Archives for September 28, 2020

‘“Honestly, it just kind of turned into some backyard ball,” Allen said. “I just tried to find some time to throw. Me and Cole talked about this route many a time, and they just kind of went outside. Cole found a spot in the middle, made a good catch and took it upfield for a first down.”’

‘Not only did he deliver the winning points on a 3-yard touchdown throw to tight end Tyler Kroft with 15 seconds remaining, but he also made several big plays along the way, accounting for five touchdowns to give him 12, the most by a Bills quarterback in the first three games of a season. He also became the first in league history with at least 10 passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in the first three games.’

‘“For a guy like Tyler, who hasn’t played a whole lot,” quarterback Josh Allen said, “we haven’t asked a bunch of our tight ends, to kind of step in and catch two touchdown catches for us … this team is just made up of selfless guys that are just trying to do their job when their number’s called. And that’s why we love being a part of it and that’s why this team loves each other.”’

‘It didn’t take Milano long to make an impact. He registered a third-down sack of quarterback Jared Goff on Los Angeles’ first offensive possession, pushing the Rams into a long-field goal attempt that rookie kicker Samuel Sloman missed wide left.’

‘“Coming out at halftime and talking before coming out, we were really just talking to the guys and saying, ‘Keep playing, keep playing. We aren’t out of it.’ On offense, we had to finish our drives with touchdowns,” Woods said. “We’re never out of it. We know we’re a great team. We’ve just got to play like that for all four quarters and not just turn it on at the end of the game. Looking at the clock, we knew we were down, but we had plenty of time. In the second half, we just had to make plays. Finally get going, start playing Rams football. That’s what we did, pretty much shutting them out until the last seconds of the game.”’

‘The Rams opted to sit back in zone coverage rather than blitz. Allen skewered them.’

‘It was a day to forget for everyone defensively. The Rams piled up 167 yards on the ground, led by Darrell Henderson, who gashed the Bills for 114 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. We’ve been waiting to see if the Bills would miss Star Lotulelei in the middle of the defense, and a case can reasonably be made that they did so big time against Los Angeles. Middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds made just five tackles and did not look close to being himself. Cornerback Taron Johnson had an up-and-down game – more on that in a bit – but did make two tackles for loss. Matt Milano was all over the field in his first game back, finishing with eight tackles. The Bills’ defensive tackles – Ed Oliver, Quinton Jefferson, Harrison Phillips and Vernon Butler – combined for just three tackles. The middle of the Bills’ defense was soft against the run all day.’