Buffalo Bills in a Must-Win Situation Against Jaguars

The Buffalo Bills have an opportunity this weekend to prove that they are a real playoff contender. After six weeks the good teams will start establishing themselves and separating from the rest of the pretenders. They have a match up in London this weekend that should be a win despite the injuries the Bills are facing. The teams that make the playoffs this year will have been able to overcome adversity throughout the season.

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The Steelers this year have played without their star running back, their starting quarterback and their second best receiver but they have managed a 4-2 record despite playing some good teams. Last week Pittsburgh beat the Cardinals with Michael Vick and Landry Jones under center. So asking the Bills to beat the Jaguars this weekend shouldn’t be asking too much, especially if this team wants to be playing meaningful games in December.

asking the Bills to beat the Jaguars this weekend shouldn’t be asking too much

The Bills injury report doesn’t look pretty as Tyrod Taylor, Sammy Watkins, Karlos Williams and Percy Harvin are among the seven bills listed as “Out” for this weekends game. EJ Manuel, the Bills former first round pick from Florida State, will have an opportunity to play for the second week in a row. Last week Manuel didn’t look terrible as he completed 66% of his passes and threw for one touchdown and one interception. However that was at home against the Bengals and they lost, 34-21.

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The Jaguars are struggling to find ways to win games this year, but their offense is capable of putting up a lot of points. With only one win this season Jacksonville looks to be in line for another top 10 pick in 2016. These are the types of games playoff teams should win. The Jets are the perfect example as they sit in second place in the AFC East so far with a 4-1 record. They have yet to play a team with a winning record or a good offense this year, but they are winning games against bad teams.

The reality is the Bills have looked bad this season, but they’ve shown enough good to be considered a potential playoff team. However over the last three weeks they have looked more like a potential top 10 draft pick team as they have been beaten badly by the Giants and Bengals while almost losing to the Titans. The AFC is looking like it’s going to be crowded for the final wild card spot and the Bills are currently one game back from that spot. That’s why this game is so important.

A loss to a team like the Jaguars puts the Bills on the outside looking and with no real promise of getting back in there. If they aren’t able to beat what most would consider the worst team in the AFC and maybe the NFL then the Bills don’t deserve a playoff spot and there’s no reason to believe they can win enough games to get there.

Oct 22, 2015; London, United

King

dom; Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan at practice at the Grove hotel in preparation for the NFL International Series game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

A lot can change as the season progresses but after this week the Bills will only have nine games left to play. To make the playoffs or have a chance at the final wild card spot the Bills will need to win six more games.

This is truly an opportunity for Rex Ryan and the Bills to seize the moment. The talk has been there all off season and even during the season, but now its time to walk the walk.

Ryan is a talker and has been able to back it up sometimes, but this is the week where he needs to show his real talents as a coach.

He’s already been called out by two of his best defenders, Mario Williams and Marcel Dareus, for not putting his players in the best position for them to succeed. That’s not an ideal start for Ryan who is a defensive minded head coach.

This is the type of start to a season that can become the reason a team didn’t make the playoffs or it will make for a great story at the end of the year as the Bills overcame adversity to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

Right now the 1-5 Jaguars stand in the way of the Bills and a winning record but this game means so much more. While it’s only their seventh game of the year it could be the game that shows us what the Buffalo Bills are really made of.

Next: Bills Injuries Too Much to Overcome?

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