After a potentially heart-wrenching Week 3 performance by the Buffalo Bills, can they get ahead and shut the door on the Las Vegas Raiders in the second half?
So far for the Buffalo Bills this season, the story has been the same. Get a comfortable lead, get seemingly out adjusted at halftime, and come out flat in the third quarter. In Week 3, it felt different because the Bills managed to extend their lead from 21-3 to 28-3 in the third quarter. That lead felt safe and the victory felt secure.
However, after an unquestionable mistake by Josh Allen to make a play and subsequential ruled “interception” made by John Johnson, the momentum swung in favor of the Rams. This led to 29 unanswered points scored by the Rams which then led to the roller coaster of a game-winning drive spearheaded by Allen and finished off by Tyler Kroft in the end zone.
The story for the Raiders was somewhat similar in the sense that they were in a close matchup with the Patriots in the first half, only losing by 3, 13-10. The Patriots did a great job of game-planning to take away the threat from Raiders tight end Darren Waller. By taking away Derek Carr‘s safety net in Waller, it made it difficult for the Raiders to drive down the field and convert 3rd downs consistently throughout the game.
With the Bills traveling to Las Vegas for the first time ever to play the Raiders, spectators should expect the Raiders to play a bit more desperate in this matchup. The main reason for this is that head coach Jon Gruden likely understands the concept of being ahead of schedule, for the Raiders that means being above .500 before they have to play the Kansas City Chiefs.
As for the Bills, they are fortunate to catch the Raiders when they are as the Raiders are currently riddled with injuries to their starting lineup.