Getting to Know Buffalo's Bills

Eagles will face some familiar faces on Sunday, and here are some players to know for 5-1 Buffalo

The Eagles don’t often play the Buffalo Bills since the two teams are in different conferences.

The last time they met was in December of 2015, a game won by the Eagle 23-20.

So here’s a primer on a team that is 5-1 but won’t win the AFC East because the New England Patriots own the division and have already beaten the Bills this season, 16-10. It was Buffalo’s only loss of the year.

PLAYERS TO KNOW

Josh Allen. The second-year quarterback, who is 6-5, 235, has a powerful arm, but is also a threat to run the ball. He is second on the team in rushing with 190 yards on 45 carries and leads the team in rushing touchdowns with three.

“It's not just his athleticism, it’s their willingness to run him on the football,” said Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. “A lot gets made of the way (Panthers QB) Cam Newton played and the way that (Ravens QB) Lamar Jackson plays in Baltimore. Buffalo has sort of flown under the radar with that with a lot of designed quarterback runs. Stuff that looks like Wildcat, but he's just running quarterback sweep, quarterback power, quarterback counter, quarterback draw, and he's not sliding.”

Allen is prone to mistakes, though. He has thrown seven interceptions with just seven touchdown passes.

Frank Gore. Once upon a time, in 2015 when Chip Kelly was the boss, Gore had agreed to sign as a free agent with the Eagles, then changed his mind and went to the Colts. He was 32 then and he is still hanging around and doing well at the advanced age of 36. The running back has 86 carries for 388 yards and two touchdowns.

Now in his 15th season, he is putting the finishing touches on a career that could land him in the Hall of Fame. He has 18,987 all-purpose yards which is ninth most in league history and he can still climb as high as seventh and maybe sixth or even fifth, where Eagles running Darren Sproles resides, depending on how long he can remain effective.

Gore is less than 100 yards away from passing Steve Smith and moving into eighth all-time.

John Brown. In three career games against the Eagles, all with the Arizona Cardinals, the receiver has averaged 18.3 yards on 10 catches with three touchdowns. He leads the Bills with 33 receptions for 473 yards and two scores.

Jordan Poyer. Remember him? The Eagles selected this safety in the seventh round of the 2013 draft. He played three games with the Eagles before being released and signed by the Browns. Poyer has carved out a nice career and is part of a very good secondary in Buffalo. He has 12 career interceptions.

Poyer isn’t the only player in Buffalo drafted by the Eagles.

Matt Barkley is Allen’s backup and Kurt Coleman is a backup safety.

Tre’Davious White. Then there’s this cornerback the Eagles had a chance to draft, and showed interest in, back in 2017. The Eagles spent their first-round pick, the 14th overall, on defensive end Derek Barnett that year, while White didn’t come off the board until the 27th pick. White, from LSU, already has nine career interceptions, three forced fumbles, and 138 tackles. He is also a big reason Buffalo has yet to allow a touchdown pass of 20-plus yards in the air.