encouraging for a unit that upgraded its receivers

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Buffalo Bills will return to the friendly confines of Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday when they welcome the upstart Cleveland Browns to town. The Bills, of course, had to move their Week 12 tilt against the New York Jets to Detroit because of heavy snow that hit the Buffalo area last week. When they take the field Sunday it will be just the Bills second game on their home turf in a span of 41 days. The best thing that I said -- and I told this to the players, and Ive been dying to say it: I just want to go home, Buffalo head coach Doug Marrone said. I just want to go home. Its been a long week. Ford Field, though, was very accommodating to the Bills on Monday, as Kyle Orton passed for 230 yards and two touchdowns to help Buffalo rout the Jets, 38-3. We wanted to give the people back in our region a chance to smile a little bit by the way we played, said Marrone. Boobie Dixon rushed for a touchdown and blocked a punt that was recovered in the end zone for another score, helping the Bills keep their playoff hopes alive. Buffalo held the hapless Jets to a season-low 218 total yards and increased its NFL-leading sack total to 46 with seven during its most-lopsided victory since a 38-0 rout of Indianapolis on Sept. 20, 1992. With six wins through 11 games the Bills have a winning record this late in a season for the first time since 2008 and only the third time since they last reached the postseason back in 1999. Still, they enter this tilt one game back of the Browns in the AFC playoff chase. Cleveland, meanwhile, has playoff aspirations of its own following its fourth win in five weeks. The Browns bounced back from a home loss in Houston in Week 11 to narrowly beat Atlanta this past Sunday, as Billy Cundiff kicked a 37- yard field goal as time expired to lift the Browns to a 26-24 win. Cundiffs winner came after the Falcons took the lead on Matt Bryants 53-yard field goal at the other end of the field. But Atlanta left 44 seconds on the clock -- Matt Ryan threw an incomplete pass on third down to stop it before Bryants kick -- and Cleveland had all three of its timeouts. Brian Hoyer, who threw interceptions on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter -- including one in the end zone -- completed four passes for 61 yards to set up Cundiffs winning kick. One of the passes was to Josh Gordon for 24 yards. Gordon returned from a 10- game suspension to make eight catches for a game-high 120 yards. Nobody was happier to have Gordon back than Hoyer, who leads the NFL with an average of 14.04 yards per completion this season. He is also tied for second in the league with 46 completions of 20-plus yards. This is as big a team win as we have had, said Browns coach Mike Pettine. There were times we tried to give this one away and fought back and made plays in the end. I told (our players) afterward I couldnt be more proud. Cleveland has won four of its last six matchups with the Bills, including a 37-24 triumph last season. However, the Browns lost the last time they played in Buffalo, but have taken two of the last three there. This will be the seventh meeting in the last eight years between these teams. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Pettine is quite familiar with Buffalos personnel, having served as the Bills defensive coordinator last season. Pettine had a profound impact on the Buffalo defense in his lone season with the club and that has continued this year under Jim Schwartz. Buffalo sits fourth in the league in total defense, surrendering 312.2 yards per game. But, teams have been able to run on this Bills defense, especially lately. After allowing an NFL-low average of 2.79 yards per rush through their first six games, the Bills have surrendered a league-worst 5.25 per carry in their last five. That trend may continue against a very good rushing attack of the Browns that is spearheaded by a pair of rookies in Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West. Crowell leads all NFL rookies and stands third in the league with seven rushing touchdowns. He stands fourth among rookies with 336 rushing yards, while West is third with 470. Cleveland is coming off one of their better rushing performances of the season after rolling up 162 yards against Atlanta. Still, with Gordon back in the mix look for Hoyer to try and find him early and often. Hoyer, though, may have his work cut out for him against the leagues best pass rush. In fact, the Bills have averaged six sacks in their past three games and Hoyer has struggled under pressure, completing just 55.9- percent of his passes such situations. Both teams, though, will try to establish the run. Buffalo rediscovered their ground attack against a very good Jets defense, as it produced 116 yards and averaged four yards a carry against the league?s fourth-ranked run defense. Cleveland is ranked 29th against the run as their opponents choose to run against them more than any other defense in football (46.7-percent) when it comes to play selection. Both teams have defenses with a penchant for taking the ball away. Buffalo is tied for third in the league in takeaways (22) and Cleveland has 15 takeaways in their last six games, good for most in the league over that span. OVERALL ANALYSIS In all likelihood the loser of this game is probably out of the playoff race. Cleveland seems to be playing way above its heads and Hoyer has started to trend the other way, despite the team winning games. Having Gordon back in the mix should only help. We all know that the Bills get to the quarterback, but the Browns have done a good job of keeping Hoyer upright. Still he has struggled under pressure and how he handles the Bills front seven will ultimately decide this game. Buffalo, on the other hand, is not as good as it looked on Monday. The Bills will have a hard time not only containing Gordon, but may not be able to handle the Browns neophyte backfield. If they can get to Hoyer they will have a chance, but that may be a tall order against a very good Cleveland offensive line. Sports Network predicted outcome: Browns 24, Bills 10 Cheap Running Shoes Online . Rodgers was ruled out on Friday by Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Matt Flynn will make his second consecutive start for the Packers. Running Shoes Sale Uk . He was signed to help with depth to the receiving corps because of the loss of Shamawd Chambers to the 6-game injured list. http://www.cheaprunningshoesuk.com/ . Bayern winger Franck Ribery marked his league return after recovering from a cracked rib by scoring two goals and setting up two more as the league leaders inflicted the heaviest home defeat on Bremen in the Bundesliga. Wholesale Running Shoes Uk . -- New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has no concerns about the health of shortstop Derek Jeter, who was limited to 17 games last season due to leg injuries. Discount Running Shoes Uk .Manager Brendan Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo on Friday that Sturridge pulled his calf muscle in training as he prepared to return from a five-week layoff due to a thigh strain.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Whether resolving questions on injuries or inconsistency, Bills quarterback EJ Manuel knows he has plenty to prove in showing hes a bona fide starter entering his second NFL season. Another reminder of how far Manuel has to go came this week when he was bypassed for one of six team captain designations in a vote of Bills players. Thats fair and understandable, Manuel said Wednesday, noting his own votes were restricted to established veterans. "You have to earn your stripes in the NFL," Manuel said. "Nothings going to be handed to you in the NFL. You have to work for it. And Im going to continue to allow it to motivate myself and be better for my teammates." The process resumes Sunday, when the former first-round draft pick out of Florida State begins his second season behind centre in Buffalos opener at Chicago. "I think being able to show that on Sunday is huge," Manuel said. "And thats why I say I want to keep my focus on Chicago, because thats the most important thing to me. I cant control whats happened in the past. You have to move and look forward." Manuels past in Buffalo is a mixed bag of promising flashes, failed opportunities and hampered development after an injury-shortened rookie season. He got the Bills off to a 2-2 start, including a 24-23 win over Carolina, which he won with a touchdown pass to Stevie Johnson with 2 seconds remaining. The wheels fell off in Week 5, when Manuel was sidelined with the second of three knee injuries he sustained last season. In missing five of the final 11 games, Manuel finished with a 4-6 record. He threw 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions and finished with a 77.7 passer rating that ranked 25th among players with 250 or more attempts. Though hes been injury-free so far, the big step in development the Bills want from Manuel hasnt been evident on a retooled offence that struggled to finish this preeseason.dddddddddddd Manuel and the starters failed to score a touchdown on their first 18 preseason drives before finally scoring on consecutive third-quarter possessions against Tampa Bays second-stringers in a 27-14 loss on Aug. 23. Buffalos starters finished the preseason with two touchdowns and four field goals on 23 possessions. Manuel and coach Doug Marrone chalk up the lack of production to not wanting to reveal too much of their offence in preseason games. The results, however, werent encouraging for a unit that upgraded its receivers by adding veteran Mike Williams and selecting Sammy Watkins with the No. 4 pick in the draft. No worries, said Marrone. "Im excited. Im not really looking at it and saying, Oh, gosh," said Marrone, who said Manuel has made better throws and been more decisive in his reads. The focus now is not putting too much on Manuels shoulders. "Theres 11 guys out there," Marrone said. "So youve just got to go out there and do whats asked of you and not try to press." That doesnt mean Manuel has arrived just yet. "When youre a young quarterback, youve got to prove yourself, so theres a reason he feels that way," veteran running back and captain Fred Jackson said. "He has to go out there and make plays for us, lead for us, put guys in situations to make plays. And we expect that from him. He knows everybody in this locker room is behind him." Centre Eric Wood, another team captain, also has confidence in Manuel. "He showed me enough over the past year to make me think hes going to go out and play well. Im fired up," Wood said. Manuel shrugged off questions of his past deficiencies by saying hes focused solely on playing Chicago. "Thats the first thing. I dont focus on answering criticism or anything like that," Manuel said. "I think if we win games, thatll alleviate everything." ' ' '