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Bills vs. Seahawks: 5 keys to victory in NFL Week 8

Here are five keys for the Buffalo Bills to leave their Week 8 clash with the Seattle Seahawks with a victory.

Greg Vorse

Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
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It's a showdown of division leaders this Sunday afternoon when the 5-2 Buffalo Bills head to the Pacific Northwest to take on the 4-3 Seattle Seahawks. The Bills come in having won back-to-back games while the Seahawks have dropped three of their last four. Here are five keys to victory when the Bills head to the West Coast for the first time in 10 months for a 4:05 PM kickoff.

Secondary Tackles

Keon Colema
Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Yards After Catch (YAC) is often thought of as the pass catcher getting the ball and then running away from defenders, but that number could be pumped up on Sunday if the Bills can break some tackles in the secondary. Seattle has four players in their defensive backfield with at least six tackles missed and a missed tackle rate of 15% or higher. Not that it's the end all, be all, but according to Pro Football Focus, all four of those guys are graded at 55 or worse in tackling. That's bad! The Bills shaking loose of a tackle for a long play could be a momentum-changing play.

Related: 4 Bills who are being underutilized through seven games of the 2024 NFL season

Keep them in Front

Geno Smit
Brett Davis-Imagn Images

This one could be helped in a big way if D.K. Metcalf can't play; he missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday with a knee after spraining his MCL on Sunday. Regardless of who plays, Seattle enters this game with the most passing attempts per game at 40 on the dot. They also average the most passing yards per game at almost 271. The Bills' secondary is going to be tested; they will give up some yards, but mitigating how much will be important.

Bend, Don't Break

Jason Myer
Casey Gower-Imagn Images

We talk about this often, and it is obvious that you want to give up threes and not sevens, but it is more important when the other team is also missing those three-point opportunities. The Seahawks rank 24th in the league in field goal percentage at under 80%.

Win the Second Half

Sean McDermot
Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

One of the Bills' greatest strengths this season has been how good they are in the second half. Buffalo is one of two teams to be in the top four in both second-half points scored and points allowed. Seattle isn't too far behind; Buffalo averages 14.0 points per second half; the Seahawks are at 13.9. The difference is that the Bills allow less than six points per game in the second half while Seattle surrenders 11.6.

Related: Bills vs. Seahawks: 5 storylines to watch in NFL Week 8

Big Game Hunting

Tyrel Dodso
Detroit Free Press via Imagn Images

During the Seahawks' three-game losing streak, they were gashed several times for huge plays. Those plays included the opponent going for 76, 76, 41, 70, and 40-yard chunks. The Bills have the quarterback and skill players to do the same.

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Greg Vorse
GREG VORSE

Greg Vorse joined SI to cover the Bills in July of 2024. Greg has spent two decades covering Buffalo football, first as a sports reporter for WJET (ABC) in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 2004 to 2007, then, starting in the summer of 2007, for Time Warner/Spectrum News. He was an award-winning broadcaster during his time on television for stories on the high school, college, and professional ranks. Greg has also covered the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers during his broadcasting and journalism careers. Aside from a love of athletic competition, Greg, his wife, and their two children enjoy vacationing and changing the stereotypes of pit bull terriers.

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