Just exactly how explosive is the Bills offense the Eagles will face Sunday?

Just exactly how explosive is the Bills offense the Eagles will face Sunday? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

You want to sell out against the Bills’ passing game? They’ve got the NFL’s leading rusher.

You want to sell out against the Bills’ running game? They’ve got the NFL’s reigning MVP at quarterback.

How do you defend a team that runs the ball better than anybody in the NFL and has a potential Hall of Famer at quarterback?

“You got Josh Allen, that’s all you need to say,” Vic Fangio said. “You got (James) Cook, that’s all you need to say.

“Their line is playing very well. They’ve got a good group of tight ends. The receivers have been playing good. They’re highly ranked in a lot of key areas on offense and it’s no accident.”

Fangio’s defense, which has been so good lately, gets a huge challenge Sunday in Orchard Park when the Eagles face the Bills at Highmark Stadium, where the Band opened for Eric Clapton in 1974. This will be the Bills’ 2nd-to-last game at the former Rich Stadium, their home since 1973. A new Highmark Stadium located across the street will open next year.

With a win and a Bears loss to the 49ers Sunday night, the Eagles will keep alive their hopes for the No. 2 seed. Two Eagles wins and two Bears losses move the Eagles up from No. 3 to No. 2.

The Bills are ranked 3rd with 373 yards per game, 1st with 159 rushing yards per game, 4th with 7.5 yards per pass play, 4th in first downs, 4th on third down and 3rd in scoring.

It all starts with Allen, who is having another monster season with 25 touchdown passes, 69 percent completion percentage and a 103.3 passer rating, which trails only Matthew Stafford (112.1), Drake Maye (108.5) and Jared Goff (107.0). He’s also rushed for 552 yards with a 5.3 average.

Allen 82-32 over the last seven seasons with 210 TD passes, 82 INTs and close to 5,000 rushing yards.

What makes him so special?

“Just his size, his speed, his instincts, when it becomes a scramble game, what he can accomplish,” Fangio said. “He’s hard to tackle. He’s so big and elusive. He’s a real dude.”

Since Allen became a full-time starting quarterback in 2019, the Bills have the 2nd-best record in football, behind only the Chiefs. They’re 11-4 this year, their 7th consecutive 10-win season and 7th consecutive playoff season. In nine years under Sean McDermott, the former Eagles secondary coach and defensive coordinator, they’ve only missed the playoffs once.

And then there’s Cook, the Bills’ 2nd-round pick in 2022 out of Georgia. After backing up Devin Singletary as a rookie, he became the Bills’ go-to back in 2023, and over the last three years he’s got the 4th-most rushing yards in football (behind Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley and Bijan Robinson), his 5.0 average is 4th-highest among running backs and he’s rushed for 30 TDs. He also has another 1,200 yards and nine more TDs receiving.

He leads the NFL with 1,552 yards this year, and his 5.3 average is second only to Miami’s De’Von Achane, and his nine 100-yard games are three more than any other back. His four TD runs of at least 40 yards are tied for most in the league with Jahmyr Gibbs and TreVeyon Henderson.

“Very elusive,” Fangio said. “He’s a jump-cut guy and once he gets in the open field he’s got the speed to hit the home run. He’s really good. He’s patient, but once he sees that he hits it and he’s really good. He’s elusive.”

The Eagles on Sunday will get Jalen Carter back for the first time in four games but will be without his college teammate, Nakobe Dean.

It’s been a good stretch for the Eagles’ defense, which allowed 23.1 points the first eight games but 14.9 the last seven.

“Yeah, I think it’s good they have improved,” Fangio said. “Some of that’s due to having some young players that are going to take time to improve, and we still have some guys in their second year that are going to keep improving.

“These guys have worked at it. They’re very coachable and we all enjoy coaching them.”

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