The Buffalo Bills improved to 2-1 on the 2021 season after a decisive 43-21 win over the Washington Football Team on Sunday in Orchard Park.
Here are my Arrows for the Bills, starting Up after the victory:
ARROW UP:
Josh Allen
Any questions people had about the Bills' passing game were answered on Sunday, and in a big way.
From the very first drive until the fourth quarter when he came out of the game, Allen was decisive and throwing darts all over the field. There was a noticeable difference in the velocity on his passes, as well.
The 25-year-old finished the game going 32-of-43 (74.4%) for 358 yards and four touchdown passes. He also added another nine yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Brian Daboll’s game plan
Give credit to the Bills offensive coordinator.
Daboll did a great job of getting Allen into a rhythm and the ball out of his hands quickly. With that happening, it allowed the offensive line to keep their quarterback clean.
He was dialed-in as a play caller most of the afternoon, and found a great balance of passing and running with the right personnel usage.
Emmanuel Sanders
Sanders caught his first two touchdowns in a Bills uniform, and the first came on a terrific grab, going low and keeping the ball off the ground just before he fell out of bounds. He also connected with Allen on a 41-yard deep ball, hooking up long for a second-straight game.
Sanders finished with five catches for 94 yards and the two touchdowns, averaging 18.8 yards per-reception.
Cole Beasley
"Mr. Reliable" was terrific on Sunday.
Beasley was constantly available for Allen and catching almost everything thrown his way. He was targeted 13 times and caught 11 balls for 98 yards, just keeping the chains and offense moving.
Dawson Knox
How about the hands of Knox?
Through three games, he has been outstanding catching the football, and made a terrific grab for a touchdown on a fade Allen put in the only spot he could to make it work.
Overall, Knox finished with four catchers for 49 yards and his one touchdown.
Offensive line
481 total yards. 122 yards rushing. Zero sacks allowed.
The offensive line did exactly what they needed to do, especially against a very good front-four of Washington.
Daryl Williams
The offensive line, as a whole, played really well, but Daryl Williams stood out for the job he did, including mostly being one-on-one against defensive end Chase Young, holding him to just three total tackles and no sacks.
Zack Moss
Moss’ numbers weren’t eye-popping with just 60 yards rushing on 13 carries, but it was a nice 4.6 yards per-carry average. He gained valuable yards on critical downs in the second half to put the game away, averaging 5.0 yards per-carry over the final two quarters.
Third down offense
The Bills converted 60% of their third down chances, going 9-for-16 overall.
No interceptions, no fumbles
For the first time this season, the Bills offense not only didn’t turn the ball over, they also didn’t even put it on the ground at all.
Turnovers by the defense
The Bills forced three turnovers of the Washington offense on Sunday, picking off Taylor Heinicke twice, and recovering the early fumble forced by cornerback Tre'Davious White.
Scoring off turnovers
The Bills scored all three times off those turnovers, including two touchdowns and a field goal. They also scored another touchdown after stopping Washington on fourth down and getting the ball back on downs.
First drives of second half
Even though the Bills seemed in pretty solid control coming out of the locker room with a 27-14 halftime lead, the first drives of the second half really put the game away.
Washington got the ball first with a chance to cut it to a one score lead. However, they gained only 15 yards and were forced to punt.
The Bills started their first drive on their own seven-yard line. They held the ball for 17 plays, marched 93 yards (98 net yards due to a penalty on the drive), took up 8:17, and ended it with a touchdown. Allen was 9-of-10 for 76 yards on that drive.
Ball game.
Matt Haack
Haack only punted twice the entire game. One went 60 yards, and both were downed inside the Washington 20-yard line. The starting field position following the two Bills’ punts for Washington was its own 14- and two-yard line.
Tyler Bass
The Bills' kicker was perfect on the afternoon, connecting on all four extra point attempts, as well as all three field goal tries, including one from 48 yards out to end the first half.
Tre’Davious White
White shadowed Washington's excellent wide receiver Terry McLaurin for most of the game. White had a missed tackle on him after one catch, which resulted in a 37-yard catch-and-run, but even with that long play, McLaurin was held to just four catches on seven targets for 62 yards.
Also as mentioned, White punched the ball loose from tight end Logan Thomas for the Bills’ first forced fumble and recovery.
Matt Milano
When does Milano not show up all over the stat sheet? Sunday was no different.
The fifth-year linebacker finished with six total tackles, including two for losses, as well as a quarterback hurry, a pass defensed, and he recovered the fumble caused by White.
Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer
The two Bills safeties combined for seven total tackles, including two for losses, three pass breakups, and they each had an interception that set the offense up for points.
Third down defense
Washington was 2-for-11 on third down, for a very low 18.2%.
Run defense
Once again, the Bills defense did an outstanding job against the run, allowing only 78 yards and 3.1 yards per-carry. They allowed less than 80 yards on the ground every game so far this season.
ARROW DOWN:
73-yard play
Just as it looked the the Bills were cruising to a win early on, Washington running back Antonio Gibson took a short pass and ran it 73 yards for a touchdown. Several Bills were either caught out of position or didn’t take a good enough angle to get to him before he finally broke loose.
Botched kick return
After that first touchdown, Washington kicked the ball high into the wind. Bills return man Isaiah McKenzie wasn’t able to run under it in time, and no one else from the return team was there to field it, allowing the ball to hit the ground and ultimately be recovered by Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins.
Five plays later, they were in the end zone, cutting the Bills' lead to just seven points.
Red zone defense
After going into the game tops in the league in red zone defense, allowing touchdowns less than 17% of the time their opponents got inside their 20-yard line, the Bills defense allowed Washington to score both times they were in their red zone.
No sacks
The Bills defense did a great job overall and they did get pressure on Heinicke, but they never got him down. On several occasions, the Washington quarterback escaped to run for a good gain or complete a pass.
Devin Singletary
After great start to the season, Singletary could not get going running the ball, finishing with only 26 yards on 11 carries, averaging just 2.4 yards per-carry.
Follow me on Twitter: @SalSports
