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I think he would probably struggle for playing time behind Diggs, Brown, Beasley, and Davis. I think he's like 4th or 5th on the depth chart in Vegas. They go Ruggs, Edwards, Agholor, Renfrow, Jones, I think.

Grade: A Had a lapse on the 3rd down sack that knocked him out of field goal position. He could've led Diggs on that deep throw but that's splitting hairs. I don't recall any wild throws. His only incompletions were throw aways or drops. This is a dangerous offense because of the throws he's able to make. That throw to Brown, man, that's big time. The Twittersphere was glowing over that throw and a main takeaway from most tweets seemed to be, "There might be only five QBs in the league that try that throw and only three that make it." After all the years of agony it's pretty incredible to see such a strong offense now. Over those lost years, it felt like the offense mustered one big time play once every five games. Now, they're cranking out big time plays five times per game! I also think the defense took a step forward today, at least in the second half. Before the Raiders scored their final TD, their previous four drives went like this: punt, lost fumble, punt, turnover on downs. I think they're still tinkering with their DL rotation and trying to figure out the best combination of guys to have out there. They definitely miss Lotulelei as that anchor in the middle and they probably miss Lorenzo Alexander as well. I like Tyrel Dodson a lot and think he has a bright future but he's not there yet and I think AJ Klein is a liability. I dunno, maybe give Del'Shawn Phillips a crack when he's 100%? Josh Norman is playing with a fire under his rump and hopefully that'll permeate the rest of the defense and they can start playing with that swagger they had last season.

I wouldn't be opposed to them trading for a pass rusher or maybe even the 1-tech DT they're missing with Lotulelei being out. That dude, along with Trent Murphy, has been a forum whipping boy since he got here but I think all of us underestimated his absence. He does a lot of the dirty work in the trenches that frees up his ends and linebackers. Harrison Phillips can play that role but it's not his bread and butter, nor is it Ed Oliver's, Vernon Butler's, or Quinton Jefferson's. They miss that anchor in the middle right now.

Before the Raiders final TD, the defense had locked it down pretty well, because the previous four drives were punt, fumble, punt, fumble. Defenses around the league are out of sorts right now, just seems to be taking a bit more time than usual to find a groove. Hopefully this performance gives the defense some confidence and they can keep it up going forward. I wonder if McDermott took over play calling or at least had some direct orders for Frazier. Also, they can go ahead and call Zo now.

It's not a fumble because they're saying they blew the play dead due to forward progress being stopped. I didn't hear a whistle, tho.

Yikes on bikes. Poor dude surely didn't think his NFL career would begin like this. First, he's sentenced to the Jets. Rookie year wasn't awful. Jets can't build or operate a team tho, so they hire Adam Gase. He gets mono. Then plays with a JV o-line and virtually zero offensive weapons, still puts together a few decent games at the end of the season. Jets do poop-all to get him some playmakers but improve the OL somewhat then their rookie left tackle gets hurt and now he gets suplexed into the turf and jacks up the shoulder on his throwing arm. Sucks. Couldn't happen to a better franchise, tho. But still, poor dude. If Sam Darnold ever reaches his potential, I don't think it'll be with the New York Jets. They need a complete overhaul, ownership included.

Might be in the minority here but I dig the white on blue. Hopefully they switch up to white facemasks in the future.

The raw skills were always there. He has the size, the arm, the moxie, all that good stuff just needed to be refined. And the desire was there as well. Kid sat down and emailed hundreds of schools when he was looking for a shot somewhere, he obviously wants it. One of the things I've noticed with the draft analyst crowd is that some of them seem to think these guys can't improve once they get in the league. They develop their assessments and then seem to stick to that assessment even when the player is doing things that deter from their evaluations. And then that crap just becomes talking points for the games. Josh Allen could go out and complete every single effin' throw he's ever attempted and the minute he misses one would be the cue for the talking heads to start spewing nonsense about his accuracy. I'm a bit off topic but I'm on a roll and I can't stand most of the lip-flappin' dipsh*ts that get paid to talk football. Every QB is going to have a misfire in every game. Just now it is... But when Patrick Mahomes misses on a throw it's: Play by play: And a rare misfire from Mahomes on second down. That'll bring up a third and long situation. Color commentary: Even though it was incomplete, Pat Mahomes throws this ball with the might of ten million Norse gods, Jim! I mean, be dazzled in the magnificence of his weird curly locks and his angelic Kermit-style cadence! Josh Allen misses the same exact throw in the same exact situation... Play by play: Oh my, and there's just an atrocious, horrible, awful, terrible, and downright heinous throw by Josh Allen. That'll bring up a third and long and once again, Josh Allen costs his team dearly, Fred! Color commentary: Yeah Jim, it really is quite disgusting. I mean, we knew of the accuracy issues coming out of Wyoming but this is egregious. By god I'm going to have to bleach my own eyes after what I've just witnessed. I like the kid but he should be so ashamed of himself that he voluntarily gives the other team the ball and just retires forever. Just an ungodly abomination of a throw from the Firebaugh kid. In short, I watch the games on mute now.

Kroft is deceptively good. And I say deceptive because I don't think defenses feel the need to specifically focus on him. Knox can be that type of player, though. He's a more of a mismatch on linebackers than Kroft. He's still developing. I won't write him off yet. And if he and Kroft can both play at a high level then that's a great problem for the Bills to have.

I almost feel bad for Sam Darnold. Almost. I despise the gotd*mn Jets tho, so, almost is as much as I can offer. It starts at the top with moron ownership. That ownership can't keep it's front office straight and is now stuck with a team built by two different administrations with two different team building perspectives. They give up a buncha picks to move up and get Darnold third overall in 2018. He shows some promising signs that year. They fire their head coach. Then they hire a coach who made his name as Peyton Manning's clipboard jockey. And then they sign a running back that needs a solid OL and isn't wanted by the head coach. Then they let their best receiver walk and the other one (Enunwa) is forced out of the game by injuries. They don't do a thing to improve their OL on 2019 yet they somehow finish relatively strong and Darnold shows more signs. 2020. They try to improve the OL but their big first round left tackle is already out. They have precisely zero offensive weapons. Bell has a bum hammy. Darnold's seeing the same ghosts he's seen since last year. He's regressed. He's doing all sorts of things Josh Allen was eviscerated by the media for doing. He's probably friggin' miserable. He's stuck with a numbnuts head coach who's main concern is, "Did they deposit my paycheck?" Well... f#@k 'em, man. They made their dumpster fire of a bed and now they can all sleep in it. Losers. I hope by this time next year that Adam Gase is the world's sh*ttiest Walmart greeter, get lost ya frickin' putz.

We always talk about how players need to buy into the culture or the vision or the grand master plan or whatever they call their method of operating a pro sports franchise. But all of that has to start at the top, the owners, administration, and coaching staff all have to believe and buy in themselves. And with our dear leader McBeane, they saw Allen's raw skills and his desire and said, "We can make him a franchise quarterback. We believe in our coaches to get him where he can be. We believe in our front office to build a proper offense around him. We believe in our owners to provide the resources to build that offense. We believe we are the ones to maximize his potential." It's a roll of the dice, really on so many things in sports. But they saw what he could be and said, "Yeah, we're the team that'll help him reach his pinnacle." And that's the culture that McDermott and Beans have created that permeates throughout the entire building. This is really a complete team, they all prop each other up and wanna see each other succeed. McBeane have this team in the right place and headed in the right direction. I hate to get ahead of myself but it feels like something real interesting is brewing for this season. Just feels like we're entering an era where a lot of big time stuff is gonna go down. We're here for it. Youse guys all just gotta Billieve!

Methinks we all probably underestimated the impact of Star Lotulelei has on that DL. People wanna whine that his numbers are never special but that's not what he's asked to do. He's asked to plug up the lanes and eat up blocks and free up his linebackers, and he's pretty good at it. I've noticed on more than a few plays that if he gets the leverage he wants, he's extremely difficult to move off the line. They're missing that right now but I have faith they can figure it out.

I'll give Lamar a mulligan on this one. If they do falter this season, I'll put it on Greg Roman. It's happened everywhere he's gone, he designs an offense that can lead the league in rushing year after year but his passing concepts have always been pretty elementary from what I've read. Once you stop his run game, he struggles to attack you through the air. It caught up to him in both San Francisco and Buffalo. Both teams could run the ball all day and do well with a lead. If they fell behind and had to throw it a bunch, forget it. If he can't adjust to help Lamar then they could have some trouble.

Solid breakdown, the guy obviously knows what he's talking about. I'm sure every QB watches the film on Monday and sees something he didn't see during the game. And I mean, if you're still executing the offense and being effective, does it matter that much if you're not throwing to your first read? Or throwing with anticipation? I know these are things JA will continue to develop but as it is right now, if the play is there it's there whether it's "see it-throw it" or an anticipation throw.

I told them not to trust that new doctor, what's his name... Dr. Hustin Jerbert.... yeah, sketchy character, that one.

I saw him out there once or twice. Honestly, I wouldn't expect a whole lot from him this season. Without a regular off-season and pre-season games to get used to the speed of the game at the NFL level I think it's tough to expect him to come right out and tear it up. He's also seen as a bit of a project, needs refinement in some areas. But the word on him coming out of college was that he doesn't do any one thing spectacularly, but he does all things well. A quote from an AFC exec or scout said something like, "Give him a year or two and we'll all be saying, dang, we over thought it with him."

Haven't seen much of him yet. I think they're working him in slowly after his injury. Not sure of his snap count, but I don't think it's very much. He was in on a run stuff vs. Miami but other than that, quiet start so far.

Strange how it just doesn't click for some guys. By all accounts, Zay is a hard-working dude that does his best to improve everyday. Very productive college career and led the Bills in receiving in 2018. But now he's kinda been forgotten, even in Vegas he's like the 5th option behind Ruggs, Agholor, Renfrow, and Waller.

Today was rough for injuries. Without a full regular off-season and zero pre-season games, I figured we'd see a lot of injuries early on. Bummer. Hopefully Knox is alright, and did anyone know how close Edmunds and Milano were to playing? I know Milano was ruled out earlier in the week. I thought there was a chance Edmunds would go but looks like they played it safe. They got something in Tyrel Dodson, kid made some plays today and always seemed to be buzzing around the ball. I'd even consider giving him some reps with Edmunds and Milano when they're back. Klein is an experienced vet but he's kinda just another guy.

Yeah, given the way Herbert has played today I'd keep him in there for good. He's the guy sooner or later anyway. He's looked pretty solid today.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Murphy mentioned this during the radio broadcast. With the heat and humidity they planned on rotating to keep guys fresh.

Incredible day for JA. So great to see a Bills QB rack up the numbers like this, been way too long. Some of the throws he made today were ridiculous. Everything down the field, I think his YPA was 17.9 or something. Crazy. For the second straight season, he displays growth and improvement in an area considered a weakness. After his rookie year, they said he couldn't throw the short/intermediate stuff. Comes out in '19 and shows marked improvement in that area. But struggled with the long ball and touch on certain passes. Two games into 2020 and he's shown fantastic improvement in that area. To see that type of progress is definitely promising. The best part about today's game for me was just watching him have total command of the offense. He's recognizing coverages better, he doesn't look to bail out of the pocket at the first sign of trouble, and he's got the confidence and swagger to try any throw. He dropped some dimes today, wasn't reckless, didn't force anything, but didn't shy away either. Hope it keeps rolling for him. Love it.

I'm worried that you guys worry too much.

I was never on the "cut Murphy" bandwagon. But good lord, Joe B couldn't stop talking about it all summer. He had to delve into the cap stuff and whatever money they'd save. It's not like the dude is on a record breaking deal. I've always figured you can never have enough solid DL/pass rushers. And McDermott's defense has always depended on a really strong DL. On top of that, we don't know if Murphy was at or even near 100% healthy in '18 and '19. And yeah, I'm aware that no player is 100% as the season progresses but I say this in regards to the injury he's dealt with for a while now. He's also part of a rotation that McDermott sticks to pretty religiously so these guys aren't playing 75% or more of the snaps. Plus they have their responsibilites on each play. Also, I like Darryl Johnson but without pre-season to evaluate whether he's taken the next step, it's tough to roll the dice on him right now, so it makes perfect sense to keep a veteran who seems to be returning to the player he was before his injury. Maybe even better. I've said this before but Beane and McDermott bring in guys for more than just their on-field production. They're obviously very big on culture and finding the right type of players for that culture. They want guys like Murphy in the building because they want their rookies and young guys to observe his practice and preparation habits and emulate those. The entire approach to team building and how they operate everything is such a huge contrast to how things were run for the last 20 years. Can't explain how nice it is to finally have competent leadership and how that's permeated through the building to create a team that players genuinely want to join.

It's strange what's happened to him in Cleveland. It's not like they don't game plan to get him his targets. I don't know if he's in his head or what but he hasn't been the same. Go back to the NFC. Packers would be smart to jump on this.