Thursday Night Preview: Week 5

When you first saw the Week 5 Thursday night matchup between the Bills and Browns, you likely let out a groan or two. But now that we are already a quarter of the way through the 2013 NFL season, this game holds a lot more promise. Each team is looking to move above .500 on the season and this game could have a big impact on their playoff outlook. Buffalo is looking to stay in the race for a tightly-contested AFC East, and Cleveland, who is currently tied for first in the AFC North, is looking to gain an edge as the lone leader in the division.

Despite C.J. Spiller struggling in the Bills new offense through the first four weeks, rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel has kept the team afloat at 2-2 and has looked like the leader the team desperately needed under center. On the other side of the ball, things were looking bleak for the Browns headed into Week 3. The team was 0-2, had just traded former first-round pick Trent Richardson and starting quarterback Brandon Weeden was injured. But then Brian Hoyer and the return of Josh Gordon happened, and the Browns are suddenly tied with the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals for first place in the division at 2-2.

With so much on the line for a Week 5 matchup, let’s take a look at a couple of key factors to determining the outcome of tonight’s game.

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