These are the top 5 takeaways from the Buffalo Bills 44-34 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9.
The Buffalo Bills had their statement win on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks with a decisive win over the NFC West divisional leader. These are the top five takeaways from Week 9 for the Bills.
Defensive Statement
Against what is the most potent offense in the NFL in the Seattle Seahawks, not only did the Buffalo Bills hold their ground, they turned heads while doing it.
Midway through the NFL season, the biggest concern surrounding this 2020 Buffalo Bills team was their defensive play. Blown coverages, lackluster pass rush, and their inability to stop the run had fans worried if this year’s Bills would be any other Bills team. While this matchup on paper looked like a sure-fire 400+ yard day for Russell Wilson, the Bills had other plans.
Making timely stops, generating takeaways, and knocking down Wilson over 15 times was the key to stopping the Seahawks as Wilson can’t make throws if he is on the ground.
With the defensive display that Buffalo had today, much of what concerned fans has slipped away. Performances from A.J. Klein, who has had a rough go in Buffalo, Tre’Davious White, Tremaine Edmunds, and Levi Wallace seemed to have an answer for everything the Seahawks drew up.
Next week against the Arizona Cardinals, the Bills will have to prepare much of the same way as they take on another great offense. Players like Kyler Murray, who has a tendency to run more than Wilson, and De’Andre Hopkins will be another full plate for the Bills defense.
Revel in this statement win as it has taken nine weeks for this defensive unit to come together like this.
Josh Allen being Josh Allen
Though he has graduated from his Wyoming Cowboys uniform to a Buffalo Bills, Josh Allen looked like a certified gun-slinger today.
With perfect weather for a 415-yard game, Josh Allen torched one of the league’s worst defense in the Seattle Seahawks. He threw for three touchdowns and calling his own number for a rushing touchdown. The Bills quarterback looked like the player who was in the MVP talk earlier this season.
With him receiving much criticism in weeks prior to his inability to find the gear that he played in during the first few weeks, he answered. Being accurate on touch passes in the screen-game, taking risky deep shots to Diggs and Co. all while shrugging off multiple sacks, Allen had a day.
This is now what we expect to see out of Josh Allen on a weekly basis. Throwing for 300+ yards and multiple touchdowns is the level of play that Allen has shown he can rise to. Making a huge leap from the offseason to this season, he has cemented himself as the franchise quarterback without question.
Looking ahead to next week where Allen takes on a more respectable defense in the Cardinals, he will have to replicate his performance.
Glad to have you back, John!
Since the Los Angeles Rams game, the Buffalo Bills have been put under a microscope to try and determine what has happened to their offense. The answer must have been John Brown as his reactivation to the lineup today was a breath of fresh, and familiar air, to Bills fans.
Though Brown was active last week against the New England Patriots, he was more of a decoy than a route runner. While not at 100%, Sean McDermott threw Brown out on the field more to draw attention from Bill Belichick than be a threat in the passing game.
At, what seemed to be 100% against the Seahawks, Brown emphasized his nickname of ‘Smoke’ as he burned Seahawks defenders on eight receptions for 99 yards.
Brown delivers a different look to this offense when he is in it and when he is out of it. Being a predominantly vertical threat, his ability to get into the second level of the secondary has been greatly missed. It is guys like Cole Beasley, Gabriel Davis, and the running backs who have thrived in the slot. The problem occurs when those players try to fill in for Brown, being that virtual threat they need when none of them really are that.
Redemption for A.J. Klein
While his play in the past eight weeks cannot be erased in the heart and minds of Bills fans, A.J. Klein did his best to earn their trust back.
Being battered and bruised on social media for his inability to contribute really anything on the defensive side of the ball, Klein has struggled. He has been a liability in pass protection, has not contributed in protection, pass rush, or really any responsibilities of a linebacker.
With the signing of Darron Lee, many thought that Klein’s days in Buffalo would be done with once Lee is up-to-speed with the defense. Luckily for himself, Klein may have just bought himself another week or two with the Bills after his outing against the Seahawks.
Coming up with two sacks on the day, one of which was a strip-sack to give Buffalo the ball with excellent field position, this week was his best.
Head coach Sean McDermott has been very vocal on the play of his ‘backer and the resilience he has had. That showed up this week as, without Matt Milano, Klein recorded five tackles, two sacks and a tackle for a loss.
It is yet to be seen how Klein will fit into Leslie Frazier’s scheme once Darron Lee is comfortable enough to play, but we should take it easy on Klein. For now, that is.
Picture-perfect play-calling
So much has been made of the Bills ‘lack of identity’ halfway through the season. The question surrounding are they a run fist or pass-first team has always seemed to come up. While this is relevant when talking about fantasy football, in reality, the lack of identity has made it harder for defenses to game-plan against them.
Take last week’s game against the New England Patriots for example. Ditching the pass midway through the first quarter and showing a commitment to the run as we’ve yet to see from Brian Daboll. That decision paid dividends as Zack Moss and Devin Singletary had season-high performances rushing the ball as the Bills went on to a victory.
The same can be said for this game. Watching film from last week, Seattle most likely assumed that Buffalo would come out running the ball. To their surprise or expectation, Buffalo came out throwing the ball around the yard like it was seven-on-seven.
This is a testament to not only Daboll’s versatility as a play-caller, being able to adjust week-to-week, but a testament to the versatility of the players. This is all while being plug-and-play with a plethora of offensive lineman as the depth has been tapped into. Moving Jon Feliciano to center, Ford to guard, and tweaking his unit weekly, Daboll deserves as much of the credit for Sunday’s win as the players do.