Top 5 storylines for Bills vs. Buccaneers | Week 11

The Bills are back at Highmark Stadium for a 1:00 p.m. matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's the first time this season Buffalo has played in back-to-back 1:00 p.m. games.

Here are five storylines to follow for Week 11.

1. An unfamiliar foe

The Bills are getting ready to face an opponent they don't see often in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The two have played each other 13 times and the Bucs own an 8-5 record against the Bills.

The last time the two played was during the 2023 season for Week 8. Buffalo beat Tampa Bay 24-18. Bills quarterback Josh Allen had three total touchdowns compared to Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield's two. Khalil Shakir was Buffalo's leading receiver with six catches for 92 yards.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott has played Tampa Bay just three times since becoming Buffalo's head coach in 2017. McDermott is 2-1 against the Bucs with the lone loss coming from a game that went to overtime.

That OT game happened during the 2021 season in Week 14. The Bills were down by 17 points with 9:00 to play in the fourth quarter. A Dawson Knox touchdown and a Gabe Davis touchdown brought it to a three-point game. Tyler Bass kicked a 25-yard field goal to tie it up with :22 in the game. The Bucs won the game in OT thanks to a 58-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Breshad Perriman.

Sunday marks Allen's third matchup against the Bucs in his career. He goes into the matchup with a 1-1 record against Tampa Bay.

2. Two QBs from the same draft class

Sunday's matchup features two quarterbacks from the same draft class in Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield. Mayfield was drafted first overall out of Oklahoma and went to the Browns. Allen went to the Bills six picks later at seventh overall out of Wyoming.

Mayfield started out his career hot with 3,725 passing yards and 27 passing touchdowns in his rookie season. He had at least 3,500 passing yards and 22 passing touchdowns in his first three seasons. The QB had six wins in each of his first two seasons and 11 in his third.

Allen didn't have a full rookie season due to an elbow injury that kept him out for four games. He finished his first year with 2,074 passing yards and 18 total touchdowns. Allen saw a big jump in production going from his second to third season – 3,089 passing yards to 4,544 and 29 total touchdowns to 46. The QB picked up 13 wins in his third year, tied for the most wins in his career.

After their first few seasons, the two quarterbacks went in different directions as one stayed put and the other bounced between a few teams.

Mayfield played four seasons for Cleveland before being traded to Carolina in July of 2022. His time with the Panthers was short lived because he was released in December and then was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Rams. After a down year in 2022, Mayfield found his fit. The QB was signed by the Buccaneers in 2023 and found success once again. His best season as a pro came in his seventh season where he completed 71% of his passes for 4,500 yards and scored 41 passing touchdowns.

After his third season, Allen's play stayed steady as the quarterback worked on different areas of his game during each offseason. The QB has led his team to five straight AFC East titles and at least 10 wins in the last six seasons. He's also produced at least 40 total touchdowns in five straight seasons, the first player to do so in NFL history. Allen's reached feats that are hard to accomplish, becoming the first player in their first seven seasons with at least 76 wins, 262 total touchdowns and 30,595 total yards.

Eight years in and Allen and Mayfield are not showing any signs of slowing down. The other quarterbacks drafted in the first round of the 2018 draft – Sam Darnold (Seahawks), Josh Rosen (no longer in the NFL) and Lamar Jackson (Ravens).

Allen and Mayfield will face each other for the third time in their careers as starters on Sunday. They each have one win against each other going into the matchup.

3. Having the right mindset coming off a loss

After their third loss of the season, the Bills want to make sure they're doing the right things to learn and move forward.

"It is a loss on the sheet, but you got to learn from it," Sean McDermott said. "We talk about what did we learn from it? How do we learn for that experience so that we move forward better. That's the important part. That's really the only thing we control right now and then how we handle ourselves moving forward."

One thing the Bills want to do moving forward is being consistent week to week. The Bills started the season with four straight wins before suffering back-to-back losses. They want to get back to stacking wins.

"That's the battle every week in this league," McDermott said of chasing consistency. "And that's part of the reason why you see fluctuations week to week and because the competition is so elite. It's a part of the journey and it's part of a learning experience."

Buffalo's offense wants to learn everything they can from Week 10 to make sure they're more productive on offense going forward. Against Miami, the Bills didn't get on the scoreboard until the fourth quarter, the first time that's happened this year.

Offensive coordinator Joe Brady said he needs to do a better job of putting his players in good situations.

"I'm not going to point the fingers at anybody else, when we have that type of performance, it falls solely on me," Brady explained. "And if guys aren't getting involved in ways that they probably should, that's strictly on me. So, it's something that as a staff, we continue to look at and try to find ways."

Dating back to 2019, in the last six seasons, the Bills have always followed up a third loss with a win.

4. Young defensive backs continue to improve

In the past two weeks, second-year safety Cole Bishop and rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston have had games to remember.

In Week 9, Bishop recorded four passes defensed and one tackle for loss. He followed up with an interception in Week 10. Hairston grabbed his first-career interception in Week 9 and had a second in Week 10.

Against Miami, the rookie CB had a tough DPI call against Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle that ended up in a touchdown in the second quarter. Sean McDermott is proud of the way the rookie adjusted during the game.

"What I love about Max is, had a tough play in the first half. In the second half he comes back and makes a big play at a big-time moment in the game," McDermott said. "That to me shows me something about the young man and his ability to reset and his mental toughness."

In addition to Hairston and Bishop, defensive back Jordan Hancock has seen an increase in playing time. Hancock played in 43% of the defensive snaps against the Chiefs and 19% against Miami.

"Very impressed. Doesn't mean that there's not been some hiccups there," McDermott said of the young defensive backs. "That's natural. There is going to be (hiccups)…Cole now two games. What he had a pick this week. Big game last week. He's starting to understand what it looks like, and what it has to feel like. And yet he's still not satisfied, which is a good…You mentioned Jordan Hancock out there. He's doing some good things for us on defense and special teams."

Defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said it's been great watching the young players develop.

"Cole is kind of finding that rhythm and that flow, as I talked about earlier," Babich explained. "…He just seems like he's more in control of the down – down in and down out. Max has had two picks in two games. It's not too bad, but there's a lot of things that he has got to get corrected."

"We're moving in the right direction. It's a journey," McDermott said of their development. "It's just going to take some time…It's all part of it. I'm proud of them, the way that they're working. The coaches are doing a really good job developing them."

5. How Buffalo and Tampa Bay compare

The Bills and Buccaneers have the same record at 6-3. They also have the same home/away record. Buffalo is 4-1 at home, while Tampa Bay is 4-1 on the road.

Here's a look at how they compare statistically heading into Week 11.

Offense

Points per game – Bills: 27.6 (6^th), Bucs: 24.4 (11^th)

Total yards per game – Bills: 384.4 (2^nd), Bucs: 328.3 (17^th)

Passing yards per game – Bills: 231.2 (12^th), Bucs: 228.6 (14^th)

Rushing yards per game – Bills: 153.2 (1^st), Bucs: 99.8 (25^th)

Red zone efficiency – Bills: 65.6% (7^th), Bucs: 52% (24^th)

Defense

Points per game allowed – Bills: 21.9 (11^th), Bucs: 22.9 (14^th)

Total yards per game allowed – Bills: 317.8 (14^th), Bucs: 334 (20^th)

Passing yards per game allowed – Bills: 170.2 (3^rd), Bucs: 233.2 (24^th)

Rushing yards per game allowed – Bills: 147.6 (30^th), Bucs: 100.8 (11^th)

Red zone efficiency allowed – Bills: 58.3% (14^th), Bucs: 61.9% (21^st)