Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Bills got back on the winning track Thursday night with a 24-18 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at HIghmark Stadium.
Here are my Arrows Up and Down from the game:
ARROW UP:
Ken Dorsey/Found offense!
Fans and media have been clamoring for it for several weeks, and it finally happened. The offense spread the field, went up-tempo, found different receivers, and let Josh Allen run.
The results were tremendous.
While 24 points is below the team’s average, they had 427 yards of total offense, 312 net yards passing, and averaged 6.1 yards per-offensive play.
Dorsey deserves credit for a creative and excellent game plan, especially on a short week.
Fast start
The Bills, especially their offense, finally got off to a fast start. After scoring only 10 total points in the first halves of the last three games, they scored 17 before halftime in this one.
Defensive game plan
Undermanned due to injuries, head coach Sean McDermott unveiled a predominantly dime look with three safeties and six defensive backs on the field quite often, only electing to go with one linebacker.
It really took away the big play and made the Buccaneers work for everything they had to get all night.
QB - Josh Allen
Allen got back to being the Bills quarterback we’ve been used to seeing over the last several years, throwing, running, and making mostly great decisions.
He finished 31-of-40 (77.5%) for 324 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. He also ran seven times for 41 yards and a score.
WR - Khalil Shakir
Shakir had his best day as a pro, catching six passes for 96 yards. He was especially good and physical after the catch.
WR - Gabe Davis
Davis was targeted early and often, and this time not just down the field. He was targeted 12 times and caught nine of those passes for 87 yards and a touchdown.
TE - Dalton Kincaid
Kincaid was the pass-catching tight end the Bills drafted him to be, grabbing five passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. That also included one terrific catch on the sidelines on 3rd-and-4 to keep a drive alive.
RB - James Cook
Another solid performance for Cook, running 14 times for 67 yards, averaging 4.8 yards per-carry.
OT - Dion Dawkins
Dawkins not only had a nice night in pass protection, but was asked to pull quite often from left-to-right and did a great job to seal off cutback lanes for Cook.
S - Jordan Poyer
Poyer has had a bit of a rebirth over the last couple of weeks.
One week ago against the New England Patriots, he was the Bills' best defensive player.
He might’ve been again on Thursday night, collecting eight total tackles and two pass breakups. He was used quite a bit as a dime linebacker, lining up on the second level.
P - Sam Martin
What a terrific night for Martin, who punted four times and pinned three of them at the Buccaneers' three-yard line, four-yard line, and eight-yard line, respectively.
His fourth punt was also vey close to pinning Tampa Bay near their goal line before their final drive, but Siran Neal just missed knocking the ball back into the field of play.
Job on Mike Evans
Evans, who came into the game averaging five catches for 78 yards a contest, was held to just three grabs for 39 yards. He did score a touchdown, as two of those catches came in the final minutes of the game.
Prior to that, Evans had just one catch for seven yards.
CB - Josh Norman
To the surprise of many, the Bills elevated and activated the soon-to-be 36-year-old Norman for the game. But then he went out and made the first two tackles of the game for the kickoff unit. One prevented, what might have been, a fairly long return, and the other was a great hit and tackle.
Shaq Lawson blocked field goal
With the Bills leading 3-0 and the Buccaneers attempting a 50-yard field goal, Lawson leaped and got his hand up in the air to deflect it. The ball fell short, and the Bills got the football at their own 40-yard line.
Deonte Harty
Harty’s 24-yard punt return set the Bills up at the Tampa Bay 23-yard line in the second quarter. They scored five plays later to take a 10-0 lead.
Third down defense
The Buccaneers were just for 4-for-15 on third down attempts (26.7%).
ARROW DOWN:
3rd-and-goal shotgun run
Dorsey had a good night overall, but on the final play of the first quarter, facing a 3rd-and-goal from the Buccaneers' one-yard line, he elected to put Allen in the shotgun and run Latavius Murray up the middle. The Buccaneers stuffed it.
The Bills then went for it on 4th-and-goal and didn’t convert.
Critical Penalties
The Bills committed nine penalties for 86 yards, but there were some really, really critical ones, including two-straight fourth down stops near the end of the game that then gave Tampa Bay a new set of downs.
Buffalo also got flagged on two punt returns that forced them back, costing great field position.
Red zone offense
The Bills were inside the Buccaneers' red zone four different times, but only came away with touchdowns twice, settling for a field goal once and turning the ball over on downs the other time.
Punt on 4th-and-1 on final drive
Leading 24-18 with just 31 seconds left in the game, the Bills faced a 4th-and-1 from the Buccaneers' 47-yard line. Instead of just letting Allen sneak it across the first down marker to effectively end the game, McDermott decided to punt.
That decision ended up giving the ball to the Buccaneers at their own 20-yard line, and ultimately a shot to win the game on a final Hail Mary throw.
Closing the game out
The Bills dominated the game in almost every way, outgaining the Buccaneers 427-302, the average 6.3 yards per-offensive play against only 4.9 for Tampa Bay.
Buffalo had a comfortable 14-point lead with less than three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Yet, the game still came down to one final Hail Mary pass.
They needed to do a better job of closing it out, both offensively and defensively due to penalties.
