Bills-Seahawks: Josh Allen vs. Mike Macdonald, other key matchups, game analysis

Henry McKenna

NFL Reporter

Eric Williams

NFL Reporter

The Buffalo Bills (5-2) have all the talent in the world on offense and the Seattle Seahawks (4-3) are just as talented on defense. But both teams are still searching for consistency. Their Week 8 matchup is the perfect test for Josh Allen‘s offense and Mike Macdonald’s defense.

There’s an outside chance we’re witnessing a Super Bowl preview.

The Bills are coming off a win over the Titans that started as poorly as anyone could have imagined, with Buffalo falling into a 10-0 hole. But with help from recent trade acquisition Amari Cooper, the Bills scored 34 unanswered points for a rout.

The Seahawks also put together a blowout in Week 7, beating the Falcons 34-14. Quarterback Geno Smith and Kenneth Walker coasted on offense while the defense picked off Kirk Cousins twice.

Let’s dive into five questions ahead of this premier Week 8 matchup.

1. For Eric, what makes Mike Macdonald’s defense so special? And for Henry, what makes Josh Allen special enough to beat it?

Eric D. Williams: Macdonald’s defense has been praised around the league for its adaptability, with an ability to create the illusion of pressure before the snap. He then changes the picture after the snap, bringing pressure from surprising angles and playing sound fundamental coverage in the secondary behind that.

But so far, it’s been a mixed bag. The defense performed well last week in a road win over the Atlanta Falcons but struggled at home two weeks ago against the San Francisco 49ers. One of the reasons the team moved on from Pete Carroll and hired Macdonald was to bring in a fresh defensive approach to match wits with NFC West offensive masterminds Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan.

But the defensive numbers haven’t really improved. The Seahawks are No. 28 in rush defense, allowing 146 rushing yards a game. And Seattle’s seven takeaways are tied for 17th in the league. Against Allen & Co., Macdonald’s defense gets another opportunity to prove its worth.

Henry McKenna: Allen’s coaches keep saying that he has improved his command of the offense. That can mean a number of things, but my sense is that they’re impressed with the way he’s operating pre-snap to get the team into the best play and post-snap to get the ball into the hands of the best matchup.

Given that Allen lost Stefon Diggs (and a handful of other starters) this offseason, the QB needed to pick up the slack. And he’s done that with 15 total touchdowns (12 passing, 3 rushing). As you pointed out, Eric, the Bills would be smart to run the ball against the Seattle defense. But that could set up Allen nicely to work the ball in the passing game.

Allen has a stunningly clean season when it comes to turnovers. He has zero interceptions and four fumbles this year. But the advanced statistics show he’s been about as lucky as it gets — and that he’s still putting the ball in harms way. That’s good news for the Seahawks.

[McKenna: Bills’ Josh Allen has yet to throw a pick. Is the gunslinger now a game manager?]

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2. Which player matchup is most compelling for this game?

Williams: For me, it’s whoever Seattle lines up at right tackle against talented Bills edge rusher Greg Rousseau. The Seahawks are on their fourth option at right tackle this season. Projected starter Abe Lucas never made it to the start of the season following offseason knee surgery.

Lucas’ replacements — George Fant (knee) and Stone Forsythe (hand) — have also missed time, leaving the Seahawks so desperate that they brought back 42-year-old offensive tackle Jason Peters. Good thing Lucas and Fant returned to practice this week.

Last week against the Falcons, Seattle started Division II product Mike Jerrell — and he held up. But if Jerrell makes his second straight start, he’ll face a tough test in Rousseau, who leads the Bills with 29 quarterback pressures and is second with 3.5 sacks on the year.

McKenna: It has to be Amari Cooper and Devon Witherspoon. Witherspoon won’t shadow Cooper for the entire game, but every time they see each other downfield, it’ll be worth watching.

Cooper, of course, was an instant success in Buffalo’s offense after the Bills traded picks to the Browns in exchange for the five-time Pro Bowler. There was an unspoken connection between Allen and Cooper that can take years to develop. Cooper beat man defense for a touchdown — even when he might not have known the audible called at the line of scrimmage. Cooper also looked in sync with Allen beating zone, with a 27-yard chunk after Allen found his receiver sitting in a gap in the coverage. Cooper played just 19 snaps (35%) but managed four catches on five targets for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Witherspoon will be up to the challenge. He maybe hasn’t totally met expectations as the fifth overall pick in 2023, but he’s still as solid as cornerbacks get. He has allowed just 217 yards and zero touchdowns in coverage, per PFF. He has no interceptions and one pass breakup, but that’s mostly due to the shortage of targets going his way: 35 in total. It’s hard to imagine Cooper having a big gainer if Witherspoon is in the area.

3. What game has been an outlier on the Bills’ and Seahawks’ schedules? Is there a game that still doesn’t make sense?

Williams: Not sure how Seattle lost to the New York Giants at home in Week 5, particularly with quarterback Daniel Jones being benched in favor of former Seahawk Drew Lock last week.

In that game against Seattle, Jones had his best outing of the season, passing for 257 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 38 yards. Those numbers are concerning for a Seattle defense facing a much better quarterback with a similar body type to Jones in Allen. Seattle also only ran the ball 11 times in that game and has the most passing attempts of any team this season (280). New Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is still working to consistently create balance on offense.

McKenna: For the Bills, their matchup against the Texans was probably their biggest disappointment — particularly with Allen starting the game 3-of-9 and finishing with just 131 passing yards. The Houston defense is impressive, but as we saw with the Packers this week, the Texans are beatable — particularly if C.J. Stroud takes his foot off the gas. But it’s not necessarily an outlier, because the Bills have currently lost every game to an over-.500 team (Texans, Ravens) and won every game against .500-or-worse teams (Cardinals, Dolphins, Jaguars, Jets, Titans).

If the Bills beat the Seahawks, then that would technically make for an outlier outcome.

4. Which player or coach will need to take the most ownership in winning this game for his team?

Williams: Another big game for Seattle, which means another opportunity for Geno Smith to show he’s the long-term answer at quarterback for the Seahawks. Smith, 34, has been a steady performer for Seattle this season, leading the NFL in passing yards (1,985).

Smith played well in an impressive road win over the Falcons last week. But he also struggled earlier this season in a home loss to San Francisco and is now 0-5 against the reigning NFC West champs. The Seahawks need a clean, efficient performance from Smith to have a chance to defeat the Bills.

McKenna: For the Bills, Josh Allen is the simple, easy answer. But if you dig deeper, I actually think Sean McDermott might be the true answer. McDermott has a reputation for bungling late-game situations. He struggles in high-pressure situations, whether it’s a regular-season game against a playoff opponent or an actual playoff game. So there’s already a history of struggling in close games, and I think that’s what we can expect in this one.

On top of that, the Bills have been dealing with a rash of injuries to their defense that has thinned out the unit considerably. So not only will McDermott have to manage the game to perfection, but he’ll also have to help develop yet another solid game plan when they don’t have the talent they planned to have. The matchup between Allen and Macdonald is exciting. But Geno leads the NFL in passing yards. It’ll be a tall task for McDermott to slow down the Seattle offense, even if DK Metcalf can’t play due to his MCL injury.

5. The Bills made a trade to fill a depth chart hole. Who is a good trade target for the Seahawks?

Williams: Seattle already made a couple moves, acquiring linebacker Ernest Jones from the Titans and defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris from the Jaguars. Jones is familiar with the NFC West, having played his first three NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. He brings playmaking ability and leadership to the second level of Seattle’s defense, while Robertson-Harris provides a run stuffer for the interior of the defensive line.

However, with Seattle’s struggle along the offensive line, a player like the Rams’ Joe Noteboom could make sense. A former starting left tackle in Los Angeles, Noteboom provides versatility as a player who has starting reps at both guard and tackle in the league. At 29 years old, Noteboom is still young for an offensive lineman and will be a free agent at the end of the year, so there’s a possibility Seattle could keep him around beyond this season.

McKenna: How about Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones? He’s still playing well at age 31, but he’s not the type of player New England needs. The Patriots would benefit from getting whatever trade value a starting-caliber veteran like Jones might net on the open market.

Jones, meanwhile, has shown the ability to play every secondary position. He established himself as an elite nickel corner before moving to the perimeter out of necessity. But he excelled there, too. And again, out of necessity, the Patriots have occasionally played him at safety. He’s the type of player who could come in handy for Seattle, which could use Jones all over its defense. Tariq Woolen might be coming back from injury, but the Seahawks are still thin on the back end. You can never have too many defensive backs.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.