The Oakland Raiders (1-0) take on the Buffalo Bills (1-0) in Buffalo this coming Sunday.  The Bills are coming off a game in which Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 208 yards and 4 touchdowns.

In this weekly article, Pro Football Spotlight will bring you the upcoming opponent’s rushing and passing tendencies, as well as some additional data and observations. For example: Did you know that the Buffalo Bills ran the ball 19 times right at the center which ranked 2nd in the NFL in number of attempts toward that area in week #1?

Every team in the NFL has strengths and weaknesses, tendencies, and go-to guys. They have plays they like to call during tight situations or directions they like to run when in the middle of the football field.

Let’s take a look at the rest of those tendencies…

Rushing Offense

Rushing Notes:

• One big glaring stat in the chart above is the number of times the Bulls ran the ball at their own center.  19 plays for an average gain of 3.89 yards.
• The only other trend, at least in the Chiefs game, was the 8 times they ran around the left end (8).  They averaged 5.3 yards per carry when running right at Tamba Hali.
• Although the Bills had their way with the Kansas City Chiefs…the Raiders can probably expect the Bills to try and run up the middle on them as well (also check out Raiders vs Bills:  Week #2 Match-ups).  In 2010, Buffalo ranked 8th in the NFL in the number of attempts directly at their center.  And it was by far the most ran toward area.

Passing Offense

Passing Notes:

• The Buffalo Bills really didn’t have to throw the ball very much against the Chiefs due to the success they were having on the ground.
• One trend, even for the just one game, is the 5 plays deep to the right side of the field.  Kansas City has Brandon Flowers over there and the Bills still preferred to throw deep right.  Look for Buffalo to to stay with what they like to do and chuck a few to the deep right side of the field.
• Staying with the same trend.  The right short side of the field appears to be another preferred area.   They threw short right 11 times with a completion percentage of 90% (stat not in chart).

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Raiders vs Bills: Week #2 Matchups

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