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The Washington Redskins vs. Buffalo Bills betting odds opened at -3.5 and quickly jumped to -6 in favor of the Bills.
Sportsbook.comLine & Total: Buffalo -6 & 45.5
Opening Line & Total: Buffalo -3.5 & 46
The banged-up Redskins travel north of the border when they meet the Bills in Toronto on Sunday afternoon.
The Redskins are in a transitional phase of the season, as QB John Beck is set to make his second start— they’re breaking in new starters on an injury-plagued offensive line and they’ll be without top receiver Santana Moss (hand), top rusher Tim Hightower (knee, IR) and TE Chris Cooley (finger). And the defense did not look good in giving up 407 yards to the Panthers in Week 7. The Bills have ridden an opportunistic offense to a fast start, but their revamped run defense could be in for a major challenge against the run-first Redskins. Buffalo has allowed at least 100 yards in each of its six games and is giving up 5.1 yards per carry this season. Middle-clogging NT Kyle Williams (foot) will also be missing from the Bills defensive line.
Beck played pretty well in his first start, all things considered. He completed 60 percent of his passes for 279 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT and he ran for another score. With Moss injured, Beck targeted WR Jabar Gaffney and TE Fred Davis eight times each and threw six passes to second-year WR Terrence Austin. With Hightower done for the season, the rushing workload falls on the shoulders of Ryan Torain and rookie Roy Helu. Torain ran for 135 yards at St. Louis to begin the month, but has only 12 carries for 17 yards in two games since. Helu gained 74 yards on 10 carries in Week 2 versus Arizona, but has a mere 17 carries for 57 yards (3.4 YPC) in his other five games.
The Redskins also have some injury concerns about two of their top defensive players. Safety Oshiomogho Atogwe (knee) and LB London Fletcher (hamstring) are both questionable to suit up on Sunday. This will not help a run defense that has surrendered 367 yards (4.9 YPC) in the past two weeks. Washington has defended the pass pretty well, ranking 11th in the league (218 YPG) and not allowing more than 250 passing yards in any of its six games this season.
The Bills have been involved in five consecutive games decided by a touchdown or less, winning three of those contests. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has a pedestrian 3 TD and 3 INT in his past three games, but has been extremely accurate in the past two weeks, completing 74% of his passes. RB Fred Jackson continues to be one of the most efficient offensive players in the entire league. He has 601 rushing yards and 6 TD, while adding 279 receiving yards. He’s averaging 5.7 yards per carry and has gained 364 total yards in his past two games alone.
Buffalo’s defense continues to give up boatloads of yards, ranking third-to-last in the NFL in both rushing defense (136 YPG) and in defending the pass (285 YPG). The Bills have stayed close in all these games by making big plays on defense. They have forced 16 turnovers, which ties Green Bay for the most in the league. The Redskins and Bills have played just five times since 1993, with Buffalo prevailing in all five meetings (both SU and ATS).
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
