By McKenna Middlebrook / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills have started their season 2-0 with road wins against the New York Jets and Giants. The Bills have their home opener versus the struggling Cincinnati Bengals who have lost their first two games against the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, respectively.
Within every game, every week, there are always games within the game to watch.
Here are the five matchups to watch on Sunday when the Bills host the Bengals:
Tre’Davious White vs. John Ross III
The Bengals’ star wide receiver A.J. Green has been out since the preseason due to tore ligaments in his ankle. In that void John Ross III has stepped up to become their top receiver.
Through the first two games of the season Ross has amassed 270 yards on just 11 receptions for 3 touchdowns. Not bad. That leads the NFL in yardage.
White has struggled against speedy receivers in the past, and Ross was drafted because of his blazing speed coming out of the University of Washington. Quarterback Andy Dalton has also got the best of White in the past. In the 2017 season Dalton put up 328 yards against the Bills defense, 189 of those yards coming from A.J. Green, White’s matchup. Let’s see if White can get revenge on Sunday.
Levi Wallace vs. Tyler Boyd
Let us continue with the Bengals wide receivers against the Bills defensive backs. Many Bills fans will be familiar with Tyler Boyd. His fourth-and-12 heroics in Week 17 of the 2017 season broke Buffalo’s 17-year playoff drought.
Boyd this season though has made 18 catches for 182 yards.
Levi Wallace has been a revelation for the Bills defense, he went undrafted in 2018 and made an instant impact once given the opportunity. He has thrived in his role playing alongside Tre’Davious White. This season he has 12 tackles and three pass deflections, a real menace on the outside.
Quarterback Andy Dalton is the NFL’s leading passer so the Bills secondary has their work cut out for them.
Tremaine Edmunds vs. Joe Mixon/Giovani Bernard
The Bengals run game has been pathetic through the first two games of the season, the two running backs have combined for 54 yards and zero touchdowns.
Oof.
Edmunds has 16 tackles so far throughout the season and has full command of one of the leagues best defenses at 21 years old.
Edmunds and the rest of the defense have done well to contain two of the NFL’s best running backs Le’Veon Bell and Saquon Barkley through the first two games. If they can maintain Cincinnati’s two running backs they can turn them into a one dimensional offense.
Mixon currently is battling an ankle injury which could affect his ability to make an impact in this one. But the Bills defense will want to shut whomever down, nonetheless.
John Brown vs. Dre Kirkpatrick
Brown has 14 catches, 195 yards, and one touchdown through the start of the season. While playing the Giants on Sunday, Brown had 7 catches for 72 yards, working the short and intermediate routes well.
Kirkpatrick is the Bengals best defensive back, he has 11 tackles and 1 pass breakup. The two faced each other twice last season where Brown got the best of Kirkpatrick. In the two games he had 5 catches for 115 yards and one touchdown.
Bills fans will be hoping to see the same on Sunday at New Era Field.
Mitch Morse vs. Geno Atkins
Geno Atkins is the best player on the Bengals defensive line and that’s saying something. Atkins is not the player he was of seasons prior, but he can still push the pocket and disrupt the run game.
Mitch Morse was the big name free agent that Buffalo signed during the offseason. He has been able to create a clean pocket for quarterback Josh Allen, which has improved his passing accuracy by 10 percent. Morse has been anchoring the new look offensive line which has massively improved from last season and he’ll have to do whatever he can to stop Atkins.
While the Bengals are off to a poor start, Atkins is doing well. Analytics outlet Pro Football Focus has rated him the fourth-best interior defensive lineman in the NFL to start the year, with an overall grade of 89.6.