1. C.J. Spiller

The Bills really do need to give this guy more touches, because he has clearly been the best player on the team this season and has been much better than Fred Jackson. To be fair, Jackson was playing far from 100%, but the gap between them in yards per carry is huge. Jackson is off to a rough start to the season with a 3.7 average, while C.J. Spiller has been on a roll with 7.2 yards per carry. Yes, 7.2.

That’s clearly the best in the NFL at this point, and I think it’s fair to say that Spiller has been the league’s best back this year- even better than Stevan Ridley or Marshawn Lynch. It’s not Spiller’s fault that his team isn’t smart enough to give him more carries, because Spiller is clearly the most elusive back in the NFL. He’s been the best of them all this season, and he leads the league in PFF’s elusive rating stat. He was ranked 23rd in their mid-season top 51.

Oh, he also has 24 catches. It’s a good thing the Patriots have arguably the best run defense in the league to try and contain him.

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2. Scott Chandler

A nightmare in the red zone, Scott Chandler has four touchdown receptions this season and has been the second best player on the Bills offense this year. He is tied for the second-most targets on the team, but the problem is that he isn’t nearly as consistent as the Bills would like him to be (53.7% catch rate). But he does stretch the field better than most TEs and is a matchup nightmare for the New England Patriots. He had a big game last time these two teams played, and Chandler loves feeding off of subpar coverage from linebackers.

3. Stevie Johnson

Ryan Fitzpatrick is always looking Johnson’s way, as evidenced by his 71 targets which is 30 more than the two guys second on the Bills target list. He’s going to be worse in this game due to a thigh contusion, but Johnson is definitely the player through which the passing attack runs through. It’s been a poor year for him, because he hasn’t even caught half of what has been thrown at him and is thus averaging just under six yards per target.

Johnson caught just two passes against the Pats in the first meeting of the season, and I honestly feel like he’s in for another rough day.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

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However, Spiller’s status heading into the game was less clear, but he is also active and started practicing on Thursday. The Bills were fine with his shoulder after testing it in pre-game warm-ups, so the Patriots vaunted run defense will have their hands full against both backs.

It’s interesting to see that Spiller will be sharing the carries evenly, because Jackson is going to be the starter and was more of a certainty to play in this game due to the fact that Spiller’s injury occurred more recently. Bills fans will be excited to see both guys getting the major carries, while Pats fans are hoping that Brandon Spikes, Dont’a Hightower, and the run defense bounces back after an off game against the Baltimore Ravens last week. They allowed over 100 rushing yards to Ray Rice.

The Bills have given the “okay” to both running backs, with Spiller’s activation being a pleasant surprise for fans of the home team. I have a feeling that we’ll see Jackson more often than Spiller (some of it is due to Jackson’s ability in pass protection), but the split should be even in terms of touches.

Schefter’s report is interesting, because Greg Bedard tweeted that he thinks Spiller is a “decoy” in today’s game. This makes things all the more interesting, so we’ll see if the Pats will have to account for another top RB.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

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The Bills will likely test Spiller’s shoulder in pre-game warm-ups, and he won’t be given a significant workload even if he is able to play. Jackson will be the focal point of the Bills running game, and Tashard Choice will also receive a significant amount of carries. I think the Bills are more reluctant to bring back Spiller because of his youth, running style, and the fact that his injury was sustained more recently.

New York Jets tight end Dustin Keller could play today against the San Francisco 49ers, but his status won’t be known until after pre-game warm-ups. Keller is still suffering from hamstring issues and is listed questionable on the injury report. On Friday, it seemed like Rex Ryan believed that Keller would not play today. Even if he does play, he’s not going to be productive due to limit snap counts, a lack of health, and the tough 49ers defense.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.