Who is the MVPs on the offensive and defensive side of the ball for the Buffalo Bills in Week 4?
The Buffalo Bills were in a dangerous look-ahead spot facing a down-trodden Houston Texans team just a week before the Bills are scheduled to play their biggest game of the regular season. The Bills did not overlook the Texans and they throttled them 40-0 to keep the momentum going into next week’s showdown with the Chiefs.
The blowout win was thanks in large part to these two players who are the MVPs for the Buffalo Bills on the offense and defense due to their performance against the Texans.
Buffalo Bills Offensive MVP: QB Josh Allen
The early part of the game did not go Josh Allen’s way as he struggled with command in the rain and sailed multiple passes. It was looking like an excellent advertisement for the Pegula’s to put a roof on their new stadium as their $258 million dollar franchise quarterback was struggling in bad weather yet again. But the struggles would not last for long; Allen found his command, and combined with a strong effort from the run game, the Bills offense completely eviscerated the Houston Texans.
Allen was in control of a Bills offense that gained 450 total yards and came away with points on 7 of their last eight drives of the game. Allen got in sync with Stefon Diggs, who had his first 100+ yard receiving game of the young season. In addition, there seems to be a point of emphasis to get Dawson Knox involved in the offense, and to this point in the season, it has been very effective. Knox’s had five receptions on Sunday, the most he’s had in a regular season game in his career. Know made the most of his opportunities, and he found the end zone twice, including a nice run after the catch on his 25-yard touchdown.
Allen made some plays with his legs and escaped the pocket to make some picturesque downfield throws. Josh Allen continues to slay the haters who have criticized his accuracy by completing 69% of his passes and being effective downfield in a game with horrible conditions for throwing the ball.
Given all the prior concerns about Allen’s accuracy, it says a lot about where he is at in his development that he completed 20 of 29 passes in a horrible weather game, and not much of a big deal has been made of it.
Buffalo Bills Defensive MVP: DT Star Lotulelei
The defense has been fantastic all year, but you can not help but mention the schedule they have faced. The quarterbacks the Bills have faced so far this season include Ben Roethlisberger, Tua Tagovailoa, Jacoby Brissett, Taylor Heinicke, and Davis Mills. There’s a fair chance that Davis Mills is the worst quarterback that will start in the NFL this year, and the Bills defense did what they should against a quarterback of that caliber.
Much of the Bills defensive improvement can be chalked up to their opponents, but they also have regained an essential piece of their defensive front. Star Lotulelei is back after sitting out last season and has been surprisingly one of the Bills pass rushers. The Bills defense forced five turnovers and five punts and only allowed six first downs and they held Davis Mills to a 0.8 QBR. Loutulelei was a big reason for this and showed up in the box score with three tackles, including a sack.
Lotulelei has always been a good run stuffer, but this pass-rushing production is a full-on awakening. He now has two sacks on the season through four games and is halfway to his career high of four, which he set in 2016. His pass-rushing ability has changed the way Lotueleli has been used, and he has started getting pass rush opportunities with the Bills using him as a three-technique.