Five Buffalo Bills to watch at the Philadelphia Eagles

The Buffalo Bills take on the Philadelphia Eagles this week, and the stakes could not be higher for the Bills. At 6-5, the team is on the outside looking in at the AFC playoff picture , and with a schedule that contains three divisional leaders, a conference leader, a conference No. 2, and a team that has the misfortune of trailing only the team that leads its conference within its own division, the road to the playoffs is not going to be an easy one to travel.

Nothing worth having in life comes easily, and in the coming weeks, the Bills are going to have the chance to earn every bit of the accolades we long for them to receive. A season-saving 32-6 win against the New York Jets last week could serve as the first step in their journey to greatness, or it could become a forgotten footnote in a lost season. The next step on that journey comes this week in Philadelphia.

For the Bills to beat the defending NFC Champs, they’ll need big-time contributions from all over their roster. Here are five players we’re watching this week.

QB Josh Allen When Josh Allen’s hot, he’s arguably the best quarterback in the league. When he’s not, he’s still a top-three player at his position. Buffalo doesn’t need him to play as if every snap could be his last. What they do need from Allen is to do exactly what he did last week — take his check-downs, make definitive reads, and throw to the open guy in space. Allen used his ancillary weapons effectively last week, completing 10-of-14 passes not thrown to his top two options, wideout Stefon Diggs and tight end Dalton Kincaid. Those 10 completions went for 202 yards and three touchdowns. If Allen can continue to spread the ball around, it makes him and the Bills’ offense incredibly difficult to defend. Philadelphia has allowed the tenth-most passing yards in the league so far, but only two teams — the Washington Commanders and the San Francisco 49ers — have had more passing attempts against them than the Eagles. This implies that Philly’s defense is going to make teams remain patient, as they allow an excellent 6.1 yards per attempt. However, the Eagles have allowed 21 passing touchdowns — more than every team in the league except for the Commanders and the Chicago Bears , and the Eagles also have just five interceptions on the season. This is a strong defense, for sure, but there are ways that Allen and the Bills can use a patient, controlled game plan to exploit a secondary that hasn’t done much to force turnovers to this point. Turnovers are really the biggest way Buffalo’s offense has been contained , and if Allen can avoid those, then the Bills have an excellent shot at success this week. Look for some quick-hitters early, especially using the running backs, to try to open up some bigger gains as the game goes on. Interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady tried to work in some quick throws to Stefon Diggs last week, as well, but Diggs had some uncharacteristic drops early. That type of passing attack could have success this week.

RB James Cook On the opposite side of the defensive metrics, Philly’s rush defense is the best in football by most measures. They’ve allowed fewer rushing yards than any team, but they’ve also faced the fewest rushing attempts of any team, as they’ve allowed four yards per carry so far (190 carries for 765 yards). Their three rushing touchdowns allowed is also the fewest in the league this year. However, their worst performance in rush defense came just last week, as running back Isaiah Pacheco racked up 89 yards on 19 carries for the Kansas City Chiefs in their 21-17 loss. Cook obviously isn’t as violent a runner as Pacheco — most people aren’t — but he does possess a second gear that could cause issues if the Bills found something on film that could lead to bigger holes on the ground. Cook is also a tremendous weapon in space as a wide receiver, and it looks as if Brady is more apt to involve the running backs in the game than deposed offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was. Allen targeted his running backs seven times last week. That’s the most running back targets since the first two weeks of the season, when Allen targeted his backs 10 times and eight times, respectively. I expect that Cook is going to see plenty of touches, and with good reason. He’s currently fourth in the NFL in rushing yards this season, and he’s a home-run threat every time he touches the ball. Using him in motion, as a slot receiver, and as a traditional runner could open up some space in a stout Philadelphia defense.

RT Spencer Brown This is one of the best defensive lines I can remember in terms of the depth at all spots, so you really could insert any Bills offensive lineman here and make him a focus. It could be center Mitch Morse, who has the job of helping Allen to set protections with studs like Jalen Carter and Fletcher Cox across from him. It could also be rookie O’Cyrus Torrence, who will be tasked with blocking one of those aforementioned incredible defensive tackles. Instead, I’m going with Brown, who’s likely to draw the assignment of Philly’s top sack-man, linebacker Haason Reddick. The veteran linebacker currently has 8.5 sacks, and the Bills would like for that to remain his total exiting the game, as well. Brown has had a fantastic year after an up-and-down rookie season followed by a pretty terrible second year. If he can handle himself with limited assistance from the backs and tight ends, it will help Buffalo’s passing attack to operate at full tilt. An underrated thing for Brown to be able to do, though, on some of these passing plays is for him to force any rusher out of the way for Allen to escape to that side. When Allen can break the pocket to his right, he’s close to unstoppable. Forcing the Eagles to leave their rush lanes will help in multiple ways. Let’s see if Brown can continue his strong season in a pivotal Week 12 contest.

LB Terrel Bernard The second-year man and first-year starter has been a revelation this year, leading the Bills in tackles (99), interceptions (2), and fumble recoveries (3) so far this season. He has 3.5 sacks, six tackles for loss, and four pass breakups. He’s even on the league leaderboard in tackles, as he currently ranks ninth in total tackles on the season. This week, he’s going to face a tremendous challenge in what is a physical Philadelphia offense that provides plenty of pre-snap motion, lot’s of tough reads, and a smart, physical quarterback in Jalen Hurts. The fact that Hurts is one of the best dual-threat players in the NFL is going to make Bernard’s job in reading his responsibilities on each play that much more difficult. The Bills will need to work in a mirror or spy on defense, and Bernard is one of the few who has both the speed and the physicality to do the job. Obviously, the defensive line is going to play a big role in making Bernard’s job easier, but how the second-year man handles the window dressing that the Eagles throw his way is going to have a tremendous impact on the game.

S Jordan Poyer The veteran broke into the NFL with the Eagles, and given that he’s been playing a dual role as a safety and a dime-package linebacker, he’s another player that the Bills might use to mirror Hurts while he’s in the pocket. Buffalo could also have watched the Chiefs have some success with bringing pressure off the edge, particularly to Hurts’ right, and decide that Poyer is the best player to blitz in that situation. Either way, I expect some edge pressure in the form of defensive backs, and Poyer remains one of the team’s most reliable, heady players on defense. Poyer has had multiple interceptions in every one of his seasons with Buffalo, but he has yet to secure one this season. He’s come close a few times. Hurts loves to throw the ball over the middle, and the Chiefs did a good job forcing him to throw outside the numbers last week. If Buffalo can give him a look where he thinks he has the advantage in the middle of the field, using Poyer as a robber could lead to that first takeaway for the veteran safety. This week would be a great time for it.