The Raiders will take on the Buffalo Bills in Week 4 as they try to get to 3-1 on the season. The Bills are one of the best teams in the NFL, starting the year off at 3-0 behind quarterback Josh Allen. Ahead of that matchup, we talked to Nick Wojton of Bills Wire to preview this contest.
Heading into the offseason, everyone knew Allen’s deep ball accuracy needed to improve and it has. Some slight changes to mechanics appear to have helped there. But there’s also those around him lifting him up.
We’ll get to Stefon Diggs in a second, but having John Brown & Cole Beasley as your WR2 & 3? Plus Gabriel Davis being a very surprisingly good rookie playmaker? That trickle-down effect has been huge with Diggs’ addition. Finally, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll deserves some love. He might start getting head coach looks soon. He’s a very creative guy.
Massive, for sure. There’s that trickle-down that was mentioned… Brown was a 1,000-plus receiver last season and now he’s a No. 2. But in terms of Diggs himself, he has tied a career-high with 20 catches through three games, and he’s performed well against the toughest coverage. He scored last week against Jalen Ramsey and while his time with the Vikings did have a tough ending, he’s bought in with Buffalo so far.
I’ll give one for both sides… on offense we’ll go Davis. The rookie receiver from UCF might have a bigger role this week if Brown (calf) is held out. He was a fourth-rounder that’s done nothing but impress since training camp. Defensively, the answer is always linebacker Matt Milano. So overlooked. A former safety moved into the box that’s excellent in pass coverage. He’ll get to know Darren Waller very well on Sunday.
Overall their run defense is brutal so far. Luckily the offense has been great and teams have had to bail on the run early, because otherwise, teams average 4.6 yards per carry against the Bills this season. DT Star Lotulelei opted out and it appears he’s been missed a bit there, but the Bills have to figure this out.
I swear to you, when the schedule was released, I circled this as Buffalo’s first loss. I thought they’d start 3-0 even without Allen’s excellence, but considering the Raiders’ injury bug currently, I think the Bills get to 4-0. Not to mention, the unexpected Allen arrival. Hard to pick against him right now. Bills 30, Raiders 21 will be my guess.
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