Week 13: Bills vs. Browns
at
Sunday, Nov. 30th
1:00pm ET
The Bills finally get back to Ralph Wilson Stadium for their second game in their home stadium in six weeks thanks to a bye and a "home" game in Detroit. The soldout Ralph should be rocking as a sign of the resiliency of the people of Western New York. The Bills and Browns have a huge matchup with the loser's playoff chances in big trouble.

FACTS AND FIGURES

Matchup: Buffalo (6-5) vs. Cleveland (7-4)
Place: Ralph Wilson Stadium
TV/Radio: Network: CBS; DirecTV: 706; Sirius: 119
Announcers: Greg Gumbel and Trent Green
Spread: Bills by 2½
Series: Browns Lead 11-7 (Bills 0-1 in playoffs)
Streak: Browns Won 1
Last Meeting: Browns 37-24 in Cleveland (2013)
Browns Offense: Rush (14th); Pass (11th); overall (10th)
Browns Defense: Rush (29th); Pass (9th); overall (20th)
Bills Offense: Rush (23rd); Pass (20th); overall (24th)
Bills Defense: Rush (8th); Pass (5th); overall (4th)


INJURY UPDATE

The extra time off because of the snowstorm seems to have done some good in getting banged up players healthy. The Bills lost Chris Gragg to a knee injury against the Jets and are still without Jairus Wynn who has been out for a few weeks with a knee injury as well. They are pretty healthy other than those two injuries.

The Browns have several banged up players, LB Karlos Dansby (Knee), DB Tashuan Gipson (Knee), WR Marlon Moore (Hamstring), DL Athyba Rubin (Back), LB Jabaal Sheard (Foot) have all missed practice time while TE Jordan Cameron tries to comeback from a concussion. Gipson suffered a serious knee injury against Atlanta and will not play, he leads the team in interceptions.

Check out our Bills Daily Injury Page throughout the week for the latest updates on the injured players.

KEY MATCHUPS

WR Sammy Watkins vs. CB Joe Haden:
Watkins has had this game circled since the summer since the Browns are the team that traded the pick to the Bills so they essentially passed on him. With Gibson out, the five year starter Haden gets the nod to matchup with the speedy rookie.

RB Fred Jackson vs. S Donte Whitner:
This war started off during the week as Jackson responded to Whitner's twitter comments over the summer saying he doesn't respect the former Bill. The two will see a lot of each other as Jackson will carry the rock more often now that he's healthy and Whitner leads the Browns in tackles.

DE Mario Williams vs. RT Mitchell Schwartz:
Super Mario has certainly lived up to his nickname as he is earning every penny of that $100 Million contract with dominating play this season. Schwartz is a third year pro who has started every game in his career.

CB Stephon Gilmore vs. WR Josh Gordon:
Too bad this game wasn't played earlier in the year then the Bills wouldn't have to deal with Gordon. He came back from a long suspension and didn't miss a beat with a huge game against Atlanta next week. He will spell trouble for the Bills best corner Gilmore.

KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Get Running Game Going: The Bills were aggressive against the Jets and passed an awful lot but that would play into the hands of the strength of the Browns defense. For a change the Bills are playing a team near the bottom in the run defense rankings so they should run early and often.

2. Use The Crowd: It will be an emotionally charged and fired up crowd looking for something to cheer for in Western New York. The crowd could keep the Browns offense off kilter and help the Bills get off to a good start.

3. Protect The Football: This is something they haven't done well at home. If they can play disciplined, smart football and not give the Browns anything extra than they should be in decent shape.

BILLS DAILY PREDICTION

It has been a very rough year picking Bills games this year as I seem to never have a good handle on how they will play. People are begging me to pick the Browns to help get the Bills a win. I actually think the emotions of the return to the Ralph, the battles with Whitner, and Jim Kelly leading the charge all leads up to an emotionally charged victory for Buffalo:
Bills 24, Browns 20

Season Prediction Record: (2-9)
Season Record Against The Spread: (2-9)

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