The Buffalo Bills (7-2) look to make another statement when they travel to face the Arizona Cardinals (5-3) on Sunday, and on the latest episode of the Billieve Podcast, hosts John Boccacino and Jamie D’Amico have everything you need to know for the Week 10 clash.
The Bills will have to take on Kyler Murray and the high-flying Cardinals without four key contributors after cornerback Josh Norman tested positive for COVID-19 Saturday afternoon Norman was the only Bill to test positive, though three players were deemed to be close contacts and, therefore, were placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list: cornerback Levi Wallace, tight end Tyler Kroft and safety Dean Marlowe.
After discussing this breaking news and offering up our thoughts on how this will impact the Week 10 showdown with the Cardinals, Boccacino and D’Amico turned to how the Bills will try and contain Murray, Arizona’s second-year quarterback who is a dangerous threat with his legs and his arm.
Murray, who ranks eighth in the NFL in rushing yards (543) while averaging 7.1 yards per rush, loves to scramble and gain yards on designed runs, and like they did last week vs. Russell Wilson, Buffalo’s front four will once again need to win their one-on-one matchups while not over-pursuing when trying to tackle Murray.
Among the other topics discussed:
- Look for Edmunds to play more outside linebacker, to both make the most of his sideline-to-sideline speed and to better contain Murray. Fellow linebacker A.J. Klein will need to duplicate his career game from last week.
- Tre’Davious White vs. DeAndre Hopkins will be must-watch action as the two All-Pros square off for the first time since the Wild Card round in 2019.
- With Norman, Wallace and Marlowe out, the pressure will be on Dane Jackson and Daryl Worley to step up and help White in the secondary.
- Murray and the Cardinals’ Air Raid offense loves to line up in a spread formation (more than 70 percent of the time). How will Buffalo’s zone defense try and limit the damage that Hopkins, Christian Kirk and Larry Fitzgerald can do through the passing game.
- On the other side of the ball, Allen thrust himself back into the MVP conversation with his stellar performance vs. Seattle. While Arizona has Patrick Peterson as a shutdown cornerback, Stefon Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley will all have winnable matchups, especially if safety Budda Baker misses the game.
- Boccacino expects Brown to run wild against his former team, while D’Amico has selected tight end Dawson Knox as his x-factor on offense.
- The status of center Mitch Morse, guard Cody Ford, and safety Micah Hyde is concerning, but if their injuries are still nagging, the Bills might be best served (long-term) holding them out of Sunday’s tilt.
- Plenty of points should be scored in the desert.
Check out the latest Billieve Podcast for our thoughts on these topics and hear score predictions as the Bills face the Cardinals, then join the conversation by leaving your thoughts on how the game will play out in the comments section below.
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