Archives for October 2023

‘All the things fans have been wanting to see from Allen – designed runs, scrambles, getting receivers other than Stefon Diggs involved – were on display against the Buccaneers. Allen and Co. were locked in from the very start, driving 77 yards in 10 plays to a field goal on their first possession. For an offense that had scored just 10 points in the first half of its previous three games, that was a good sign.’

‘No way should this have come down to a Hail Mary heave from Baker Mayfield that fell incomplete as time expired. The Bills led 24-10 early in the third quarter, the offense was humming along, Josh Allen was getting everybody involved and the defense had the Bucs in a collective vice grip.’

‘For just the second time this season, the defense didn’t have a takeaway. The Bills’ defense allowed Tampa Bay 302 yards on offense – the Giants with 297 yards were the only Bills’ opponent with fewer – and Buffalo was also able to minimize the Buccaneers’ scoring opportunities.’

‘It was a get-better game. It was a must win. It could have been better, but still a pretty good win against a team with a respectable defense. It’s too early to say it was a get-right game because it’s too early to say the Bills are back to being considered one of the strongest contenders in the AFC.’

‘Bills receiver Khalil Shakir was the biggest and most immediate beneficiary of the offense having only one healthy tight end (Dalton Kincaid). As the third receiver, Shakir was an every-snap participant in “11” personnel.’

‘“To be honest, I was pretty claustrophobic,” Kincaid said of his “Highmark Stadium leap” into the crowd. “In that moment, I was like, all right, I’m ready to go back down (to the turf). But I think that’s kind of everyone’s dream is scoring, jumping up there and celebrating, then celebrating with teammates. So it was a super special moment.”’

‘The up-tempo approach from offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was refreshing. It was maddening to see the Bills in shotgun again on third-and-goal from the Tampa 1-yard line. Spoiler alert: The play didn’t work. The offense was rolling for much of the game, but the inability to finish off the game in the second half was troubling. Part of that can be attributed to Sean McDermott electing to punt the ball away. He did so on fourth-and-5 from the Bills’ 49-yard line with about 5 minutes left in the third quarter, on fourth-and-9 from the Bucs’ 47-yard line in the first minute of the fourth quarter, on fourth-and-7 from the Bucs’ 49-yard line on the next possession and on fourth-and-1 from the Tampa Bay 48-yard line with 31 seconds left. Some of those punts were justifiable given how much trouble Tampa had moving the ball on offense, but a case could have been made for the offense to be a bit more aggressive. In the end, the Bills had to survive a Hail Mary attempt in a game they should have sealed much earlier.’

‘The Buffalo All-Americans won the NFL championship in 1921 – or so they thought. Halas, player-coach of the Chicago Staleys, challenged the All-Americans to an exhibition game after the season was over. Buffalo had already won, 7-6, in Chicago on Thanksgiving Day, but the Staleys won the exhibition, 10-7. Then Halas convinced other owners to crown his team as champs by arguing that the game that should not have counted actually counted for more, as a tiebreaker.’