Relentless Bills Offense a Real Problem

Justin Fields thought back to the start of his rookie year in a preseason game when talk about the Buffalo Bills came up this week at Halas Hall.

"They've had a great defense," Fields said. "Every time I think of Buffalo I think of preseason last year when I got my helmet knocked off."

There's more to it than that very scary moment for Fields and Bears fans, of course.

"They have (a) great front seven," Fields said. "Safeties are great, of course, (Jordan) Poyer, he's a great player. Their Mike linebacker, he's also a good player and their D-line, they're a force, too. I think their nickel's (Taron Johnson) been playing pretty good too.

"A great challenge for us, of course we're excited and we're excited to see what we can do."

The defense isn't even Buffalo's greatest strength, as they're 18th defending the pass but they are second on offense, fifth at passing.

The Bears face another dominant opponent and can only hope to be as close this week as last week against the Eagles.

Here are the matchups where they figure to struggle the most.

Bears CB Jaylon Johnson vs. Bills WR Stefon Diggs

Another great receiver for Johnson to "travel" against. He'll no doubt be defending Johnson on the outside because the Bears have no one close in terms of coverage ability. And he's doing it with a ribs or side injury of some type. The Bears haven't specified but he aggravated it against the Eagles. Johnson's gutsy coverage wasn't enough to stop AJ Brown, who had nine catches anyway. Eventually he caught a few that were big gains. Johnson might find Diggs and his extreme quickness even tougher to cover. Diggs doesn't have the size but has breakaway speed and ability to cut like the Bears saw earlier from Miami's Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Diggs is third in the NFL in catches (99), yardage (92.8 per game) and TD receptions (10).

Bears CB Jaylon Jones vs. Bills WR Gabe Davis

If the Bills complete a pass for big yardage, it's often been Davis. He's second in the league in yards per catch at 17.9, although he has just 42 catches in 77 targets. Davis can line up outside or in the slot but at 6-2, 210, he's built more like a traditional X-receiver. Jones is a bit of a surprise for the Bears. He has had to start since Kindle Vildor's ankle injury and it's uncertain whether the injury is healed enough. Jones has had a better passer rating against (92.3) than Vildor (110.1), although far fewer play reps. He seems to error on the side of caution with his play but often gets beat on the shorter routes.

Bears CB Kyler Gordon vs. Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie

Gordon is trending up after a season of struggles. One of his best games of the year came against Atlanta, but he suffered a concussion and didn't return until Sunday. Then he picked off one pass and recovered a fumble. A 101.4 passer rating against is better than what he was sporting earlier and he has allowed only two TD passes even though Pro Football Focus has had him in the bottom 10 of cornerbacks much of the year. He's escaped that for now and is 11th worst. McKenzie is a more the traditional Z or slot receiver size at 5-8, 173 but rarely catches passes longer than 10 yards. Only once in six years has he hit 10 yards a catch (2022, 10.1). However, he's catching throws with greater regularity than in the past.

Bears LB Matthew Adams vs. Bills RB Devin Singletary

The Bills will pass to Singletary like he's a receiving back, they'll let him run or run out of wildcat. He's as all-purpose as backs get and runs both with speed, strength and elusiveness even though he's undersized by today's standards at 5-7, 203. Adams has started only one game and played in just seven this year because of injuries but the Bears turn to him or even Joe Thomas with Jack Sanborn no longer available at middle linebacker. The Bears are reaching down into their bench for help here and it's never good for matchups against established starters.

Bears DE Al-Quadin Muhammad vs. Bills T Dion Dawkins

It's not been a great year pass blocking for Dawkins. Not many Bills can say it has been on their line, but he is rated in the middle of the pack by Pro Football Focus among tackles at 32nd overall and has been an effective pass blocker, ranked 17th overall blocking for Josh Allen. Muhammad has struggled like all Bears defensive ends, and is graded 101st of 123 PFF grades. He's actually graded better than both Trevis Gipson and Dominique Robinson, though. As a pass rusher, Muhammad is graded 122nd out of 123 defensive ends.

Bears WR Byron Pringle vs. Bills CB Taron Johnson

Pringle got the most money of the free agent receivers the Bears brought in this year and has had opportunities since getting over injuries, but he hasn't produced much with seven catches in eight games. Last week's touchdown was the result of his experience playing with Patrick Mahomes as Fields had run out of the pocket and Pringle simply found a dead spot in the coverage and sat down. This is something he needs to do more of because Fields is trying to find receivers downfield. Johnson has an excellent grade for a slot cornerback of 71.5 by PFF. Sportradar tracks him at 99.5 passer rating against when targeted. Johnson's best quality as a slot defender is tackling ability. He has missed only three out of 82 tackle attempts.

Bears T Riley Reiff vs. Bills DE Gregory Rousseau

Rousseau has been a constant for the Bills in the rush with seven sacks and will need to pick up the slack after Von Miller's season-ending injury. He is more of a speed rusher with 4.68-second speed in the 40 and the type who can give Reiff trouble. The Bears right tackle position was a real problem last week, but it's been hinted Larry Borom could be ready to return. Reiff hasn't had a bad season but matchup up against a younger speed rusher can be troublesome.

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