Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
The Buffalo Bills host the Baltimore Ravens in a 1:00 p.m. EST game on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Bills have long odds in this one with so many injuries in the defensive backfield and a tough matchup with the defending Super Bowl champs. While CB Leodis McKelvin and S Jairus Byrd are listed as questionable, I don’t expect either player to play on Sunday. That leaves the Bills seriously undermanned in the secondary against a very efficient QB in Joe Flacco.
The best bet for the Bills will be to get their running game going. That will be a tough task going against the stout Baltimore front line led by DE Haloti Ngata. The Bills could use a breakout game from C.J. Spiller who has yet to get really going in a game. If Spiller can find some holes, he can get yards in chunks and keep the Bills’ depleted defense off the field. Of course, Fred Jackson will also be important as his toughness could be a good match against the Baltimore front line. If he can keep the chains moving along with Spiller, it would take a ton of pressure off of that depleted defense.
Things could be much different for the Bills if McKelvin and Byrd somehow find their way into the lineup. but I wouldn’t bet on seeing them out there. One thing to consider is that the Bills play on Thursday night in Cleveland against the Cleveland Browns, so conventional wisdom would tell you that they’d hold their banged up players out with a short week ahead, and particularly Byrd who has yet to play this season.
As for Sunday, it looks like they’ll have to go out there undermanned and pray for a miracle.
