Highmark Stadium won’t see the Bills again until November. Buffalo stayed out West after Monday’s win in Los Angeles and gets a Raiders team Sunday that has lost two straight while allowing 75 points.
FanDuel has Buffalo favored by 5.5, and the over/under sits at 53.5, which tells you what kind of game the books expect inside Allegiant Stadium. Both teams have scored at least 26 points in four of their five games, and neither defense ranks in the top half of the league in yards allowed.
When the Bills have the ball
Josh Allen and James Cook give Buffalo the league’s top scoring offense at 32.8 points per game, plus 13 rushing touchdowns, the most in the NFL. Cook has 532 yards on 95 carries, with 16 forced missed tackles and 2.77 yards after contact per attempt, according to his PFF page. Las Vegas ranks 28th against the run, and the only real worry is ball security after Cook’s overtime fumble against the Rams.
Maxx Crosby is the one player who can change that math. He has 36 pressures this season, and the Raiders have 10 takeaways. Brady spent the week talking about players who can wreck a game. “And Crosby is one of the few guys in the NFL that 100%, just by putting on a jersey, can,” Brady said this week in Irvine.
When the Raiders have the ball
David Brytus-Imagn Images
Kirk Cousins has 1,269 passing yards, 12 touchdown passes and four interceptions, and he has a matchup worth attacking. Buffalo allows 280.4 passing yards per game, 31st in the league, and the Bills’ biggest weakness is still the secondary.
Bowers is the target to watch. He has 24 catches for 312 yards and three touchdowns in three games since returning, including 14 catches for 196 yards over the last two weeks. Las Vegas has had its tight ends carrying the offense, and Ashton Jeanty is averaging 3.3 yards per carry, so expect Cousins to throw more than Klint Kubiak would like. That plays into the hands of a Bills defense that has been better against the run, ranking 15th, than it has been in coverage.
Score prediction: Bills 34, Raiders 27
Both offenses should move the ball indoors, and the Raiders’ knack for takeaways keeps them in it into the fourth quarter. Allen’s legs are the difference. He finishes with a rushing touchdown and two touchdown passes, Cook tops 90 yards, and Greg Rousseau, who blocked a field goal in overtime Monday, makes the late play on defense that seals it before Buffalo heads home for the bye.
More on the Buffalo Bills
- Final Injury Report for Bills-Raiders: Will DJ Moore, Ashton Jeanty Play?
- Buffalo Bills at Las Vegas Raiders NFL Prediction, Picks & Odds for Week 6
- 3 Reasons the Bills Will Beat the Raiders, and 2 Reasons They Won’t
- Josh Allen vs. Raiders Week 6: Four Expectations for Bills QB
