Bills vs. Seahawks 2016: Start time, live stream, TV schedule, and 3 things to know

Buffalo may have conceded the AFC East to the Patriots, but if Rex Ryan wants to keep pace in a tough wild card race, he’s going to have to find a way to beat one of the NFC’s top teams on the road. The Bills will travel to the Pacific Northwest in Week 9 for a Monday Night Football showdown with the Seattle Seahawks.

The Bills used a four-game surge to power into the upper tier of the AFC, but have dropped games to Miami and New England in the intervening weeks. A loss on Monday threatens to slide Buffalo below .500 and a potential two full games out of a playoff spot. It would also put head coach Rex Ryan back on the hot seat — a position he knows all too well after the team’s 0-2 start to the season.

Seattle, on the other hand, has rebounded from its annual inexplicable loss to the Rams to settle in at the top of the NFC West pecking order. The Seahawks responded to a low-scoring beating in Los Angeles by scoring 90 points over their next three games. Things have taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks, however. First came a 6-6 tie that featured some of the worst special teams play of professional football’s modern era. A Week 8 loss to New Orleans on the road followed.

Now Pete Carroll’s team needs a win over the Bills to maintain its 1.5-game lead over the rest of the NFC West.

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

Location: CenturyLink Field, Seattle

TV: ESPN

Announcers: Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden, Lisa Salters

Online Streaming: WatchESPN

1. Was the strong start to Tyrod Taylor’s career in Buffalo a mirage? The sixth-year passer developed into a reliable first-string quarterback in 2015 after throwing for more than 3,000 yards and a solid 20:6 TD:INT ratio. While he’s continued to avoid turnovers, he’s been much less efficient for the Bills in year two of their Tyrod experiment.

In his last two games, both losses, Taylor has completed just 50 percent of his passes and thrown a single touchdown. His yards per pass attempt in that span is an inefficient 6.1, which would rank 30th among the league’s starting QBs over a full season. The young veteran has shined at moments this season (against New York and San Francisco) but has been unable to dial in the consistency needed to make Buffalo a winner.

2. Wither Seattle’s rushing offense. The Seahawks have struggled to run the ball effectively without former All-Pro Marshawn Lynch, who retired in 2016. Seattle’s backs have averaged just 3.3 yards per carry this season, a rate worse than all but two other teams in the NFL. Lead back Christine Michael has fallen back to Earth after an effective start, carrying the ball 62 times for only 214 yards in the team’s recent 2-1-1 stretch. Rookie C.J. Prosise may be able to provide some much-needed relief, but so far looks more like a threat in the passing game than a true No. 1 back.

3. Will Pete Carroll get some calls to go his way? The often laid-back head coach blew a gasket last week in New Orleans, ripping into the officials in a 25-20 defeat. Carroll was upset with not just the disparity in penalties — the Seahawks earned 11 flags, the Saints just two — but also a crucial non-call on a probable offensive pass interference that allowed New Orleans to sustain a drive that ended with a crucial field goal. Seattle can probably expect more favorable judgment in a home game in front of some of the loudest fans in the world.