Sammy Watkins bills winning touchdown

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins (14) leaves the field at the end of the Bills win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in Orchard Park, N.Y.

(Joed Viera | Special to syracuse.com)

Orchard Park, N.Y. — Think back to August. The Buffalo Bills had just been booed off the field in their preseason home opener. More Bills fans were talking about finishing with the league's worst record than were talking about the possibility of the playoffs.

A few short months later and a lot has changed in Western New York. The Bills are 5-3 heading into the bye week, and ending the 14-year playoff drought is starting to look like a real possibility.

Before the season, we outlined how the Bills could get to 10 wins and then offered five bold predictions for the season. Now, we'll offer up five bold predictions for the second half of the season, which figures to be as unpredictable as the first half.

1. The Bills will win two games in December

Ever since the Bills' schedule came out, the gauntlet in December as looked menacing. Road games against the Broncos and Patriots, a home game against the Packers and a coast-to-coast trip to play the Raiders mixed in. The Bills are expected to lose three of those four games and could lose every one of them. But Oakland is a mess, so the fear that the Bills will lose that game is probably ill-founded. As for the other three, the Bills have the Packers at home, so there is always a chance for an upset. Plus, Buffalo's defense is keeping the team in just about every game.

2. Sammy Watkins will finish in the top 10 in the league in receiving yardage

Currently, Sammy Watkins sits at No. 12 on the list of leading receivers in the NFL. He's averaging 15.5 yards per catch and seems to be just hitting his stride in recent weeks. With 590 yards through eight weeks, Watkins should have no problem passing the 1,000-yard mark and looks like a leading candidate for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

3. Cyrus Kouandjio will be active for a game

It's no secret that the Buffalo Bills' offensive line is a mess. It's also no secret that second-round pick Cyrus Kouandjio hasn't lived up to expectations. That being said, he's started working at guard recently, and coach Doug Marrone has praised his improvement in recent weeks. At some point, the Bills have to see what they have in Kouandjio. If the line doesn't get better soon, the Bills will explore all options, and Kouandjio should be near the top of the list.

4. Jerry Hughes will finish with more sacks than Mario Williams

Any suggestion that Jerry Hughes' breakout 2013 season was a fluke have been put to rest with a strong start to 2014 for the former Colts first-round pick. Hughes is playing for a new contract this season and should earn a hefty raise. Right now, he is just a half a sack behind Mario Williams, who earned a $100 million contract from the Bills in free agency a few years ago. Hughes' contract negotiations will get interesting if he finishes the seasons with more sacks than the $100 million man.

5. Bryce Brown will have a 100-yard rushing game

Like with the offensive line, the Bills have to explore all options in the running game. While Anthony Dixon had nearly three times as many snaps as Bryce Brown in the first week after Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller went down with injuries, Brown is the more explosive back and will get a chance to show it. While Jackson will return before long, Spiller could be out for the rest of the regular season. Brown has a similar skill set to Spiller, so if the Bills are missing that element of their offense, he's the one they will turn to. As he has shown in the past, Brown doesn't need a ton of carries to get a 100-yard game.