Seattle, Wash. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Bills improved to 6-2 on the season following a dominating 31-10 win on Sunday over the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.
Here are my Arrows Up and Arrows Down from the game:
ARROW UP:
OC - Joe Brady
Brady put together an excellent game plan, attacking the Seahawks right away and changing up their run-on-first-down tendency.
Three of the Bills’ first six first-down plays were passes, including one on 1st-and-goal from the Seattle five-yard line.
At the end of the game, the Bills had 34 rushing and 34 passing attempts. They kept the Seahawks off balance all game.
DC - Bobby Babich
Babich deserves the same credit as Brady for the defensive game plan.
The Bills smothered the Seahawks all afternoon, allowing just 96 yards in the first half, and 233 overall - a bunch of which was near the end of the game when the Bills were sacrificing yards for time.
Buffalo’s defense was credited with five tackles behind the line of scrimmage, creating a lot of long-yardage situations for the Seahawks.
QB - Josh Allen
Despite throwing his first interception of the season, Allen was dialed-in from the start, completing 24-of-34 passes (75%) for 283 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Allen added 25 yards rushing for a total of 308 yards of offense.
WR - Khalil Shakir
It’s no surprise that Shakir was one of Allen‘s favorite targets all afternoon. He caught 9-of-10 balls thrown his way for 107 yards.
RB - James Cook
Cook was the best version of himself, running for 111 yards on 17 carries, an average of 6.5 yards per-run.
A lot of his yards came after initially hitting the hole and bouncing to an open area. He was seeing the field really well.
Cook also caught three passes for 22 yards, finishing with 133 yards from scrimmage.
WR - Keon Coleman
Coleman is getting better-and-better each week, and put together another terrific performance with five catches for 70 yards, including a fantastic touchdown over top of Riq Woolen.
DE - Greg Rousseau
Rousseau was just destroying the right side of the Seahawks' offensive line most of the afternoon. He batted a pass down on the first play of the game, while finishing with two pass breakups, a quarterback hit, and four total tackles, including two for loss.
Austin Johnson's interception
Johnson collected his first-career interception, at any level of football, when he was in the right spot at the right time to pick off a pass from Geno Smith, as the Seahawks had the ball in Bills territory.
That pick eventually led to a Bills touchdown.
The tight ends
We finally saw a game where both Bills tight ends had big contributions in the passing game.
Dalton Kincaid caught four passes for 31 yards and a touchdown, while Dawson Knox caught a pair of passes for 50 yards.
Sam Martin and punt coverage unit
Martin only punted three times, but he connected for a 58-yarder, placed one perfectly out of bounds at the Seattle 9-yard line, and averaged 49.0 yards per-punt.
The Seahawks not only had zero return yards, but the Bills coverage team also recovered a muffed punt to close out the win.
Run defense!
The Bills' run defense really stepped up and had its best game of the season. Seattle ran the ball 17 times for only 43 yards, averaging just 1.9 yards per-carry.
The trenches
The Bills controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Not only did they hold the Seahawks to just 32 yards rushing, they ran for 164 yards themselves. Allen was sacked just once, and the Seattle defense was credited with no quarterback hits on the day.
Third down offense and defense
The Bills were excellent on third downs on both sides of the ball, converting 8-of-15 (53.3%) attempts offensively, and holding the Seahawks to just 1-of-7 (14.3%).
Red zone offense and defense
The Bills converted four of their six red zone trips into touchdowns (67%). They held the Seahawks to just 1-for-3 converting touchdowns (33%) once they entered the Bills’ 20-yard line.
Closing it out
The Bills held a 24-3 lead late in the third quarter. On the next Seattle series, they forced a three-and-out, then took the ball 73 yards down the field in seven plays, essentially icing the game.
"Bills Mafia"
It was an incredible showing by Bills fans in Seattle. Lumen Field was packed with them, and they made their voices heard throughout the contest.
ARROW DOWN:
Brandon Codrington fielding punt in first quarter
After the Seahawks' second drive and the Bills forcing another three-and-out, Seattle punted.
Returner Brandon Codrington was on his heels and backpedaled all the way back to the goal line. Instead of letting the ball go into the end zone, he caught it and returned it, getting only to the 12-yard line.
The Bills eventually punted from their own 42-yard line.
Codrington needs to make a better decision there.
Penalties
24 total assessed penalties in the game on both teams. 32 total flags thrown (by our count, unofficially). There were definitely some ticky-tack calls, but the Bills really hurt themselves with 13 of those penalties, totaling 85 yards.
The officials were way too flag-happy, and the Bills didn’t help themselves.
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