Buffalo (5-2) at Seattle (4-3)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EDT, Fox
BetMGM NFL Odds: Bills by 3.
Series record: Seahawks lead 8-6.
Against the spread: Bills 4-3, Seahawks 2-4-1.
Last meeting: Bills beat Seahawks 44-34 on Nov. 8, 2020.
Last week: Bills beat Titans 34-10; Seahawks beat Falcons 34-14.
Bills offense: overall (18), rush (19), pass (18), scoring (5).
Bills defense: overall (20), rush (20), pass (17), scoring (8).
Seahawks offense: overall (8), rush (27), pass (1), scoring (8).
Seahawks defense: overall (21), rush (28), pass (14), scoring (19).
Turnover differential: Bills plus-10, Seahawks minus-3.
Bills player to watch
Amari Cooper. The newly acquired wide receiver has an opportunity to build on his four-catch, 66-yard, 1 TD debut against Tennessee on Sunday, five days after being traded by Cleveland. The 30-year-old quickly showed glimpses of chemistry with Allen and a sure-handed ability in dropping just one pass — something Cooper uncharacteristically struggled with in his first six games with the Browns.
Seahawks player to watch
RB Kenneth Walker III. Walker had 69 yards on 14 carries last week despite battling an illness, with one rushing and one receiving touchdown.
Seattle is trying to get Walker the ball more following a two-week span where he wasn’t much of a factor on offense and if he feels fully healthy the Seahawks can take advantage of a Bills defense that gives up an average of 132.9 rushing yards per game.
Key matchup
Cooper vs. the Seattle secondary. Riq Woolen looks likely to play after sitting out the past two games with an injury, but Tre Brown did not practice Wednesday. If Brown is out, Josh Jobe and Nehemiah Pritchett would step in at cornerback if Pritchett is able to play. Jobe had six tackles against the Falcons.
Key injuries
Seahawks WR DK Metcalf is listed as doubtful after he suffered a MCL sprain against the Falcons. The Seahawks don’t expect it to be a long-term injury. … Woolen (ankle) returned to practice this week and is expcted to play after missing the past two games. … CB Nehemiah Pritchett (ankle), OL George Fant (knee), and CB Tre Brown (ankle) are all listed as questionable. Fant returned to practice this week after missing the past six games. … Bills coach Sean McDermott ruled out starting LB Terrel Bernard (ankle), rookie backup DT DeWayne Carter (wrist) and WR Curtis Samuel (pectoral). Carter, who will require surgery, and Samuel will both miss several weeks, McDermott said. … TE Dalton Kincaid (collarbone) should play after being listed on the injury report for a second straight week. … RB Darrynton Evans is a candidate to be activated off injured reserve after practicing fully on Wednesday.
Series notes
The Bills and Seahawks have only played three times since 2012, and Seattle is 2-1 in those matchups. … The first meeting came on Oct. 30, 1977. The Seahawks won, 56-17. … The teams last faced off at Seattle on Nov. 7, 2016. … The Bills’ most recent win at Seattle came on Nov. 28, 2004, when they beat the Seahawks 38-9. … Josh Allen threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns in the Bills’ most recent meeting with Seattle in 2020, making him the first player in the Super Bowl era to throw for 400-plus yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, and at least a 130 passer rating more than once in a season.
Stats and stuff
The Seahawks need four more wins to reach 400 victories in franchise history. … QB Geno Smith needs one more 300-yard game to tie Matt Hasselbeck for second for most 300-yard games in a season in franchise history with four. … Smith also needs 74 attempts to pass Rick Mirer for fifth place on Seattle’s passing attempts list with 1,524, and ranks in fifth in completions (982), passing yards (10,626) and passing touchdowns (63). … Smith has thrown at least one touchdown pass in each of his past 11 games, going back to last season. … Walker needs two touchdowns to pass Chris Carson for sixth on Seattle’s rushing touchdowns list with 25. … LBs Derick Hall and Boye Mafe have combined for nine sacks this season, with Hall contributing five and Mafe contributing four. … The Seahawks are one of five teams with two players that each have at least four sacks. … Seattle’s defense forced three turnovers against the Falcons, after combing for just one over the previous five games. … Metcalf needs 142 receiving yards to pass Steve Largent for the most in a player’s first six seasons in franchise history with 6,042. … Metcalf also needs one receiving touchdown to pass Largent for the most in a player’s first six seasons in franchise history with 47, and ranks first in franchise history for the most receptions in a player’s first six seasons with 407. … Allen, coming off his 26th 300-yard outing, had 415 in his only meeting against Seattle, a 44-34 home win on Nov. 8, 2020. … Allen is the NFL’s only starter to not throw an interception this season after getting picked off a career-high 18 times last season. He joins Kansas City’s Alex Smith (2017) in becoming the NFL’s second quarterback to throw at least 12 TDs (Smith had 15) and no interceptions through the first seven games of a season. … Allen is 29-5 when not committing a turnover and 39-27 in a game with a giveaway. … With 125 yards receiving, WR Keon Coleman became Buffalo’s first player to top 100 this year. His yardage total was the most by a Bills rookie since Sammy Watkins had 127 in 2014. … The Bills had lost nine straight when finishing with under 100 yards rushing before finishing with 74 against Tennessee. … The Bills are 15-3 when topping 100 yards rushing since the start of the 2023 season. … Buffalo leads the NFL with a plus-10 turnover differential, with Allen’s two lost fumbles accounting for the team’s two giveaways. The defense has forced at last one turnover in each of its first seven games — Buffalo’s best streak to start a season since an eight-game run in 2007. … Edge rusher Von Miller is eligible to return next week after serving the fourth and final game of his NFL-issued suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Fantasy tip
If Metcalf is unable to play on Sunday, the Seahawks will look to their other receiving options to fill the void. Lockett sees plenty of attention already, but players such as Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jake Bobo and Laviska Shenault could see some added targets.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
