Will the Patriots force the Bills to punt this season?
It’s a fair question to ask in the aftermath of Buffalo’s 31-10 win over the Super Bowl champion Rams Thursday night, especially given the Bills’ 30-point shellacking against the Patriots last January, in which they scored a touchdown on all seven possessions.
The Bills just look like they’re playing a different game.
While we’re fretting about whether Mac Jones will receive enough time to throw, Josh Allen is tossing 53-yard touchdowns to Stefon Diggs. It’s not an exaggeration to say the Bills are better than the Patriots in every facet of the game.
Their advantage begins at quarterback. Jones’ nice rookie season looks quaint in comparison to Allen’s awesomeness. The Bills QB is both an unstoppable force and immovable object. The Rams did everything right on a 3rd-and-goal — defending all eligible pass-catchers — but their efforts were futile. Allen burst into the end zone, anyway, fighting through a tackle from future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner to hoist the ball over the goal line.
Allen’s remarkable development proves the importance of supplying a young quarterback with a consistent structure. Brian Daboll was Allen’s offensive coordinator for his first three years, and coached him into an MVP favorite.
Now Daboll is in charge of the Giants, and Ken Dorsey, who served as Allen’s quarterback over those three seasons, has ascended to OC.
Jones doesn’t have one of those. Instead, he’s working with Joe Judge and Matt Patricia. His preseason performance was predictably brutal.
The Bills have weapons everywhere: Diggs, Gabe Davis, Isaiah McKenzie, Dawson Knox. Acquiring Diggs helped propel Allen to superstar status. The Bills surrendered four draft picks, including a first-rounder, for Diggs in March 2020. In two seasons, he’s caught 230 passes for 2,760 yards and 18 touchdowns. On Monday, Diggs caught eight passes for 122 yards and a score.
The Bills awarded Diggs with a four-year, $96 million extension in April. In other words, they surrendered major draft capital and paid big money for a singular receiver. It’s the opposite of what Bill Belichick would do.
Yet, the Bills don’t seem handicapped, despite the gargantuan $258 million extension they handed Allen last year. Buffalo was still able to sign Von Miller over the offseason. He finished with two sacks Monday.
The Bills were ferocious up front, with Greg Rousseau and AJ Epenesa each finishing with one sack as well. Buffalo drafted Rousseau and Epenesa with its first pick in 2021 and 2020.
The Bills’ 2020 draft was special: Epenesa, Zack Moss, Davis, kicker Tyler Bass. Six of the seven players chosen are still with the organization, including seventh-rounder Dane Jackson, who intercepted Matthew Stafford.
For comparison’s sake, the Patriots drafted Kyle Dugger, Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings, Devin Asiasi, Dalton Keene, Justin Rohrwasser (last seen storming the Capitol) and Michael Onwenu with their first seven picks in 2020.
Buffalo’s defense is full of homegrown playmakers, and the best one, Tre’Davious White, is on IR.
Once a laughingstock, the Bills are a premier operation. They do everything better than the Patriots right now.
The proof is on the field.
