5 Matchups to Watch as Seahawks Travel to Buffalo to Face Surging Bills

With both squads boasting plenty of talent at the receiver positions and dealing with health concerns in the secondary, the pigskin could be flying all over the field when Seattle travels to Buffalo in a battle of six-win teams.

Looking to maintain their standing atop the NFC West after a convincing Week 8 win, the Seahawks will travel to Orchard Park to square off with another talented six-win team in the AFC East-leading Bills.

Bouncing back from a tough overtime loss in Arizona, Seattle scored 23 unanswered points in the second and third quarter to put away San Francisco last weekend, eventually holding on for a 37-27 victory. As for Buffalo, they also held on for a narrow 24-21 win over New England, winning a second straight game to improve to 6-2 for just the third time in franchise history.

With both teams seeking a signature win heading into the second half of the 2020 schedule, here's five critical matchups to keep an eye on at Bills Stadium.

--Seahawks receivers DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and David Moore versus Bills cornerbacks Tre'Davious White, Levi Wallace, and Taron Johnson: Last season, Buffalo boasted one of the NFL's best pass defenses, giving up only 4,772 passing yards and 15 passing touchdowns in 16 games. At the center of that success, White earned First-Team All-Pro honors, intercepting a league-high six passes and producing 17 passes defensed. But this season, the former LSU star has looked like a shell of himself, allowing a 115.0 passer rating and two touchdowns on just 21 targets. Wallace has been serviceable in five starts but hasn't really been tested yet, while Josh Norman remains injured and has only played in three games this year. Given White's unexpected struggles and issues finding stability at the other cornerback spot so far this year, Metcalf, Lockett, and Moore could all be primed for a field day, especially if the weather ends up being clear and sunny as forecasted.

--Seahawks linebackers Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, and Jordyn Brooks versus Bills quarterback Josh Allen: The Seahawks have had their issues stopping dual threat quarterbacks this year, as Cam Newton scored two rushing touchdowns against them in Week 2 and Kyler Murray made several key plays with his legs for the Cardinals two weeks ago. Allen presents similar challenges to Newton with his 6-foot-5, 237-pound frame, as he can be a load to bring down, especially in short yardage and goal line situations. While he's averaging only 3.9 yards per carry this season, he has already scored four touchdowns and picked up 24 first downs on 58 carries. The trio of Wagner, Wright, and Brooks will be tested keeping the quarterback from picking up big chunks of yardage on the ground and will need to bring their hard hat when he does tuck and run given his physical presence as a ball carrier. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Seattle deploy a spy approach similar to the one used earlier this year against Murray and Dak Prescott in an attempt to keep him in the pocket.

--Seahawks interior offensive line versus Bills defensive tackles Ed Oliver, Harrison Phillips, and Quinton Jefferson: Headlined by Oliver, a 2019 first-round pick out of Houston, the Bills have one of the league's most athletic defensive tackle groups. Oliver, Phillips, and Jefferson are all capable of penetrating into the backfield and generating tackles for loss as well as quarterback hits. But none of them weigh more than 307 pounds, while the Seahawks have plenty of girth at the guard spots with Damien Lewis and Jordan Simmons each topping 320 pounds. Buffalo currently ranks 26th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed and yards per carry, and while not all of those struggles can be pinned on the defensive tackles, this feels like a game where Seattle should be able to create some push in the trenches and find success running the football. On the flip side, however, Lewis and Simmons may have their hands full in pass protection, particularly against Oliver, who has nine quarterback pressures so far this season.

--Seahawks cornerbacks Quinton Dunbar, Tre Flowers, and D.J. Reed versus Bills receivers Stefon Diggs, John Brown, and Cole Beasley: Needing a true No. 1 receiver for Allen, Buffalo dealt a first-round pick and several mid-round picks to Minnesota for Diggs and the former Maryland star has not disappointed. The Bills rank seventh in the league with 28 passes of 20-plus yards this season and Diggs has produced 10 of them, proving to be a equally dynamic as a deep threat as he is in the short-to-intermediate game. His presence has benefited Beasley, who is on pace to set a new career-high for yardage, while Brown started the year hot before a knee injury limited his recent production. Without Shaquill Griffin available, Flowers will make his second straight start opposite of Dunbar and despite his struggles so far this year, he has played well against Diggs in the past. Last year, he picked off a pass in coverage against him and he helped limit the star receiver to eight catches for 101 yards combined in 2018 and 2019 contests. Coming off his best game of the year, it will be interesting to see if that momentum carries over into this matchup, while Reed will also be tested trying to keep Beasley at bay in the slot.

--Seahawks tight ends Greg Olsen, Will Dissly, and Jacob Hollister versus Bills linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and A.J. Klein: If there's a weak spot on Buffalo's defense that hasn't drawn much attention this week, it's been the team's inability to slow down opposing tight ends in the passing game. So far this year, they rank in the top five for most receptions (47), yards (509), and touchdowns (6) surrendered to tight ends. Part of the reason for this problem has been injury-related, as Edmunds hasn't looked right this year with a shoulder injury and Matt Milano just landed on injured reserve. In part due to the success of Lockett and Metcalf, Seattle hasn't relied much on tight ends in the passing game to this point, with Olsen and Dissly producing a combined 269 receiving yards all season. But this could be the game where the Seahawks get their tight ends more involved, especially if the safeties are playing deep zone to try to mitigate the success of their receivers vertically and they are consequently matched up with Edmunds and Klein in coverage.