You could watch football for the next 50 years and not see a better game than what we all witnessed on Sunday Night Football. The Bills had almost no chance of winning after falling behind 40-25 late in the fourth quarterback, but nobody circles the wagons better than Buffalo.
Here are the biggest winners and losers from a wild Week 1 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Winner: Josh Allen, QB
What more can we say about Josh Allen at this point? The Bills have proven that they are never out of a game with him under center and that he makes the impossible possible. The Bills scored 22 points in the fourth quarter despite multiple failed two-point attempts and it didn’t matter because Allen put on his cape and showed the rest of the league why he deserves to be the MVP.
Allen finished the game with over 400 yards and four touchdowns, giving the Bills one of their best wins in franchise history. He had 251 passing yards in the fourth quarter, which was more than almost every single other starting quarterback had during Week 1 There is a lot that the Bills have to clean up over the next four months, but the fact that they have No. 17 makes them the favorites to come out of the AFC this year.
Winner: Keon Coleman, WR
It wasn’t the best day for Coleman, but you saw the flashes of brilliance and why the Bills believe in the former second-round pick so much. Coleman finished the game with eight catches for 112 yards and a touchdown, but he also drew multiple penalties that set the Bills up in scoring position.
The Bills are going to use a heavy committee at wide receiver, but Coleman could become the top option in the passing game this year after earning a team-high 11 targets in Week 1. Coleman still needs a lot of refinement, but this was arguably the best game of his career and it came against one of the top secondaries in the league. For a player who so many are predicting a sophomore breakout season, it was nice to see him shine in Week 1.
Winner: Ed Oliver, DT
There isn’t another defensive player who deserves to be on this list after giving up 40 points to the Ravens, but it was Ed Oliver who saved the day for Buffalo. Not only did he force the fumble on Derrick Henry to change the entire outcome of the game, but he had three tackles for a loss, a sack, and a QB hit. He finished second on the team in tackles with six and was nearly unblockable all night.
Oliver is the best defensive player for the Bills, and he sure showed that in Week 1. Buffalo has a lot to fix on that side of the ball, but the fact that Oliver can be a game-wrecker should give fans confidence that they will figure this thing out.
Loser: Safeties
The Bills should be in the market for a safety on Monday, as Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop were awful in Week 1. They didn’t provide any help in the run game, and their inability to tackle led to several big runs to Derrick Henry. They were also frequent targets in the passing game, and neither player looked like they belonged on the field.
The starting safeties were already a major concern heading into Week 1 and nothing has changed since. In fact, this performance by Bishop and Rapp might cause the front office to make a move in the upcoming weeks considering how poorly they performed in Week 1.
Loser: The Run Game/Short Yardage
The Bills managed to run the ball 31 times on Sunday but racked up just 108 yards for 3.5 yards per carry. It helped that Ty Johnson managed to break off a 17-yard run, but that was the biggest play of the night on the ground.
Buffalo still struggles in the short yardage game, and that is something that will need to be fixed as the season goes on. Too many times, they were stuffed for no gain and needed Josh Allen magic to convert what should be easy first downs. The run game usually gets better as the season progresses, but this was not a strong start for James Cook and Ray Davis (14 combined carries for 46 yards).