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Week 7: Bills vs. Panthers
 at 
Sunday, Oct. 25th
4:05pm ET
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The Bills head to Carolina to take on a Panthers team that has rebounded from a 0-3 start to win their last two games. The Bills have some confidence heading into this game after a road division win in New Jersey. Buffalo needs to find a way to get the run defense straightened out against the highly powered ground attack of Carolina.
FACTS AND FIGURES
| Matchup: |
Buffalo (2-4) vs. Carolina (2-3) |
| Place: |
Bank of America Stadium |
| Television: |
CBS |
| Announcers: |
Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker |
| Spread: |
Panthers by 9 |
| Series: |
Bills lead 3-1 |
| Streak: |
Panthers Won 1 |
| Last Meeting: |
Panthers 13-9 in Buffalo (2005) |
| Panthers Offense: |
Rush (8th); Pass (29th); overall (26th) |
| Panthers Defense: |
Rush (29th); Pass (2nd); overall (12th) |
| Bills Offense: |
Rush (12th); Pass (25th); overall (25th) |
| Bills Defense: |
Rush (32nd); Pass (4th); overall (21st) |
INJURY UPDATE
The Bills continue to be devastated by injuries starting at quarterback. Trent Edwards is expected to miss the game after suffering a concussion against the Jets. Kyle Williams will also likely be sidelined with a torn joint in his shoulder. Jonathan Scott and Bryan Scott are both likely at least a week away from returning from ankle injuries. Donte Whitner and Terrence McGee are both questionable at best as well with injuries suffered against the Jets. James Hardy is practicing but not ready to return. Kawika Mitchell, Marcus Buggs, Leodis McKelvin, Derek Schouman, and Brad Butler are all on injured reserve.
The Panthers are healthy however with four players missing practice on Wednesday including RB Jonathan Stewart. He has a sore Achilles but is expected to play along with LB Na'il Diggs and RB Brad Hoover who are also banged up.
Check out our  Bills Daily Injury Page throughout the week for the latest updates on the injured players.
KEY MATCHUPS
LB Paul Posluszny vs. RBs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart:
The two headed monster for the Panthers both went over 100 yards last week and must be licking their chops at the thought of facing the weak Buffalo run defense. Poz will need to perform much better than he did last week to lead the charge to keep them at bay.
RBs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson vs. LBs Thomas Davis and Jon Beason:
The Bills will need to rely on the run as well to keep the ball away from the Panthers talented secondary. Lynch needs to have a breakout game and Jackson needs to catch more passes out of the backfield. Davis and Beason lead the Panthers in tackles.
DE Aaron Schobel vs. LT Jordan Gross:
This should be a good battle between two veterans. Gross played in his 100th career game last week, all starts. Schobel has bounced back nicely from his lost season a year ago when he injured his foot.
WR Lee Evans vs. CB Chris Gamble:
Evans seems to have a good rapport with backup QB Ryan Fitzpatrick as he was thrown to a season high 11 times last week. For him to continue to improve on a substandard season he needs to battle the up and coming Gamble.
LT Demetrius Bell vs. DE Julius Peppers:
Bell will have his hands full with Peppers who has five sacks on the season already. Bell will likely get help from Andy Levitre or else it could be a long day for Fitzpatrick.
CB Terrence McGee vs. WR Steve Smith:
If McGee is healthy enough to play he will go against Smith who has something to prove. He lashed out this week saying he is no good to the team since they are not getting him the ball. Look for the Panthers to try to correct that this week. If McGee can't go this job will likely fall to Reggie Corner.
GAME PLAN
When The Bills Have The Ball: Look for them to establish a running game this week since the Panthers have the 2nd best pass defense in the league. Expect a healthy dose of Lynch and Jackson for Buffalo to keep the pressure off of Fitzpatrick making his first start at QB for the Bills.
When The Panthers Have The Ball: Look for them to learn from the Jets mistake in the 2nd half last week and just keep it on the ground. The Bills have the worst run defense in the league and the Panthers may have the best one-two punch at running back. They shouldn't even think of putting the ball up if they get the lead.
BILLS DAILY PREDICTION
The Bills should definitely have more confidence heading into this contest but this is just a bad matchup. The Panthers' running back duo makes the Jets duo of Thomas Jones and Leon Washington look like amateurs. The Bills need to stop the run to win this game and haven't stopped it yet this year so why would we think they will stop it this week?
Panthers 23, Bills 16
Season Prediction Record: (3-3)
Season Record Against The Spread: (2-4)
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