WGR

‘Josh Allen was pretty good last week in Minnesota. Not great, not bad at all. He wasn’t asked to do much, but what he was asked to do he did well, didn’t make critical mistakes, and kept the offense on schedule. Not much more you could ask from a rookie QB in his first-ever road start, especially in that type of environment. No doubt he was set up in very nice situations by his defense. But to Allen’s credit, he helped the offense take advantage of that. Now comes the next step. Can Allen be as efficient when things aren’t as simple and the offense needs him to make plays because they are down or in a tight game? Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine will test him for sure. We’ll see how he handles it in Lambeau.

‘“It’s a game of inches.” Alexander said with Howard Simon and Jeremy White on Friday morning. “You can mishit a gap and not get a guy, or you could do the same exact thing and then somebody else comes off and makes a great play and tackles a guy, and that’s really the difference in the NFL.’

‘Further demonstrating his team-first mentality, Jones has not only embraced his role as a core special teamer, he’s thriving in it. “My mindset was always that I wanted to be an impact on a team, not just a roster filler,” said Jones, who is listed on the roster as a running back and has played both running back and cornerback in college and the NFL. “We have a lot of depth at running back, so I got the opportunity on special teams and when I’m out there I’m out there to make plays. My mindset is ‘I’m the best player at whatever I’m going to do,’ and that carries on in how I play the game and I just have to embrace that special teams role and that’s just what I have done.’

‘”The fact he was out there (Thursday), their biggest workload day where they’re in pads, that signifies something. Especially a day after head coach Mike McCarthy admitted that not having Aaron Rodgers is affecting the whole team in practice.”‘

‘“I feel good. I feel good,” the running back said after a practice in which he wore a red non-contact jersey. “Today was the first day I really ran hard. Cutting was a minor little setback, but other than that I felt good, I felt fast, I felt rested, so I am excited.”’

‘The 24-year-old linebacker is the first Bills defender to be honored as the Defensive Player of the Week since former Bills cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman earned it back in Week 5 of the 2016 season against the Los Angeles Rams.’

‘The pick in return for Newhouse has not been specified, but it is a few years away in 2021.’

‘”When you get your 1-on-1 matchups, that’s when you have to deliver. Some games, a guy like me or Jerry [Hughes] may only get 10, five or two chances. We don’t decide who gets the sacks.”‘

‘”The Josh [Allen] hurdle will stay with me for awhile. I’m just happy he stayed healthy through that. What else stood out was how fired up [Josh] was after the play. It showed he meant business, and we meant business.”‘

‘The Bills held strong defensively in the third quarter, as Matt Milano had an interception when the Vikings finally crossed midfield.’

‘Daboll should receive a lot of credit for this victory. His plan called for more short, quick passes and it allowed Allen to gain some confidence as the game went on. On the game’s opening drive, Allen completed a wide receiver screen on the very first play and added a tight end screen later in the series. He stood strong in the pocket, took a look at what was out there and took what the defense was giving him. If necessary Allen used his legs to make plays. His signature moment of the day was actually one of his 10 runs. Allen leaped over a Vikings linebacker to convert a third and 10 on what ended up as a touchdown drive that would extend the Bills lead to 24-0. As amazing as that was to watch, I sure hope he doesn’t do that again. When he went airborne I was praying he didn’t get hurt.’

‘Frazier was heavily criticized after the Chargers game because McDermott took away his play calling duties at halftime. Los Angeles only scored three points after that. He got his play calling duties back for this one and Kirk Cousins looked like a street rookie playing in his first game. Cousins was peeling Bills players off his back all game as the pass rush came from everywhere.’

‘And Josh Allen hurdled a dude. The Bills rookie quarterback played a great first half and mostly just needed to keep it out of the ditch in the second half. That shouldn’t take anything away from the performance by Allen. The kid made some really nice throws to help the Bills capitalize on the turnovers when they came. Allen also showed off his running ability, which maybe was undervalued leading up to the NFL Draft because of the concerns about his accuracy. Allen is certainly not Tyrod Taylor when it comes to running but he’s definitely very good at it and that showed up in a big way on Sunday in Minnesota.’

‘Hughes was an absolute monster coming off the edge in this one. He’s been the Bills’ most consistent and probably best defensive player through the first three games. Sunday, Vikings’ left tackle Riley Reiff was overmatched all afternoon. Hughes was flying by him seemingly with ease, wreaking havoc in the Minnesota backfield all day. He finished with a sack, another two QB hurries (to go along with three from last week), and a forced fumble.’

‘There’s no doubt the Vikings will notice that on film and continue to try and befuddle him before the snap. Now that he’s seen that on film and what to watch for, hopefully he’s a little more comfortable – and quicker – to notice what he needs to to make the right reads and throws after the snap.’