chan Gailey will hopefully have the Bills in the proper mind set coming in to the Redskins game, who are playing without a number of their key weapons. If the Bills can't beat the Redskins this Sunday, I will begin to wonder if they can ever win in Toronto.

Many Changes to Bills Starting Line Up

The Bills will be plugging in a number of second-string players to take the place of injured starters this coming Sunday.

On defense: Assuming that Torell Troup's back hasn't improved, and with Kyle Williams still out due to foot problems, Kellen Heard gets the start at nose tackle. Kelvin Sheppard will take over for Andra Davis at inside linebacker, while Arthur Moats will be plugged into OLB Shawne Merriman's slot.

On offense: C.J. Spiller continues to serve as a WR while the team is so shorthanded there, but we don't know if he is starting there or not as of now. Andy Levitre will be starting at left tackle, with Chad Rinehart moving in to the left guard slot.

That means there could be as many as five second-stringers starting this Sunday. Luckily, the Bills are coming out of their bye week, so they have been able to practice with these guys to get them ready for the Redskins. It is not like they just got injured a day or two before the game, as was the case with Merriman getting hurt just prior to the Giants game.

So, with three rather inexperienced guys playing in the front seven, (four counting Marcell Dareus), the Bills will need all of them to bring their energy and "A" game on Sunday to help the Bills pick up a needed win.

Bills Made a Few Roster Moves in the Past Week

When it was determined that Shawne Merriman needed to go on I.R., the team did not wait very long before making a roster move. The Bills pounced on ex-Bills LB Antonio Coleman, who was hanging out in New York City with Perry Fewell and the Giants as a member of their practice squad.

Coleman was playing with a very high motor at the end of the preseason, and I was somewhat surprised that he didn't make the team. It will be curious to see if he gets any game action this Sunday, and if he is able to step in and play at the level he was in early September.

Due to the injuries along the defensive line, the Bills added Jay Ross to their practice squad and released WR Tim Toone from the practice squad. Ross played his college ball at East Carolina and was responsible for 8.5 sacks during his career there. He started in 42 games for East Carolina. Ross goes 6'3" and weighs 302 pounds. 

Bills Have Not Yet Signed Any of Their Big Three Stars

Looking at the Bills current offense, it is clear that the three stars leading the way are Ryan Fitzpatrick, Fred Jackson and Steve Johnson. The Bills had entered into serious contract negotiations with Fitzpatrick during the season, and had hoped to have him signed to a longer contract extension prior to the game in Toronto.

But, as of now, the contract still has not been signed, and it sounds like Fitzpatrick's agent is holding out for even more money. The fast start by Fitzpatrick and wins over 2010 playoff teams like New England, Philadelphia and Kansas City are enough evidence that FItzpatrick has raised his game this year, and his agent is holding the Bills hostage because of it.

The shame over all that is this delay has a trickle down effect, because the Bills won't start talking dollars with Jackson and Johnson until the Fitzpatrick deal is put to bed. So, rather than have any of the three happy and ready to rock and roll for the team for the final 10 games, all three of them are still left to wonder what is going to happen.

Players That Sat out Practice from Both Teams This Week

Both teams released their injury report on Wednesday this week, courtesy of Chris Brown, and BuffaloBills.com.

The Bills injury report didn't really have any surprises as Demetrius Bell, Aaron Williams, Donald Jones, Kyle Williams and Chris Hairston were all withheld from practice, and will probably not dress for Sunday's game.

Chris Kelsay is back and is practicing again with the team.

As for the Redskins Injury Report, there list is much longer:

Out for Sunday: Santana Moss and Tim Hightower. 

Did not practice: London Fletcher, Rex Grossman, DeAngelo Hall and Trent Williams.

Limited in practice: O.J. Atogwe, Phillip Buchanon, Reed Doughty, Donte Stallworth, Bryon Westbrook and Josh Wilson.

Analysis: The Redskins secondary is really banged up now, so the Bills might be catching the Redskins at the right moment right now. Grossman was released from the hospital (pneumonia), so will probably be backing up John Beck on Sunday. The Redskins will probably start Ryan Torain at RB, and bring in Roy Helu on third downs. If London Fletcher can't play, the Redskins will have a hard time replacing him in the lineup.

Buddy Nix and Shawne Merriman for Better or Worse

There is no doubt that Buddy Nix used his past knowledge and relationship with Shawne Merriman to bring the linebacker to Buffalo. Nix was so confident in Merriman's ability to revert back to a healthy player, that Nix ignored the depth of pass rushers in the 2011 draft, feeling that Merriman was better than anything at the draft.

So, here we are coming in to the final 10 games of the year, and Merriman, the owner of one total sack for the year, is now gone for the season due to his troublesome Achilles' tendon. The Bills pass rush is now dead last in the NFL in sacks, with just four after six games. The lack of pass rush exposed the Bills secondary to Eli Manning and is probably the main reason behind the Week Six loss.

The Bills will have to have a group and team effort from youngsters Marcell Dareus, Danny Batten, Arthur Moats, Alex Carrington, Antonio Coleman and Kelvin Sheppard to make up for the injuries to Merriman and Kyle Williams.

Despite all of Merriman's prior injuries over the past three years, which were clearly red flags to the rest of the league, Nix decided to gamble rather than to make the safe choice and take a healthy younger player with no baggage.

Examples of players that were still there on the defensive line that were selected after the Bills took Aaron Williams at No. 34 were: Jabaal Sheard (37), Jarvis Jenkins (41), Brooks Reed (42), Da'Quan Bowers (51), Marvin Austin (52) and Stephen Paea (53). 

These were just some of the examples of talent that was still available. We had begged Nix to trade down in the second round to acquire more picks, but he stayed firm in his conviction to take Willaims. We are still waiting for Williams to recover from his injuries. He will need a strong second half of the season to make up for the strange draft choices that Nix made.

Key Players in This Game

Bills running back Fred Jackson is averaging 100.2 yards per game this year, which ranks him at No. 2 in the NFL. Tim Hightower is the leading rusher for Washington, averaging 64.2 yards per game. He will be missed.

Ryan Fitzpatrick is ranked No. 8 in the NFL with a QB Passer Rating of 95.3. Rex Grossman is No. 33. John Beck has only started one game, and while there is not a ton of footage on him, at least the Bills were able to see what he did last week, so they have some idea of what his capabilities are.

The Redskins leading receiver is tight end Fred Davis, who is No. 20 in the NFL with 423 yards on the year. He is averaging 15.1 yards per catch. The Bills leading receiver is Steve Johnson, who has 382 yards on the season, averaging 11.6 yards per catch. Johnson and Bills' tight end Scott Chandler are tied for No. 8 in the NFL in receiver scoring, as both players have four touchdowns on the year.

Goerge Wilson is No. 10 in the NFL in tackles with 57, and is followed by Nick Barnett (48) and Jairus Byrd (46). The leading tackler for Washington are their LB's, as Rocky McIntosh has 45 and ex-Bills London Fletcher has 43.

The Redskins are tied for the lead in the NFL with 21 sacks. DE Adam Carriker and LB Brian Orakpo share the team lead with 4.5 sacks each. Each of them have more sacks than the entire Bills defense (4).

The Bills lead the NFL with 12 interceptions, and George Wilson is tied for No. 5 with three interceptions.

Bills Offense Is Facing Another Tough Defense

The Bills faced a tough pass rush in their last game against the New York Giants, and this game won't be any different, as the Redskins are tied with the Giants for the most sacks in the NFL with 21. The Redskins have a solid linebacking corps with Rocky McIntosh, London Fletcher and Brian Orokpo. Add to that trio athletic defensive ends in Ryan Kerrigan and Adam Carriker, and the Bills offensive line will have their hands full.

Not having either Demetrius Bell or Chris Hairston hurts this week especially. If one of the starters goes down, the Bills have little depth to turn to. It is not yet known if Demetrius Bell can play if they are really in a pinch. The Bills might have to turn to either Sam Young or Colin Brown, so hopefully they have picked up some reps in the two week period since the last game.

The Redskins offense will be less dynamic than usual without Santana Moss or Tim Hightower. In addition, they are playing without two starting linemen in Trent Williams and Kory Lichtensteiger. It seems like it will be the Redskins backups on offense against the Bills backups on defense. That should make it interesting to see who is winning the individual battles when the Redskins have the ball.

When the Bills have the ball, they will want to keep grinding out their solid run game with Fred Jackson. If Fletcher is out due to his hamstring injury, you can bet the Bills will be testing his replacement.

Inside the Numbers: When the Bills Have the Ball

Ryan Fitzpatrick will have to be more decisive with the ball this week than he was in the Giants game. He looked to unsure of what to do on several pass plays, and each time that happened, he was sacked. You can be sure the Redskins picked up on that in their film study and their defensive coordinator, ex-Bills LB Jim Haslett, will be looking to take advantage of the depleted Bills offensive line.

The Bills offense is currently ranked No. 10 overall, as they average 378.5 yards per game. The Redskins defense is ranked No. 12 in the NFL, as they allow 335.8 yards per game.

The Bills rush offense is No. 4 in the NFL, averaging 141 yards per game, while the Redskins rush defense is No. 17, allowing 117.5 yards per game.

The Bills pass offense is No. 15 in the NFL, averaging 237.5 yards per game, while the Redskins pass defense is No. 11, allowing just 218.3 yards per game.

The Bills offense has been converting 40 percent of their third down opportunities, with 30 successful conversions. The Redskins defense is No. 2 in the league, as they allow only 30.8 percent of third downs to be converted. That will be a very good test for the Bills offense to see if they can keep moving the chains.

The Bills have done a good job of taking care of the ball, as they are the only team in the NFL that has yet to lose a fumble this season. The Redskins defense has intercepted five passes and recovered three fumbles on the year.

We have already discussed that the Redskins are tied for first in the NFL with 21 sacks, but the Bills are first in allowing the fewest sacks with just seven for the season. Something has to give.

Inside the Numbers: When the Redskins Have the Ball

It is one thing to bench your starting QB (Rex Grossman), but another thing to lose your best running back, one of your best receivers in Santana Moss and two of your starting offensive linemen. The Redskins have also lost tight end Chris Cooley to I.R. this week, even though he has been surpassed by Fred Davis this year. Still that is a bunch of talent to be without, so the Redskins offense will only be a shell of their true-self this weekend.

The Bills defense has a lot of work to do. They can't fall asleep on John Beck, who is more mobile than Grossman. The Redskins offense is ranked No. 14 in the NFL, while the Bills defense is ranked No. 31. The Redskins average 344 yards per game, while the Bills give up 420.5 yards per game.

The Redskins passing attack is No. 16 in the NFL, as they average 237.2 yards per game. The Bills pass defense is No. 30 in the NFL, allowing 284.8 yards per game, but they also lead the NFL in interceptions.

The Redskins rush offense is ranked No. 20 in the NFL and they average 106.8 yards per game. The Bills rush defense is No. 30 and they allow 135.7 yards per game.

The Bills defense leads the NFL in creating turnovers, and they will need to step that part of their game up this week, as they failed to create a single turnover against the Giants.

The Redskins will be handing the ball off to Ryan Torain and Roy Helu. The Bills need to take advantage of the two missing linemen and exploit the backups to get pressure on Beck. They also need to blanket Fred Davis, who is clearly the leading target of the Redskins passing attack.

Final Thoughts and Prediction

Join us here at Bleacher Report on Sunday. I will be writing a live blog during the game to share my thoughts with Bills fans on the game. After the game, we will write the Five Things We Learned From The Bills vs Redskins game. As always, we welcome your comments and join in on the discussion.

The Bills need a win to keep pace with the New England Patriots. The Bills host the New York Jets the following Sunday, and then embark on their longest road trip of the season, as they will be traveling to Dallas, Miami and then back to end their series with the Jets. That is why they need to rack up as many wins as they can now, because both of their losses have come on the road.

I see this game coming down to the No. 1 red zone offense in the NFL (Bills) needing to capitalize on any turnovers created by the Bills defense against the depleted Redskins offense. John Beck hasn't seen that many live snaps, so the Bills should be able to confuse him into several mistakes.

The Redskins defense will put up a stiff challenge to the Bills offense, so I think this will be a lower scoring game as a result.

My final prediction: Bills win one in Toronto !! Buffalo Bills 24 - Washington Redskins 13