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Week 6: Bills vs. Cardinals
 at 
Sunday, Oct. 14th
4:05pm ET
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The Bills are in total disarray as they hope a week in Arizona is just what the doctor order. People are questioning their mental toughness and everyone is wondering if their psyche is too damaged to recover after two historically bad losses in a row. The Cardinals have had 10 days to prepare for the game after coming off their first loss of the season.
FACTS AND FIGURES
| Matchup: |
Buffalo (2-3) vs. Arizona (4-1) |
| Place: |
University Of Phoenix Stadium |
| TV/Radio: |
Network: CBS; DirecTV: 711; Sirius: 85 |
| Announcers: |
Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker |
| Spread: |
Cardinals by 4½ |
| Series: |
Bills lead 5-4 |
| Streak: |
Cardinals Won 1 |
| Last Meeting: |
Cardinals 41-17 in Arizona (2008) |
| Cardinals Offense: |
Rush (31st); Pass (25th); overall (31st) |
| Cardinals Defense: |
Rush (14th); Pass (18th); overall (11th) |
| Bills Offense: |
Rush (5th); Pass (26th); overall (17th) |
| Bills Defense: |
Rush (30th); Pass (24th); overall (31st) |
INJURY UPDATE
The Bills are really banged up along the offensive linemen. Starters Cordy Glenn and Kraig Urbik remain sidelined with ankle injuries suffered in the loss to the Patriots. Backup Chad Rinehart missed time against San Francisco and in practice this week with a calf injury. He hopes to play. His backup Colin Brown is out with a hamstring injury. Jairus Byrd is slowed with a chest injury but hopes to play. Mark Anderson is out with a knee injury. Kyle Williams and Eric Wood missed practice time this week as well but should play.
The Cardinals are hurting at running back with their top two players on injured reserve. Beanie Wells has turf toe and is designated for return later in the season. His backup Ryan Williams just went on IR as he needs surgery on his injured shoulder. Two depth players at linebacker and cornerback are banged up and may miss the game.
Check out our  Bills Daily Injury Page throughout the week for the latest updates on the injured players.
KEY MATCHUPS
DE Mario Williams vs. RT Bobby Massie:
Williams bounced both ends last week but will likely stay on his normal left end spot to face the rookie Massie. Whichever side he is on he needs to be productive because the Cardinals tackles are not very good.
RG Chad Rinehart or Sam Young vs. ILB Daryl Washington:
No matter who plays right guard they have to watch for Washington blitzing from the inside as he leads the team with four sacks. If Rinehart can't go, Young will be playing a position that isn't natural for him since he's more of a tackle.
CB Stephon Gilmore vs. WR Larry Fitzgerald:
The Bills top rookie goes up against the best offensive weapon the Cardinals have. Gilmore is looking to rebound from a bad performance last week and needs to be on top of his game to hold Fitzgerald in check.
WR Stevie Johnson vs. CB Patrick Peterson:
Johnson is committed to helping the team overcome their issues. He has a tough battle against the young rising star in Peterson who leads the team with five interceptions.
KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Get Early Lead: With the damaged mental state of this team if they fall behind early things could get bad real quick. An early lead may allow them to regain some confidence.
2. Get Pressure On QB: The Cardinals don't have a very good offensive line so if the Bills can't get pressure on the quarterback this week will they ever?
3. Help OL: With the offensive line banged up they need to have a good blocking scheme to overcome the injuries. This may include playing two TEs and using the RBs to help keep the defense at bay.
BILLS DAILY PREDICTION
This is as close to a must win as you get in week 5. The wheels seem to be coming off after the back to back domination against this team. They need to right the ship now which makes this the most important game of the season. The problem is they are still out West where they traditionally play terrible. The Cardinals are a good team that is even better when they are at home. The one tradition the Bills have had the past two years is long losing streaks. They seem to be in the mist of another one for the third year in a row. They may play better (how can they play worse?) but they will lose their third straight:
Cardinals 17, Bills 10
Season Prediction Record: (4-1)
Season Record Against The Spread: (3-2)
Bills Blitz - Coming Sunday Night!
Gameday Grades - Coming Monday Morning!
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