Buffalo Bills Players to watch: Week 17 vs. Falcons

This week, the Bills have the Atlanta Falcons traveling to Buffalo. The Bills are heavy favorites this week and should be able to handle business at home. There are going to be a couple of key players for this match up on both sides of the ball. On defense, it all starts with stopping the run game and Cordarrelle Patterson.

Harrison Phillips

Phillips has been extremely productive recently, putting up over 30 tackles during a six game stretch; impressive production from a defensive tackle. He has been able to create pressure and has been taking up multiple blockers in the run game. That will be huge this week as the Bills try to stop Patterson, who is averaging 4.1 yards per carry on the ground. Phillips will need to clog the middle and let the back seven do their part to make tackles. I expect to see Phillips get a high snap count this week with three or four total tackles (including two for a loss).

Matt Milano

When the Falcons do pass the ball, it is going to their rookie tight end Kyle Pitts. Pitts has almost 1,000 yards this season, showning he has the skill set to be a major threat in the receiving game. This will be who Milano is covering this week. Milano will need to make it hard for Pitts. He can’t let him get a clean release off the line of scrimmage or Pitts will make the Bills pay. Milano will win this match up for the most part. Pitts will likely still have a couple of catches but they won’t be significant.

Gabriel Davis

Davis is coming off the COVID list this week and, with Emmanuel Sanders not practicing yesterday, expect his snap count to increase. When Davis has been on the field, getting targets, he has been very successful. Over the last three games he played, he has scored four touchdowns with over 150 receiving yards. He and Josh Allen seem to be on the same page when they play together. Allen always seems to find Davis on those broken plays. Expect Davis to see eight or nine targets with a couple of those coming in the redzone. He will probably score again this week and have around 65 receiving yards.

Offensive Line

The Buffalo Bills offensive line played well last week. This needs to continue going forward if they want to win in the playoffs. The line has been switched around due to injuries, so but getting Jon Feliciano back this week is huge. The Bills need to find some continuity in the trenches going into the playoffs and that needs to start this week. The line should dominate up front against a weak Falcons defensive line. The Bills should be able to run the ball at will and Allen should have all the time he needs in the pocket.

This should be a blowout win for the Buffalo Bills and provide a bit of a confidence boost going into next week and the playoffs.