Behind Enemy Lines: Kyle Orton, Bills defensive line and more with beat writer Jay Skurski

For the Vikings Week 7 road trip to Buffalo, we reached out to Jay Skurski, who covers the Bills for The Buffalo News, for this week's edition of "Behind Enemy Lines." Here are five questions we asked Skurski about the game.

1. Has the offense been more efficient under quarterback Kyle Orton the last two weeks?

JS: The offense has averaged about a half yard more per play under Orton (5.1) than it did in Manuel's two straight losses (4.55), so it's been better, but not by a great deal. Orton, though, does have a significantly better completion percentage (66.7) and yards per attempt (7.49) than Manuel did (58.0 and 6.4, respectively), so the Bills are throwing the ball better since the quarterback change. The switch did sacrifice mobility at the position. Orton has been sacked seven times in two games, while Manuel was sacked just six times in four starts.

2. Why have the Bills struggled to run the ball with C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson?

JS: You can divide that answer into thirds among the running backs themselves, the offensive line and the coaching staff and be pretty close to having the right answer. Spiller in particular has a bad habit of kicking runs outside when he should just take what's in front of him. The offensive line, though, hasn't helped either running back. Starting right guard Erik Pears has the lowest grade at his position in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus, and rookie left guard Cyril Richardson is only four spots ahead. That has made running up the middle a big challenge. The coaching staff also needs to do a better job of getting the ball in Spiller's hands in space, whether that be in the screen game or by calling more sweeps or runs of that nature.

3. What has made the Bills defensive line so good in pass rush situations?

JS: Start with the fact they're just really good. Three of the Bills' defensive linemen — Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams — made the Pro Bowl last season. The one who didn't, Jerry Hughes, had 10 sacks. Mario Williams is a freak, plain and simple. There are very few players in the history of the game who have his combination of size, strength and speed. Marcell Dareus has developed into a do-it-all defensive tackle, adept at clogging running lanes and rushing the passer. Kyle Williams remains an excellent interior pass rusher, even though he's dealing with a knee injury. Hughes has excellent speed off the edge and has come along as a run defender.

JS: Watkins has been up and down. He was the best player on the field in a Week Two win against Miami, and had a huge catch to set up a game-winning field goal against Detroit in Week Four. But the Bills haven't looked his way often enough, including last Sunday when he wasn't targeted in the first half at all against Darrelle Revis and the New England Patriots. He was slowed early in the season by bruised ribs, but is 100 percent now. I'd expect the Bills to look his way early Sunday. Brown has been a valuable defender specifically because of his versatility. He can play any of the three linebacker positions for the team, and has done so through the first six weeks. He leads the team with 45 tackles and has a fumble recovery. He's also taken the most defensive snaps of any defensive player on the team.

5. What do the Bills need to do to win this game?