Heading into this postseason slate, it marks the first time that both the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns are playoff eligible, showing how absolutely rough these two teams have fared over the last two decades. However, the Bills — preparing to play the Colts on Saturday — seem to be in a much better spot than Cleveland, and that all boils down to one reason – Josh Allen.

Their star QB from Wyoming finally broke out this season, putting together a season that would normally earn an MVP nod, but due to Aaron Rodgers also putting up incredible numbers, it looks as if Allen will miss out on that prestigious award. However, his production has certainly not gone unnoticed and the Bills have improved by leaps and bounds over their previous seasons.

Standing in the way of the Bills and a sustained postseason run is the Indianapolis Colts first, the second-place finisher out of the AFC South division. Led by ol’ veteran QB Philip Rivers and rookie stud RB Jonathan Taylor, the Colts were unable to unseat the Tennessee Titans from the top of their division, settling for the final seed in the AFC playoff picture.

Both teams have a ton to prove in the postseason, yet only one team will get more than one game to prove that – here are four bold predictions for the Bills in their Super Wild Card Weekend contest.

4. WR injuries not a big deal for Bills

For Allen, a ton is riding on his shoulders coming into this game, as this team has thrived and struggled in the same ways that he has. But the main reason that this offense has looked night and day better is because of his drastically-improved accuracy and decision making.

Not putting the ball in accurate placements has stunted his development early in his career, so it has taken a ton of offseason work to get to where he is now, setting career highs in passing numbers across the board. However, the Colts defense offers up a stout opponent to try and deal with, something that certainly could derail his strong season.

Allen’s decision making is what has kept him safe throughout the season, as he has become more confident in his receiving core and what the defense is showing him, which has ultimately led to an increase in ball security and a decrease in careless turnovers. Having Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley catching passes certainly helps too.

Both WRs are taking questionable tags into Saturday’s game, which happens to be the first home playoff game for Buffalo in over two decades. Diggs has come out and said that he will be good to go for the game (which HC Sean McDermott disputes) even with his lingering oblique injury, and Beasley’s knee injury, which has kept him with a ‘week-to-week’ label since Week 16, looks to be improving.

So, Allen will have to navigate an injured core of WRs, but the outcome still remains that Diggs and Beasley, plus rookie Gabriel Davis, John Brown, and Isaiah McKenzie, certainly can help dig Allen out of any holes that the Colts’ defense may throw his way.

3. Rushing attack helps Bills balance out game script

The one-two punch of Zack Moss and Devin Singletary has experienced its highs and lows on the year, as ball security and efficiency have both hounded one or the other at different points this season. And they will be going up against a defense coached by a hot HC candidate in Matt Eberflus, so balancing out OC Brian Daboll’s’ play sheet will be key.

On the year, Buffalo ranked near the middle of the pack in most rushing stats, as they finished the regular season with 411 carries for 1,723 rushing yards (4.2 YPC) and 16 TDs. However, an interesting extrapolated rushing stat is that they finished as the team with the fourth-highest percentage of first downs earned by running the ball at 29 percent.

Both Moss and Singletary fill valuable roles in this offense, with Singletary having the dual-threat responsibility more often than not as an established receiver. But their efficiency will be hard-pressed to be efficient Saturday, especially against a team that has allowed the sixth-fewest carries (390), second-fewest rushing yards (1,448), and second-lowest YPC average (3.7).

The Indy D did allow 16 rushing scores, which puts them in the middle of the pack, showing that they do become a bit more susceptible when in the red zone, an element that Buffalo will have to use to their advantage. While Singletary profiles as the better back, this could be the time for Moss to shine – book a surprising 100-yard day for the former Utah product.

2. Allen fails to produce

Even with Indy being more susceptible through the air than on the ground, the Colts will most certainly plan to box Allen up by forcing him to remain in the pocket and get him outside, where he is very dangerous.

When facing an above-average pass defense like the Steelers, Patriots, or Chiefs, Allen struggled. Across four games against those three foes, Allen threw for 320 (@ NE), 238 (vs PIT), 154 (vs NE), and 122 yards (vs KC), respectively — not good.

So the Colts, who again are stronger against the run than the pass, will need to have their secondary play strongly against Allen and keep Diggs and company in check, forcing BUF to beat them via the ground.

A sub-200 passing yard, 1-TD game in a win-or-go-home situation does not bode well for Allen and the Bills, but this team can be so hard to stop if they get all elements going, so even on a bad day for their QB, they can still dictate the pace and control the LOS when they want to.

1. Bills defense gets shredded on the ground by Taylor

Rookie Jonathan Taylor, who has no injury designation for Saturday’s game, is coming off a record-breaking performance in Week 17 against the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. Having put up 30/253/2, Taylor certainly is capable of that workhorse role that takes the pressure off of Rivers and his inconsistent arm, and the Bills should be very aware of what Taylor can do in his postseason debut.

When compared to how strong the Colts are against stopping the run, the Bills don’t stack up very strongly – allowing 1,914 yards (4.6 YPC), 21 TDs, and the league-worst 30.2 percent of first downs via rushing are very middling numbers.

While Timmy Smith’s 1988 rookie record of 204 rushing yards in a postseason game (which happened in that year’s Super Bowl) will most likely not be broken in this game, Taylor will wreak havoc against Buffalo and DC Leslie Frazier’s defense. Running behind guards Quenton Nelson and Mark Glowinski, Taylor is in line for a field day against a middling run D of the Bills, something that could dictate game script and clock, forcing Daboll to turn the Bills into a pass-heavy unit, an aspect that they don’t perform the best in.

150+ total yards and 2 total scores for Taylor? Sounds fair.