It was quite a sloppy start for the Buffalo Bills this past Sunday coming off their Week 7 bye.
Josh Allen and the Buffalo offense only mustered 122 yards of total offense against a Miami Dolphins team in shambles in the opening 30 minutes of Sunday's contest, which resulted in just three points on the scoreboard. The offense was not executing the plays called on the field, while other questionable decisions were a factor in the team's ineffectiveness through the first half.
The good news for Buffalo is the team found its footing in the second half, producing the offensive numbers that are more characteristic of the current Bills squad to earn a 26-11 win over Miami at Highmark Stadium.
After throwing for just 80 yards in the opening half of play in Orchard Park, Bills quarterback Josh Allen got his swagger back in the final two quarters against the Dolphins, throwing for 169 yards and a pair of touchdowns to help spark a Buffalo win. He also added another touchdown on the ground late in the game to officially seal the deal for the Bills.
One of Allen's main targets on the afternoon to get him back in his groove was wide receiver Cole Beasley, who finished the afternoon with 10 catches on 13 targets - eight receptions in the second half - for 110 yards.
After seven games and eight weeks of the 2021 season, the Buffalo offense still stands as one of the better units in the National Football League, ranking sixth in yards per-game (402.9) and No. 1 overall in points per-game (32.7).
Meanwhile, the Buffalo defense stood strong against Tua Tagovailoa and a struggling Miami offense, allowing just 262 yards of total offense on the day. This included the shut down of the Dolphins' rushing attack and limiting Tagovailoa to 205 yards in the air and an interception.
Buffalo's defensive unit continues to remain as, arguably, the best group in the league, averaging the best yards per-game rate (269.0) and points per-game rate (15.6) in the entire league. The Bills are also tied for the NFL lead in takeaways, totaling 18 with 11 interceptions and seven fumbles recovered.
In the standings, the Bills continue to sit as one of the best teams in the entire NFL at 5-2. Buffalo currently sits atop the AFC East standings ahead of the New England Patriots (4-4), and the team is currently in its easiest stretch of the 2021 regular season schedule.
After beating a now 1-7 Dolphins squad this past Sunday, Buffalo will gear up to travel to Jacksonville to take on the 1-6 Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field.
Despite the presence of 2021 first overall pick Trevor Lawrence under center, the Jaguars' offense sits in the middle of the pack, in terms of production, with an average of 349.3 yards per-game. However, the on-field production has not resulted in scoring, as Jacksonville sits as the sixth-worst scoring team in the league, averaging 17.6 points per-game.
What was once one of the most-feared defensive units in the NFL - though "Sacksonville" is now just a flash from the past - the Jaguars possess one of the worst defenses in the league, giving up an average of 386 yards per-game (seventh-worst) and 29.0 points per-game (fifth-worst). One of the major contributing factors to Jacksonville's lack of success defensively has been a significant lack of takeaways with just two interceptions on the season. The teams with the next fewest takeaways this season are the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers each with five.
The Bills should be heavily favored to beat the Jaguars on the road on Sunday, with the line currently sitting at -14.5 in favor of Buffalo.
Even with the slow start coming off the bye week for the Bills, Howard Simon is still riding high on this team's aspirations for the rest of the 2021 season.
Although you should never take any opponent lightly during any given week, Howard picked the Bills to continue its winning ways with a win over the Jaguars, en route to a 13-4 overall finish.
Be sure to follow along on Twitter for the latest picks from Howard by using the hashtag #HowardPicksTheBills. You can also track all of Howard's picks throughout the season with Brayton Wilson's picks tracker on Twitter: @BJWilsonWGR.
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