After an impressive win in Atlanta last weekend the Seahawks face another difficult test in Week 8, hosting the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills, who come into the game with a 5-2 record and victories in each of their past two games.

"They are a good, sound, hard-playing fundamentally strong football team," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "And you look at all the stats that drives winning with all the takeaway differential; field position; how well they have been running the ball; how well they have been playing situational football on defense; their special teams unit. The team doesn't beat themselves. And I think if you can create that formula, that's going to be a tough team to beat on any given day and puts themselves in positions to win a bunch of games."

Here are five things to watch when the Seahawks and Bills face off Sunday at Lumen Field.

1. Can the Seahawks contain Bills QB Josh Allen, and maybe end another interception-free streak while they're at it?

After managing just one takeaway in their previous five games, the Seahawks defense got back on track last week, using three fourth-quarter turnovers to take over the game.

Keeping that going against Buffalo, however, will not be an easy feat. The Bills have turned the ball over just twice this season, and quarterback Josh Allen has yet to throw an interception. For as talented as he is, Allen had previously in his career been somewhat prone to turnovers, throwing 78 interceptions in his first six seasons, including a career-high 18 last season. This year, however, Allen has thrown 189 passes without an interception while throwing 12 touchdowns and running for three more.

Allen told reporters in Buffalo that he has cut down on the turnovers by "just making better decisions. Understanding the game plan. Knowing where my answers are and utilizing my legs when I need to. But again, just better decision making I think that comes with the coaching and Joe and RC and the quarterback room we have. Just talking to those guys and relying on the information they're giving me. Just going out there with the mindset of trying to play smart and sound football and taking opportunities and shots when they're there."

Dating back to the 2020 season, the Bills are 20-1 when Allen doesn't commit a turnover, meaning if the Seahawks can't find ways to make life difficult on Allen and get the ball away from the Bills offense, they're in for a very tough challenge.

"You can tell he is much more calculated now," Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde said. "His gift and his superpower is to play off schedule; I think he's playing more on schedule at times, so he poses a problem that we have to deal with. He's a really good player and I'm excited to play him."

While Allen's recent history suggests it will be a challenge to take the ball away this week, the Seahawks can take solace in knowing they've had a knack for ending interception-free streaks for opposing quarterbacks. Back in 2022, Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was just a few passes away from breaking Aaron Rodgers' record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception, but just three attempts shy of Rodgers' record of 402 attempts without a pick, Brady was intercepted by Seahawks linebacker Cody Barton when those teams met in Munich. Last season, it was Lions quarterback Jared Goff who was flirting with that record, running his streak up to 383 attempts before Tre Brown intercepted him and returned it 40 yards for a score.

2. What's the status of DK Metcalf, and who steps up at receiver if he can't play?

Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf, who came into the week ranked third in the NFL in receiving yards with 568, exited Sunday's game with an MCL sprain that has his availability for this weekend in question. Metcalf did not practice Wednesday or Thursday, but Macdonald said he would be comfortable waiting until gameday to make a decision on Metcalf even if he isn't able to practice this week, and considering the level of toughness Metcalf has shown throughout his career, missing just one game due to injury, it's hard to count him out.

Obviously, the Seahawks will be thrilled if Metcalf can go, but they also feel very good about what they have at receiver if they are missing their Pro-Bowl pass-catcher, both in terms of their receiver depth and also the weapons they have at other positions like tight end and running back. In addition to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett, who are big parts of the passing game every week, the Seahawks can also turn to the likes of Jake Bobo, Laviska Shenault Jr. and Dareke Young at receiver, while also leaning on a talented group of tight ends, led by Noah Fant, and a pair of running backs in Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet who have both shown off plenty of pass-catching ability this season and in the past.

"I think we have great depth in our room," Lockett said. "You guys seen it when we were in camp, even when we had joint practices, everybody was making plays left and right. It was a difficult probably decision for everybody upstairs to figure out who was going to be on the team, who was going to make the team. I think we have great depth and I think we have really great players to be able to go out there and make plays and do what's necessary to be able to help us be able to win those games."

Of course, having a quarterback who is playing as well as Geno Smith is playing this season also helps.

"A ton of respect for his game and the way he's just developed over the years and the staying power that he's shown, it's very impressive," Bills coach Sean McDermott told reporters in Buffalo this week. "Again, being out there the last few years, we haven't played them naturally yet over the last couple of years but very impressed by his level of play, by the way he has command of their offense, and they do what I would say is some high-level stuff on offense."

Making plays in the passing game won't be easy for the Seahawks against the Bills regardless of Metcalf's ability thanks to a talented and disciplined Bills defense that does a good job limiting big plays.

"They're disciplined," offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. "I think they do a really good job of running their scheme. I know that sounds over-simplistic, but they do. They don't get out of position. They know where they need to be. They understand the sets that you're in and what the weaknesses are what they're up against. They don't give up explosive plays, They're going to keep the ball in front of them. I just think they execute what they do at a really high level. You just don't see very many (coverage) busts at all on film. That's one of the things I think when you see defenses that communicate at a really high level and they're not making busts. That's one of the things that a mark of a really well-tuned defense that communicates at a high level."

3. Does the run defense build off of last week's second-half improvements?

The Seahawks head into Sunday's game ranked 28^th in the league both in terms of rushing yards allowed and rushing yards per attempt allowed, and they've allowed at least 155 rushing yards in three straight games and four of the last six games. In last weeks' win in Atlanta, however, it looked like Seattle's run defense might be turning the corner. After Falcons backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier piled up 117 yards on just 15 carries in the first half, they were stymied in the second half, gaining just 22 yards on 11 carries before the Falcons eventually had to more or less abandon the run after falling behind by three scores.

One good half doesn't prove that the Seahawks are over the issues that hurt them in the ground game for much of the season, but it does give coaches and players confidence that they're moving in the right direction.

"The second half of last week, I was just so proud of how we responded and the adjustments that we made," linebacker Tyrel Dodson said. "I'm not going to say we're there, because we haven't played a game yet, but I think we're almost there. It starts in practice. It starts in those details, those hand placements, and just playing off of each other. Like I said, chemistry takes time, and as you see it's taking time. That's something we need to improve on, and we know that because you can't win in this league if people run the ball down your throat, just to be honest with you. I'm looking forward to how we're going to respond Sunday."

4. How does Ernest Jones IV look in his Seahawks debut?

If the improvement shown in the second half last week isn't reason enough to be excited about watching Seattle's defense this week, the addition of linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who was acquired in a trade this week, might do the trick.

Jones, who last year set a Rams franchise record with 145 tackles, only arrived in Seattle late on Wednesday night, but he is expected to play, and he thinks the adjustment will be a smooth one given the similarities between what he ran in Tennessee during his few months there, and what the Seahawks are doing under Macdonald.

"It is going to be really quick," he said of the adjustment period. "We get out there on the field today, just run around, mess up a couple of things, and then correct it later and how they want to see it versus what we had in Tennessee, and then we'll go out there, play a game Sunday and figure things out from there."

So what will Seahawks fans watching Jones for the first time see on Sunday?

"I'm a dog," he said. "That's what you're getting. Getting a dog, getting somebody that's a leader, a true leader. I'm going to go out there each and every week, put my body on the line for my teammates, for this organization, and my family."

5. Can the offense play clean and get off to a fast start again?

One of the big issues during Seattle's three-game losing streak was the fact that the Seahawks turned the ball over six times in those three games, and thanks to those turnovers and other self-inflicted wounds such as penalties, they found themselves playing from behind in all three games.

Last week, however, the Seahawks took the lead early, never trailed, and scored 17 first-half points while playing turnover free football. That not only allowed the offense to be more balanced and set the Seahawks up for success on that side of the ball, the lead also helped the defense get aggressive in the second half as Atlanta had to become more pass-heavy, resulting in three fourth-quarter turnovers.

The Seahawks have shown this season that they have the offensive firepower to battle back from deficits, but as last weekend demonstrated, it makes things a lot better on both sides of the ball if the offense can get off to a fast start.

"It just gives us that boost that we need, that morale," said Smith. "It allows us to go out there and play fast, get the offensive line going, get those guys really rolling off the ball and I think whenever they're playing the way they did, our offense is going to be extremely tough to beat. So just starting early, starting fast, and then keeping that momentum I think is a huge thing for us and we got to continue that."