After being very competitive for the first seven games, the Buffalo Bills have been outscored in their last two games 71-18. One key to the slump is the inability to convert on third downs. In the two blowout losses, the Bills have continued drives on only 5 of 18 third down opportunities. Head coach Chan Gailey is aware of the issue, “We didn't execute at all," coach Chan Gailey said. "And you have to stay away from those third-and-14 and third-and-12s. You can't expect to be very good when you keep them in that category. We [also] missed way too many third-and-4s and third-and-5s this past week.” A great deal of the issue might be play selection. The Bills have chosen to pass on third downs almost exclusively, while running back Fred Jackson is averaging 6.32 yards per carry against the last two opponents.

The rebuilding effort for the Seattle Seahawks that was centered on the offensive line was supposed to take effect this season. That appears not to have happened as the Seahawks line has given up more sacks than every team in the NFL but three and Seattle running backs are only averaging 3.8 yards per carry, but there is some hope. In the last two games quarterback Tarvaris Jackson has been sacked only twice and running back Marshawn Lynch has rushed for 4.44 yards per carry despite facing stout defenses in Dallas and Baltimore. It might have taken this long because new offensive line coach Tom Cable has instituted a new zone scheme with limited offseason time to do it. Tight end Zach Miller, who played for Cable in Oakland, knows it doesn’t happen overnight, “It definitely takes some time, especially when you have younger guys or a new system. Even if we'd had the whole offseason, it's tough to learn everything in an offseason and a training camp.”

At 9-0, it’s all but certain that the Green Bay Packers are heading to the playoffs, probably as a high seed. The coaching staff has now started to plan for that occurrence, starting with defensive linemen BJ Raji. “B.J.’s played an awful lot of plays for us,” defensive coordinator Dom Capers said. “We’ve got a lot of football ahead of us. He’s one of our best players. We’ve got to make sure he’s ready to climb as we head into the month of December.” Raji had 66 tackles and 6.5 sacks which led all nose tackles in sacks, but only 16 tackles and 2 sacks this year through nine games. Some are suggesting that Raji’s decreased production is due to his high number of snaps in the last few years, and while the Packers coaching staff denies that, they’re taking steps to rest him like it might be true.

The Tennessee Titans feel like they’ve been given a chance to win the struggling AFC South division due injuries that have subpar quarterbacks leading the other teams. According to columnist David Climer, “Suddenly, a 10-6 record and maybe even 9-7 might be good enough to win the division and make the playoffs.” The Texans currently have two games over Tennessee and a 41-7 drubbing of the Titans on the road in which Matt Schaub had to throw only 23 passes thanks to a 222 yard rushing effort. His claim of 9-7 being good enough means that he expects the Texans to lose 4 of their remaining 6 games including to Tennessee at home despite having the league’s highest ranked defense and third ranked rushing attack. Also, as Climer points out the 5 Titans victories have come over teams with a combined 15-31 record. The Titans likely need to worry about proving that they’re better than a .500 team with Atlanta, New Orleans and Buffalo still on their schedule before they take solace in other teams’ injuries.

When Atlanta head coach Mike Smith made the call to go for a fourth and one in overtime last Sunday, the New Orleans Saints predicted the play and out-executed the Falcons. Based on a heavy reliance on the power run game and the personnel that the Falcons sent in following a timeout, the Saints sent in their goal line defense which includes defensive tackles Aubrayo Franklin, Shaun Rogers and Sedrick Ellis. The defensive line won off the snap, linebacker Scott Shanle crashed the gap and easily beat the block attempt by Roddy White which made fullback Mike Cox divert off his path to block him, and all of this left free safety Michael Jenkins unblocked who crashed the hole and stonewalled Michael Turner short of the line to gain. This play was an example of a team effort as the coaches diagnosed the call correctly, and every level of the Saints defense executed. The Saints defense may not be considered stout by any means, but when called upon to win the game they did.

Part of the surprising early season success of the Cincinnati Bengals is their advantage in the outside edges of the field, otherwise known as the red zone. Prior to last Sunday, only the Seahawks made it to the red zone more than the Bengals did, and only the 49ers scored more in red zone opportunities than Cincinnati. The Steelers, however, were the second team to do just that in both red zone categories. Head coach Marvin Lewis knows they can’t play the way they did against Pittsburgh and keep winning, “You don't want to give up a third-down touchdown and we gave up some third-down completions that kept them going down there," said Lewis. "We've got to do better.” The Bengals face a Ravens offense that has converted 45% of their red zone chances into touchdowns, but they have made it there 31 times.