Eagles at Bills
THE STORY: The Buffalo Bills made second-half comebacks a ritual on their way to a 3-0 start. The Philadelphia Eagles have made second-half collapses the norm on their way to last place. The star-laden Eagles are at the bottom of the NFC East and have dismissed the “Dream Team” label that they were wearing in training camp. The Bills are coming off a disheartening loss of their own, struggling to put up points for the first time this season in a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday. Philadelphia will be attempting to hand Buffalo its first home loss on Sunday.
TV: FOX, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Eagles -3, O/U 49.5
ABOUT THE EAGLES (1-3): Michael Vick threw for a career-high 416 yards and two touchdowns last Sunday against San Francisco but Philadelphia still squandered a 23-3 third-quarter lead and lost 24-23. Jeremy Maclin fumbled on a critical drive in the fourth quarter and rookie kicker Alex Henery missed a pair of field goals. The Eagles have been outscored 36-0 in the fourth quarter during their three-game losing streak. The bright side was that Vick made it through the entire game last Sunday after exiting a loss at Atlanta with a concussion on Sept. 18 and suffering a hand injury against the New York Giants on Sept. 25.
ABOUT THE BILLS (3-1): Buffalo was the feel-good story of September with big comebacks in consecutive weeks for wins over the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for nine touchdowns and averaged over 280 yards during the winning streak but his numbers dropped to 199 yards and no touchdowns against the Bengals. The Bills are likely to put the ball in running back Fred Jackson’s hands against the Eagles and their 30th-ranked run defense. Jackson is averaging 129 yards from scrimmage.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Philadelphia has not dropped four straight since Oct. 30-Nov. 20, 2005.
2. Fitzpatrick has a 123.6 passer rating in the second half of games this season.
3. Eagles defensive end Trent Cole and offensive tackle Jason Peters were injured against the 49ers and won’t play against Buffalo.