Hot off the home win against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns host head coach Doug Marrone‘s Buffalo Bills in just three days for Thursday night football. Both teams are 2-2 and making a little bit of noise in the AFC. Here’s what the Bills bring to the table.
Gone are the days of Ryan Fitzpatrick and in are the days of first round draft pick EJ Manuel. Drafted by the Bills to be their future signal caller, Manuel has passed for 856 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions in four games. At 6’4″ and 237 lbs, Manuel is quite the load to bring down. A true pocket passer with strength to shake off defenders, the former Florida State Seminole is coming off his worst game as a pro. Despite winning against the Baltimore Ravens, Manuel was picked off twice and posted a low 48.9 QB rating.
The Bills do not function well offensively without a running game. They have two above average backs – CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson. Both running backs are coming in a little banged up. Spiller has been hurt in virtually every game this season and hasn’t even played four quarters in the last two contests. However, both Spiller and Jackson say they’re playing on Thursday night. So far, the Bills are second in the NFL in rushing averaging 152 yards per game on the ground with only two rushing touchdowns on the season.
The offensive aerial weapons for Buffalo are wide receivers, Stevie Johnson, TJ Graham, Robert Woods, and tight end Scott Chandler. The six-year pro, Johnson, has 18 receptions for 235 yards and two touchdowns on the season. Johnson accounts for almost one-third of the offense. Chandler is another piece of the puzzle and huge target. With his 6’7″ frame, Chandler has 14 receptions in four games. Chandler averages over 11 yards per reception and can be hard to bring down.
The Buffalo defense is led by sack specialist Mario Williams. With his next sack, Williams will have his 70th career sack. He already has 5.5 sacks in 2013. The defense as a unit is underestimated and carries rising stars, Marcel Dareus (3 sacks) and Kiko Alonso (32 tackles, 1 FF, 4 INT ). Defensive backs, Leodis McKelvin (inactive in week 4 due to injury) and Aaron Ross round out their secondary. Star safety Jarius Byrd has been sidelined with a multiple foot injuries has yet to play in 2013. The Bills defense picked off Joe Flacco five times last Sunday.
On special teams, the Bills were forced to sign Dan Carpenter for kicking duties because of the injury to rookie kicker, Dustin Hopkins. The punter, Shawn Powell is averaging 46.3 yards per punt. Rookie, Marquise Goodwin handles kickoff returns and if McKelvin is healthy, he will return punts.
Ryan Ruiz is the Cleveland Browns Beat Writer for The Inscriber: Digital Magazine. You can follow him on Facebook: Ryan (BrownsWriter) Ruiz and Twitter @ryanpruiz24. Ryan is also a Browns correspondent for The Sportsfix. Tune in every Friday at noon on www.thesportsfix.net.
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