Bills, Redskins set to invade Toronto

There is so much to talk about this week I thought I would dispense with my usual preamble and get right to it.

The Bills invade Toronto Game: BUF @ WSH at Rogers Centre at Rogers Centre

The Redskins visit Toronto riddled with serious injuries at a number of key offensive positions. Tight end Chris Cooley and running back Tim Hightower are both out for the year. Wide receiver Santana Moss is sidelined for at least five weeks with a hand injury.

The Bills have their own injuries to worry about. Linebacker Shawne Merriman is out for the year and nose tackle Kyle Williams still hasn't recovered from his foot injury.

There's little question that Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bills offence have a distinct advantage over John Beck and the Redskins. Fitzpatrick has more weapons to work with than Beck and the Bills offence is averaging over 31 points per game.

The one player Fitzpatrick and the Bills offence are concerned about on the Redskins defence is linebacker Brian Orakpo. Chan Gailey made it clear that a big part of the Bills game plan will revolve around developing blocking schemes that account for Orakpo on every passing play.

The biggest advantage the Bills have over the Redskins is Fred Jackson. One of the most productive all purpose running backs in the NFL, Jackson has become a nightmare for opposing defences to deal with; especially when the Bills use him as a receiver. Fitzpatrick has thrown 29 passes to Jackson, only four of them have gone incomplete.

The Tebowmania Game: DET @ DEN

If you have ever spent any time talking to the man, you will quickly realize that there's something special about Tim Tebow.

It is hard to describe but he has a definite aura of a winner about him. Hence the runaway phenomenon in Denver that has become "Tebowmania". The debate of whether or not Tebow is a legitimate NFL quarterback is filling airwaves of sports radio stations across America. Tebow is far from a finished product; but he did find a way to win last week.

The NFL is a bottom line business and as long as Tebow can keep finding ways to win his Broncos teammates will keep thinking of him as their starting quarterback.

All of a sudden the Lions dream season has hit a road block. The Lions come into Denver riding a two game winning streak and the mighty (dirty?) Ndamukong Suh only has one sack in his last four games. With two losses the Lions have almost no shot now at winning the NFC North.

Just to add to the pressure after the Broncos game the Lions' schedule becomes downright brutal. This means a beat up Matthew Stafford will have to walk into a hostile environment and find a way rally the troops.

The Grudge Match Game: DAL @ PHI

Safe to say that the Eagles' defence has worked over-time this week on run defence after what Cowboys rookie DeMarco Murray did last week against the Rams. If the Eagles can find a way to contain DeMarcus Ware and keep him out of Michael Vick's face, they have a chance to win this game.

For obvious reasons the Eagles are viewed as one of the biggest disappointments to date in the NFL season. However a win over the Cowboys would give the Eagles three wins and a shot at staying alive in the NFC playoff race.

The Eagles handed Vick $40 million in guaranteed money so he could win games just like this one. Nobody, not even Jason Garrett is really sure which Tony Romo will show up for the Cowboys.

The Karma of the Beard Game: SD @ KC

Much has been made of the Chiefs winning streak since Todd Haley got into a sideline screaming match with quarterback Matt Cassel. However there's a more powerful force at work during the Chiefs three game winning streak; Haley's beard.

Yahoo! Sports are reporting that Haley refuses to shave his gnarly beard until the Chiefs lose. A win over the Chargers would give the Chiefs back-to-back wins over division rivals and turn the AFC West into a three-team race.

The Chargers' big problem this year has been Philip Rivers. After throwing 13 interceptions all of last year, Rivers has already tossed nine this season.

At the same time Brandon Flowers and the opportunistic Chiefs defence have 11 interceptions. Both standing 6-foot-five inches tall, the Chargers boast two of the tallest wide receivers in the league in Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd. Over the last two weeks the unheralded Jackie Battle has emerged to give the Chiefs a productive running game.

The Unfair Fight Game: NO @ STL

The Rams are facing an intriguing dilemma. Easily one of the worst teams in the league, the Rams are a leading contender in the "Suck for Luck" sweepstakes.

However they are already deeply committed to Sam Bradford. So logic would dictate that if the Rams had the No. 1 pick overall in next year's draft they would trade it away for a king's ransom.

After hanging 62 points on the Colts, Drew Brees and the Saints will look to post a similar number against the Rams. The Saints have the highest scoring offence in the NFL and they currently have the inside track to winning the NFC South.

The Saints also appear to playing with the same urgency and intensity that they displayed two seasons ago when they went on to win the Super Bowl. One of the keys to the Saints offensive productivity has been the addition of scatback Darren Sproles.

The Pretty Boy versus the Nasty Boy Game: NE @ PIT

After a loss to the Ravens in Week 1, Warren Sapp of the NFL Network was ready to write off the Steelers, declaring that their once mighty defence was getting old.

Well Mr. Sapp owes the Steelers an apology because they've won three straight games and LaMarr Woodley has five and half sacks during their winning streak.

The one weakness the Patriots have is their pass defence which is ranked 31st in the NFL. You can be sure that Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Wallace will be looking at ways to exploit the weak Patriots pass defence every chance they get.

The big matchup in this game is the Steelers defence againstTom Brady. Assuming he can stop taking pictures with porn stars long enough to do some film work this week, tight end Rob Gronkowski will once again be the perfect compliment to receiver Wes Welker in the Patriots passing game. The amazing Welker leads all NFL receivers with a whopping 392 yards gained after the catch.

Survivor pool tip of the week: There can only be one choice in Week 8, the Saints over the Rams.

Jim Lang is co-host of Brady and Lang in the morning on SPORTSNET 590 The FAN and a columnist for sportsnet.ca.