MDS's take: The Buccaneers' defense has been a mess this season, allowing the ancient Adrian Peterson to have a huge game on Sunday. The Bills' running game should thrive.
MDS's pick: Bills 28, Buccaneers 21.
Florio's take: Jameis Winston can do everything but throw, which will make it a little hard to play quarterback. A return to Buffalo by former Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick becomes intriguing, but the Bills have enough (especially with extra time to get ready) to continue an unlikely climb toward the postseason.
Florio's pick: Bills 24, Buccaneers 14.
As we saw last week, byes can be scary. Just because the Buffalo Bills are coming off theirs, it doesn't mean they're going to be better. In fact, when I was playing, I usually found we weren't as sharp after the bye as we would have been otherwise.
I don't think the Bills are the type of team to rest on their laurels, though. Even at 3-2, Buffalo knows it has work to do if the playoffs are going to be in the future. For a team that relies on sound defense, a strong running game and a few plays from Tyrod Taylor, this is the right attitude to have. It wants a physical, hard-fought game.
The Buccaneers are in a more desperate situation. They've lost two games in a row and are sitting in last place in the NFC South.
This isn't a great matchup for the Buccaneers with Jameis Winston injured. The Bills don't have the most potent of offenses, but the Tampa defense isn't exactly terrific. If Winston cannot go or is less than 100 percent, the Buccaneers will struggle against a defense that forces you to execute flawlessly. The Bills offense should be able to produce enough points against that Bucs defense to win.
Prediction: Bills 23, Buccaneers 16
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NY Times, Benjamin Hoffman](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/19/sports/nfl-picks-week-7.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Ffootball&action=click&contentCollection=football®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront)
With a fully-healthy Jameis Winston, the Buccaneers (2-3) would stand a reasonable chance of pulling off a road win in Buffalo, but with the best-case scenario being Winston playing with a sprained AC joint, and the worst being Tampa Bay starting Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Bills (3-2) defense should take care of securing a win. Pick: Bills
More quarterback doubts, as Jameis Winston's status was unclear after his shoulder injury Sunday. The Bills come off of a bye still in position to make noise in the AFC East, but their lack of receiving help for Tyrod Taylor is finally catching up to them. The Bucs are unpredictable with Winston at full strength, so they're a crapshoot without him.
Prediction: Bills, 24-19
It's unclear whether Jameis Winston will play against Buffalo or not, but the Bills offense will have a tough time keeping up regardless of who plays quarterback for Tampa Bay.
Bucs 28, Bills 23
Buffalo Bills 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13
With the prospect of Jameis Winston missing action this weekend with a bum shoulder, we might be treated to Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Ryan Fitzpatrick revenge game! (You remember: He was a Bill four teams ago.) I don't know if you know this, but Fitzpatrick went to Harvard. That education should help him tremendously against the league's top scoring defense, in Buffalo, with the Bills fresh off a week's rest. Then again, the way this season has gone, Tampa probably wins 49-2. No matter what, this is a Doug Martin game. Give him 25 touches, no questions asked. Meanwhile, who knows what effort we'll get from the Bucs' run defense? In Week 2, they allowed 7 yards on nine carries to Jordan Howard. Last week, Adrian Peterson ran all over them to the tune of 134 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.
