Buffalo Rumblings
Everything you need to know as the Bills look to pick up a crucial road win over the Seahawks!
The Buffalo Bills (5-2) are seeking their third straight victory when they travel to Lumen Field to take on the Seattle Seahawks (4-3) on Sunday afternoon in a matchup of first-place teams. This is Buffalo’s first trip to the Pacific Northwest since the 2016 season.
To get you ready for the game, on this week’s episode of the Billieve podcast, we’re joined by Mookie Alexander, who covers the Seahawks as Team Community Producer and Managing Editor for the SB Nation website, Field Gulls.
We start by discussing the state of the Seahawks, including what happened to the home-field advantage Seattle used to enjoy thanks to their 12th Man. From 2010 to 2016, the Seahawks went 48-13 at home, but since 2017, they are only 29-24 and have lost two straight home games heading into their showdown with Buffalo.
We examine the career resurgence quarterback Geno Smith has experienced in Seattle after flaming out as a second-round draft pick of the New York Jets in 2013. Smith leads the NFL in passing yards per game (283.6) and has been an effective quarterback despite his misleading TD-to-INT ratio (8 TDs with 6 INTs). Smith and the Seahawks are averaging 25.7 points per game, tied for eighth-best in the NFL, despite Smith playing behind an injured offensive line that has allowed him to be pressured on 36% of his dropbacks.
As the 28th-ranked offensive line according to Pro Football Focus, the Seahawks are missing several starters, and this is a unit that has struggled with pass protection. Defensive end Greg Rousseau, who has been dominant against right tackles this year, should be in line for a huge game.
We explore the weapons around Smith, including RB Kenneth Walker III, who has battled injuries and inconsistency but could be in line for a big game against a Buffalo defense that is almost always light in the box with only two linebackers on the field, is surrendering 5.1 yards per rush (fourth-worst), and will be without starting linebacker Terrel Bernard. Alexander also provides the latest update on injured wide receiver DK Metcalf, including how the loss of the explosive playmaker would be a major blow for Seattle, which, without Metcalf, would be banking on its possession wide receivers in Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and the unheralded tight end Noah Fant, who has caught his last 21 targets.
Defensively, this is a Seahawks unit that can be scored upon. Seattle is surrendering 23.4 ppg. First-year head coach Mike Macdonald came to Seattle after making a name for himself as the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator, a squad that caused quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills offense troubles in Week 4. We examine the similarities between what this defense likes to run — excelling with simulated pressure and fourth in the NFL in pressure rate (40.4%) and ninth in sack percentage (8%) — and what the Baltimore defense...
