THE BUFFALO BILLS ARE 1-0.
Let me repeat that because it just feels so good…THE BUFFALO BILLS ARE 1-0!
Yeah, yeah, yeah the New York Jets absolutely STINK and i’m pretty sure of that after just one game. This Jets team looked flat out awful in their season debut against Buffalo. It’s the gloriously depressing combination for a fan of an inept coach who doesn’t have his player’s full support, a young QB who can’t take the next step with his supporting cast and an overall roster lacking much high-end talent or solid depth.
Now turn to Buffalo, we might just be the exact opposite of that. The Bills and Head Coach Sean McDermott are locked in with one another until 2025 after 3 promising and pretty successful seasons, we’ve surrounded Josh Allen with enough weapons i’m surprised we haven’t had military sanctions placed on One Bills Drive and this is one of the deepest, talented rosters in the entire NFL.
Today’s season kickoff between the teams resonates all of that as the Buffalo Bills dismantled the New York Jets by a score of 27 to 17. 10 points a dismantling? Yep. Should have been more like 36-10 but mistakes cost the Bills a blowout win on the scoreboard today.
The game started out hot for Buffalo. The defense was flying around the field, showing minimal signs of rust, holding the Jets to just 14 plays for 23 yards and 4 punts on their 4 first quarter drives. On their fifth drive Sam Darnold attempted to throw a ball unbalanced across his body and a perfectly positioned Matt Milano (BACK UP THE BRINKS TRUCK ALREADY) gets the first INT of the season on a jump ball gimme. Finally seeing some life out of the Jets’ offense on their sixth and final drive of the half that spanned 9 plays for 75 yards after big plays by Bell and Crowder and resulted in a field goal for the Jets first score of the game, making it 21-3 Buffalo at halftime.
The defensive line as a whole particularly stood out to me as you were seeing guys like Trent Murphy and Mario Addison consistently making plays at or behind the line of scrimmage. Darnold was under pressure and seeing ghosts all first half. Lot’s of penetration by these guys, although against a line relying on a rookie LT and some backup level starters.
The defense looked fresh and disciplined in the first half…but man did the offense definitely impress me.
For a sample of why, going into halftime the stats looked like this:
New York Jets combined offense: 102 yards, 1 FG, 1 INT
Josh Allen alone: 220 yards (161p/59r), 3 TDs, 2 Fum.
Allen for the first half was:
20/26-161-2 adding 12-59-1 (2 lost fumbles) for some staggering first half numbers…I mean he’s on pace for over 70 total pass and rushing attempts which would be just be disgusting. But I was impressed with our quarterbacks play throughout the first half that didn’t involve fumbles.
So yeah, outside of 2 fumbles that were probably a result of Josh getting a little too gung ho and Daboli’s new fascination with designed QB runs, Josh Allen looked exactly like what we want him to be.
He was zipping the ball all over the field in the first half, getting the ball to 8 different receivers and feeding our stars at WR. John Brown and Stefon Diggs combined for 9 first half receptions, 97 yards and a score. That’s the production we need out of those guys and we’re even seeing rookies Gabriel Davis and Zack Moss garner some looks out there.
The biggest thing I noticed though in the first half was the use of the Bills’ backfield…just 6 rushes for 3 yards for the young combo of Singletary and Moss. But even more surprising was that Zack Moss was getting A LOT of snaps over Singletary, who has had fumbling issues in camp after a great rookie campaign last year.
Halftime Grades:
Bills – B+ ..yes,we looked great as a whole but we will NEVER win a super bowl with Allen losing 2 fumbles in a half. Missed out on at least 6 points and teams better than the Jets will take advantage of that.
Jets – D …Bad. Darnold bad. Roster bad. Coaching bad. Bell is a shell of his former self. To think these guys think Mims will fix their problems on offense.
To start off the second half the Bills. offense had an uninspired 3-and-out and followed that up with a big pass to start the second drive from Allen to Beasley to put us in Jet’s territory which led to the moment we’ve all been waiting for..
Tyler Bass’ first NFL field goal attempt from 38 yards out. All the pressure in the world on him, even with an 18 point lead, and the last things Bills’ fans ever want to see again happens. Wide Right.
2 plays after the miss Sam Darnold finds Jamison Crowder at the LOS and he takes it through the defense 69 (niceeee) yards to the house to cut the Bills’ lead down to just 11 (Buffalo 21-10) with about 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
The next Bills’ drive…another FG attempt for Tyler Bass within 40 yards, this one from 34…WIDE RIGHT AGAIN. I mean, I know he’s a rookie and I love the promise he has…but this isn’t okay. Those are the kicks you have to hit when you beat out a reliable vet like Stephen Hauschka in camp, even with a lead. Missed FGs lose teams in the NFL every week in the NFL. I don’t care if he can hit from 60 if he can’t consistently within 40. The difference between 2 score and 3 score game…when i’m stressing over a 22 yard attempt, there’s cause for concern.
One thing that hasn’t changed from last season is this Buffalo defensive unit’s ability to take control of a team when they offense starts to sputter after a HUGE forced fumble on Herndon at the beginning of the fourth after the Bass miss. This squad stays consistent and just makes plays at the right times when we need them to most. They can be entrusted to close out a game as they displayed today.
Allen play dropped in the second half, a lot probably due to the game plan with a lead but Josh was definitely a lot more errant. Saw him leave the pocket a lot more, trying to force some throws and just flat out over throwing a wide-open John Brown in the end zone. But I can’t be mad at his overall game today.
The Buffalo offense stayed true to McDermott/Daboli form as the overall offensive pace and energy dipped in the second half with a lead. Something that’s cursed this team in the past as we get complacent with a lead and start to see less urgency…BURY THESE GUYS. I hate how safe this staff can seem to be at times trying to avoid any mistakes with a lead and hold tight. We can’t expect our defense to play at this level every game and can’t play scared. No second half TDs and allowing the Jets to get as close as they did is unacceptable.
My favorite thing to come out of this second half though? Josh Allen has finally popped the 300 passing yards cherry. A 15 yard pass to TE Dawson Knox late in the fourth put him at 312 yards through the air and fans all around the 716 breathe a sigh of relief. Does 300 yards passing mean anything if you’re efficient and win games? Not at all honestly. But it’s a stat fans and experts alike obsess over and use as a metric in determining how good a QB is, so it’s just nice to see him get it over with. I’m more happy he did it because was starting to get sick of arguing with people on Twitter it doesn’t matter, so that’s finally over. Josh is the first 300 yard passer for the Bills since Tyrod Taylor did it in a game we lost 34-31 to a Matt Moore led Dolphins on Christmas Eve 2016.
FINAL SCORE: BILLS-27 JETS-17
Full Time Grades:
Bills – B+ … Josh Allen’s fumbles and Tyler Bass’ missed kicks are nothing to just ignore, even within a win. Those are potentially HUGE problems that WILL cost us games if they’re not addressed. But the defense looked incredible outside of Crowder’s long score and some garbage time. The offense showed it has a ton of potential to be both productive and efficient but needs to work on some things..*cough* *cough* run play calling.
Jets – D … I’ll reiterate from the halftime grade. Darnold bad. Roster bad. Coaching bad. Bell now hurt.
Some things I noticed for both the Bills and Jets are their season debuts:
-Josh Allen cannot have fumbling be a problem like it was last year. The two lost in the first half probably could’ve been avoided if t’s not for Josh’s need to get everything out of a play he possibly can. I LOVE that about him but it’s something that can come back and really hurt this team against superior competition. Also, the overthrow to Brown that would’ve been a touchdown was flat out BAD. Have to make that throw, expect to see this make the rounds on Twitter.
-Receiving unit looked SHARP. The combo of Brown and Diggs at receiver did not disappoint. They finished with a combined 14 catches for 156 yards and a score. Rookie and camp stud Gabriel Davis looked fluent in his first action and Cole Beasley was sharp…and who knew Zack Moss was going to be running so many routes?
-The Bills looks disciplined. I attribute the lack of offensive penalties to no Lee Smith today, but the team overall looked composed and clean out there. Penalties are something that has lost this team before (whether they were real penalties or not and in a certain playoff game…not getting into that) As well as the defensive unit being methodical and cleaning up it’s own messes. I mean Jerry Hughes didn’t even get a penalty!
-Jets are in dire need of a play maker on the outside on offense. Crowder showed some explosiveness on his long TD and Chris Herndon is criminally under-utilized. Guys like Crowder and Perriman are solid after the catch but don’t offer much in terms of separation. Rookie second round pick, Denzel Mims, is seen as a guy who can spread the field with speed and size but we all know how Baylor receivers translate to the NFL though…
-With some offensive line fluctuation, the right side of the line held up strong today in pass protection with the unexpected start of Daryl Williams at RT and Cody Ford at RG. This team may have found it’s right side pairing while Jon Feliciano is out.
-One thing that is apparent throughout the duration of this game is that the Jets are doing anything they can to get LeVeon Bell to his Pittsburgh level of production.. but he just doesn’t have “IT” anymore. The Jets’ line does him no favors but as a RB whose celebrated for his patience, it’s one thing he hasn’t displayed as much anymore. Forcing his way through holes, missing that explosive burst he once had and just weird play calls have Bell a shell of his former self wasting away the rest of his 20’s on a sinking ship.
Make sure to follow @TrainwreckSprts on Twitter for all the Buffalo Bills content you can want.
-Merekat (@Merekatkat)…Go Bills Baby.
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2 Responses
Great job on this article!! Look forward to more.
Thank you