The Buffalo Bills move to 4-0 after defeating the Oakl….I mean Las Vegas Raiders 30 to 23!
How good does it feel to say the Bills are undefeated through 4 weeks? Because it sure feels great to me. The first 4-0 start for the time since 2008, when a Trent Edwards led Bills started 5-1 and ended up 7-9. Yeah, it still stings, but this is not that team. This team has the potential to be special.
Before the game even started the only thing I could think about was how I wish I was in Vegas for this game. Buffalo was ready to takeover the desert and make it’s mark. Just seeing the new Allegiant Stadium on my TV screen made me sad #BillsMafia couldn’t be there (that stadium is SEXY). But hey, as long as we’re winning games I don’t mind how I view it.
The Bills started out hot on the first drive with Allen displaying composure and great decision making early on. He hit Stefon Diggs for a 21 yard dart on 3rd and 6 and another nice throw and catch between them for 15 yards a couple plays later. I still can’t believe the chemistry these two have had right from the start with the shortened off-season, easily a top 5 QB/WR duo in the league right now. It was fun to see Diggs talking some shit to the Raider’s defenders as well. Allen capped off the drive with a DIME to Gabriel (not Gabe) Davis for a 26 yard score. A creative play call, a nice blitz pickup from Knox and perfect execution put the Bills up 7-0 early. Allen goes 5/6 for 70 yards and the TD on the first drive…yup.
The Raiders stood up to our defense, that saw a Levi Wallace injury early, driving down the field and hitting a 54 yard FG to cut the Buffalo lead to 7-3. The Bills’ pass rush was non-existent as Carr sat in the pocket with ease finding Zay Jones (THAT Zay Jones) 3 times for 24 yards. A great play by Milano on third down prevented a potential touchdown and continuing to fatten the bag he’s about to get.
Back on the field, Allen and the Bills, looking for a quick response, deliver. Brian Daboli was calling plays this drive to throw off the Raiders’ D as we saw Isaiah McKenzie and Andre Roberts both get involved on the ground and through the air. Allen was escaping pocket pressure and even threw the ball away instead of forcing throws. Love it, he’s learning. Buffalo capped the drive off as Allen rifled one to Cole Beasley, who caught the ball awkwardly and withstood a big hit for an 11 yard TD. Buffalo extends their lead to 14-3 early in the second quarter.
On the following Raiders’ drive, Carr continued to try and attack an underperforming Bills’ secondary, even without 3 of his top targets. Tre White had a nice PBU but still was being targeted. Nelson Agholor torches our entire secondary with a deep TD from Carr that, thankfully, was negated due to an illegal formation. A dropped ball by Waller holds Las Vegas to another FG and cut the Bills’ lead to 14-6.
Buffalo started to slow down a bit the next drive, as they really couldn’t get much going. The highlight was Josh Allen flipping the ball in a “what is happening” moment that somehow ended up in Diggs’ hands that I’m sure will make the Twitter rounds. On that same play Allen seemed to injure his hand and headed to the locker room. Buffalo settled for a FG from rookie kicker Tyler Bass and bolster their lead to 17-6 with all of Bills Mafia praying for Allen’s health.
Carr continued to somehow pick apart the Bill’s secondary and find 76 year old TE Jason Witten for a TD to cut the Bills’ lead to just 4 (17-13) before halftime. The secondary looked terrible. Josh Norman didn’t seem up to game speed after his activation off IR early on and they were missing Levi Wallace. A.J. Klein also looked absolutely lost out there. Outside of Milano, the LB play has been weak this season.
Halftime comes and the Bills lead the Raiders 17-13.
Halftime Grades:
Bills – B…letting Derek Carr and a short staffed Raider’s offense march down the field and score 3 times is BAD. We got some lucky breaks. There is no pass rush and we are lucky to not be down. Allen and the offense look good, but going into half up just 4 makes me uneasy with our second half performances this year.
Raiders – B+…wait? Giving the team that’s losing a better grade? Yup. Carr has executed well against our defense and their line is protecting him well. We’re a dropped ball and an illegal formation from being down here.
Now here is where I worry. I’ve detailed our second half struggle through 3 games this year. Only up 4 points heading into the half Buffalo needed to step it up and close this game out.
Las Vegas, riding their moment and starting with the ball, drove the field once again to not finish in the end zone and settle for 3 points again. Raiders trail Buffalo just 17-16 here. The only positive I could gather from the defense was Buffalo’s front 7 (especially Ed Oliver) was playing well against Josh Jacobs and Tom Cable’s run scheme. On numerous occasions you saw multiple white jerseys gang tackling which was encouraging after last week.
Also, Tremaine Edmunds is definitely not playing at 100% right now. He looks slow. He’s having real trouble filling in gaps and finishing tackles. Bench him if this is going to be the level he plays at.
Buffalo on their next drive looked shaky and were lacking intensity, but Josh Allen was back out on the field after the injury scare. OG Brian Winters went down and was replaced with former starter Quinton Spain, who I trust a lot more protecting Allen than Winters. Devin Singletary was running strong. Then on a 4th and 1 we run a jet sweep to McKenzie for a big gain, but squander the opportunity and punt it away (the first punt of the game).
Raiders follow it up with a short drive that featured Vernon Butler breaking through the offensive line and sacking Derek Carr on 3rd down. Raiders punt it to Andre Roberts who turned on the jets and returned it 39 yards into Las Vegas territory. A much needed spark.
With the pressure mounting, Josh Allen saddled up and rode this Raider’s defense on the drive. The Buffalo signal caller hit Diggs again for a nice first down with a free rusher in his face then delivers a beauty to Air Beasley to get into the Raiders’ red zone. Then Allen makes a risky throw to a double covered John Brown along the goal line who makes a Sports Center Top 10 catch off a deflection for a TD…no wait he was short, oh wait he was in…oh, just kidding no TD on another terrible call. But who cares because the next play Allen dives forward for the score on a QB sneak up the gut. Buffalo back with a 23-16 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Needing to stop Vegas this drive, the savvy veteran Josh Norman delivered. Cleaning up a weak tackle by Poyer, Norman pulls his best Peanut Tillman impression and punches the ball out of Waller’s hands and then recovering the ball to turn the tides.
Back with the ball, Allen RIPS a 49 yard bomb to Diggs who highpoints it for the catch. Just a perfect route by Diggs and an aggressive throw by Allen for a huge chunk of yards. Then a TE screen to Knox takes us to the 3-yard line where Devin Singletary scampers to the outside for the score. Dion Dawkins had an awesome block to open the field for Singletary there. A great, quick score to put the Bills up 30-16 in the fourth.
The Raiders respond with a 4-and-out after Ed Oliver makes a great stand on 4th and 1 to give the ball right back to Buffalo.
The Bills now in the driver seat start to move the ball well again, getting into FG range. Then comes the erratic Josh we wish would just leave already. Allen takes a huge sack on 3rd down that took us out of FG range. Yes, he had nowhere to throw it but this is where he has to improve. JUST THROW THE BALL AWAY. Don’t try and do too much to where you’re leaving points on the field.
Desperate for a score, Carr and the Raiders start to look dangerous again. Carr delivers the best throw of the game on a rope to Hunter Renfrow for 37 yards. Needing to make a play, Quinton Jefferson earns his contract with a forced and recovered fumble from Carr. Jefferson showed great bend here , getting an arm loose and pawing the ball right out of Carr’s hands. Another huge play when we needed it most.
Up 14, we completely take the foot off the gas (something that pisses me off beyond belief) and run it 3 straight times to no success and punt the ball after just taking 1:51 off the clock. Not great. I’ll spare you another McDermott being complacent with a lead rant.
With just 3 and a half minutes left and down 14, the Raiders had to score here…so why the hell not, just give them a 46 yard pass interference to our 28 Poyer. Just what we needed. Carr continues to extend plays to the best oh his ability with a depleted offense. Backed against the wall on 4th and 1, Agholor runs past Poyer who catches a great pass for the TD with 1:29 on the clock. Buffalo holds to their lead 30-23.
Las Vegas’ onside kick is recovered by Buffalo and I can finally sit back and breathe. Allen nearly fumbles on the first play but gets the exchange off to Singletary as he’s falling down…sketchy for sure. A scamper by Singletary (TO HIT THE OVER!) leads us into a victory formation and this one is over folks!
THE BUFFALO BILLS CLOSE OUT THE LAS VEGAS RAIDERS 30-23 AND MOVE TO 4-0 ON THE SEASON!
Fulltime Grades:
Bills – B+…Buffalo showed great resiliency at the end of this game with Josh Allen and his receivers delivering when called upon. The defense has glaring secondary issues and with Tremaine Edmunds, but came up clutch when the game was on the line multiple times.
Raiders – B-…I’ll just say it. Raiders could have easily won this game and had they been 100%…this could be a different story. Carr did a great job today against our defense, picking apart our secondary all game. Gruden has this team going in the right direction.
There is definitely defensive concerns but this team is a legitimate contender. We’ve beaten good teams and Josh Allen has continued his MVP caliber play through all 4 games. Just a great time to be a Buffalo Bills’ fan riding into BIG matchups the next 2 weeks against the Titans and Chiefs. I #Billieve, do you?
Some notes from the game:
- Allen delivered when we needed him most. He might have had his lowest yardage of the season thus far (288 yards..what a chump!) but played one of his most clinical games. The throws to Gabriel Davis for the TD, the 49 yarder to Diggs and TD to Beasley were all ELITE QB level throws. His ball distribution is refreshing as well, hitting 9 different receivers today. He is so fucking legit.
- Tremaine Edmunds followed up his worst game as a pro last week with another shit show this week. He looked slow, afraid to make big hits and just not reading the defense well. I’m not sure if he’s still hurt or this is actual regression (which would be disheartening)…but figure it out or he has to ride some pine.
- Josh Norman was AWESOME. Just activated off IR this week Norman came in a little slow early but quickly found his groove. His presence was felt when Levi Wallace was injured and the “peanut punch” to force and recover the fumble late in the game was the impact playmaking we’ve been looking for in the secondary.
- Stefon Diggs is a top 3 WR in the NFL. That’s it. He just is. Allen’s improvement having such a complete, elite WR is obvious. A true safety blanket.
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-Merekat (@Merekatkat)…Go Bills Baby.