Three Areas Bills Must Exploit During Crucial Week 6 Matchup at Raiders

The Buffalo Bills are looking to remain undefeated out West on Sunday afternoon.

After narrowly escaping with a three-point win in an overtime thriller against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football—a matchup that included fireworks even after the final whistle—the Bills have just one more game before their bye, which makes the upcoming AFC meeting in Week 6 with the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium all the more important.

With the New England Patriots now biting at their heels in the divisional standings, it’s imperative that Buffalo keep stacking wins any way possible.

It won’t be easy for first-year head coach Joe Brady’s squad this afternoon, though, as the Raiders have proven to be much more competitive under fellow first-year man Klint Kubiak this season.

Even still, Kubiak’s club has dropped back-to-back games after starting September undefeated, so there are certainly chinks in the armor, so to speak, out in Las Vegas.

Here are three areas the Bills must exploit out in the desert in order to come away victorious on Sunday.

1. Buffalo needs to remain confident in RB James Cook III, keep rolling in the ground game

Fifth-year veteran James Cook III may be the reigning NFL rushing champion from one season ago, but he’s also tied for the lead in fumbles by a running back since 2024. Furthermore, according to StatMuse, he’s third in the league in fumbles by a player at his position since first entering the league as a second-round pick out of the University of Georgia in 2022.

And, after a recent two-fumble performance against the Rams that prompted his head coach to recently use some choice words regarding Cook’s possible usage moving forward, there’s reason to believe that maybe the team might look at some alternatives on offense in the coming weeks.

But, this Sunday against the Raiders shouldn’t be that week. 

Las Vegas is 28th in the league right now against the run after allowing 140.6 yards per game through the first five weeks of the season, and—in spite of his struggles with holding on to the ball—Buffalo’s “bell-cow” ‘back is still as talented as they come, which is evidenced by the fact that he’s currently third in the NFL with 532 rushing yards behind only Kansas City’s Kenneth Walker III (537 yards) and Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson (580 yards).

Las Vegas will also be without promising second-year defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway, as he has been ruled out with a concussion that he sustained in the first quarter of the team’s loss last Sunday at Gillette Stadium. So far in 2026, Hemingway has played 51% of the defensive snaps, producing 14 total tackles, three pass deflections, one tackle for loss, and one quarterback hit according to Pro Football Reference.

So, given the Raiders’ struggles on defense, as well as quarterback Josh Allen’s own admitted struggles with some of the finer points of playing the team’s lead offensive position right now, it’d be a good idea for the Bills to stay persistent on the ground during their extended stay out West.

Cook is capable of correcting his mistakes, so hopefully that proves to be the case for Buffalo’s sake, and he’s able to have a big day in the running game.

It’d certainly make the whole operation run more smoothly than it has in recent weeks if the team can avoid losing the turnover battle, while also controlling the clock.

2. Bills must get back to utilizing TEs in passing attack, particularly with Dalton Kincaid

Through the first few weeks of the season, it seemed as if fourth-year tight end Dalton Kincaid was on the verge of a historic breakout campaign in 2026.

But, after starting the first three games with 14 receptions for 263 yards and an average of 18.8 yards per catch, as well as one touchdown, things have almost come to a complete halt with Kincaid and Allen’s connection in the passing game.

It’s concerning . . . and confusing at the same time.

The former 2023 first-rounder is supposed to be one of Buffalo’s premier playmakers, but right now it’s as if he’s been phased out of the offense since fumbling against the Los Angeles Chargers at Highmark Stadium in Week 3, which is ironic considering Cook’s struggles in that department.

Over the past two weeks against the Patriots and the Rams, the team’s starting tight end has just two receptions on four targets for 14 yards. It’s not nearly enough, and it must be fixed moving forward. 

With that said, this might be the week that the Bills can finally get Kincaid back on track as the Raiders have allowed opposing tight ends to catch 32-of-39 targets for 285 yards and six touchdowns so far this season, which accounts for 57 yards per game and 1.2 touchdowns per game, as well as a catch rate of 82.1%.

Last week, New England’s tight ends Hunter Henry (3 catches, 44 yards, 1 TD) and Eli Raridon (5 catches, 57 yards) combined to make eight receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown during the Patriots’ blowout victory against Las Vegas, so it makes sense for the Bills to continue stressing the Raiders’ linebackers and safeties with Kincaid, as well as Dawson Knox and Jackson Hawes.

3. Raiders’ defense reeling in red zone, so Bills’ offense must capitalize

The third area that Buffalo’s offense should look to exploit against Las Vegas basically ties in with the first two listed above.

If the Bills are able to sustain drives with the running game and manage to make multiple trips to the red zone, then it will be crucial for Allen and Co. to capitalize once within 20 yards of “paydirt”. 

It was something the offense struggled with against the Patriots, and Buffalo surely doesn’t want anything wonky to occur in the final moments of a game again this week in terms of having the winner decided by a field goal attempt.

Keeping that in mind, according to FOX Sports, the Raiders are currently 29th in the NFL in red-zone touchdown rate at 77.8%, which is actually worse than Buffalo’s defensive rate (76.2%) at the moment. 

Using Kincaid, Knox, and Hawes in that area of the field would be a good idea, too. In Week 3, New Orleans Saints’ tight ends Juwan Johnson (8 catches, 53 yards, 2 TDs) and Noah Fant (4 catches, 33 yards, 2 TDs) dominated Las Vegas down near the goal line.

Running the ball down deep in Raiders’ territory with either Cook or Allen wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.

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