It was closer than what fans may have hoped for, but the Buffalo Bills are coming back to the East Coast at 5-1, going 2-0 out on the West Coast with their 33-30 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. The Bills led by no more than 10 points throughout this game, and they had a rough first half. However, the Bills picked it up and were able to make some solid plays on both sides of the balls (mostly offense), and now they are celebrating a hard-fought victory.
The Bills now head into their bye week at 5-1, remaining on top of the AFC East and they will get the chance to relax, get healthy, and get extra preparation for the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8. With that, there are 8 immediate takeaways from this win, with some being good and some being not so good.
8 takeaways from Bills' closer-than-expected win over Raiders
1.) C.J. Gardner-Johnson lost all trust with unnecessary ejection
The Bills' secondary already has huge issues, but the unit took a hit when C.J. Gardner-Johnson was ejected in the second quarter. It looked like he may have spit towards TE Brock Bowers which is just completely unacceptable. Games get chippy and emotions get high, but there is no reason for that kind of action by anyone. Gardner-Johnson may have just lost all trust from the fans.
2.) Josh Allen made the most Josh Allen play
In the third quarter to take a 23-13 lead, Josh Allen made the most Josh Allen play that Bills fans have seen plenty of times throughout his career. On a 3rd down, Allen scrambled out of the pocket, juked out a defender, and flicked the ball forward in the air to connect with Keon Coleman for the touchdown. Bills fans are used to seeing these kinds of plays by Allen, and he did it once again which was amazing.
3.) Penalties, penalties, penalties
To be fair, the penalties against Buffalo wasn't as bad as they have been the last couple of weeks. However, they are still playing some undisciplined football as they were called for 8 penalties for 77 yards. The Bills escaped undisciplined football once again, but that won't always be the case. They cleaned it up a little bit from their 13 penalties last week, but not a whole lot.
4.) Davison Igbinosun is catching good attention
He's not perfect, and he's still a little handsy in coverage. However, Igbinosun has taken advantage of his opportunities this season and this game was no different. He had two key 3rd-down stops where he was targeted and he batted the ball away. He is proving to be the corner that should be opposite of Christian Benford, not Maxwell Hairston.
In addition, Igbinosun had 3+ pass breakups, making him the first rookie to do so since Benford did it in 2022, per Nick Suss of ESPN.
5.) Rushing attack wasn't as dynamic as expected
Coming into this game, the Raiders were giving up 140 yards on the ground to opponents, but Buffalo's rushing attack just couldn't get anything consistently going. The Bills rushed for 103 total yards, with James Cook leading the way with 95 yards and a touchdown. I was expecting more of a rushing attack by Buffalo, but that clearly wasn't the case.
6.) 3rd-down defense remains a weakness
The Jim Leonhard experiment as the defensive coordinator is not going well so far through six games, and part of the reason why is because of Buffalo's 3rd-down defense. Overall, Buffalo's defense only forced 2 three-and-outs which is not a great look for the defense. However, the 3rd-down defense continues to be an issue.
The Raiders converted on 7/12 3rd-down tries. Not being able to stop an offense on 3rd-downs are potential game-losing stats and it almost became one for the Bills. Luckily, having Josh Allen leading the offense can save you.
7.) Bills definitely need DJ Moore (but sitting him was the right decision)
Since Week 2, DJ Moore has been dealing with a shoulder injury that has been aggravating him. It got to the point where he couldn't finish Week 4 against the New England Patriots. He had missed last week's game against the LA Rams, and he was ruled inactive this week against the Raiders. The passing attack looks very different without him (and it isn't for the better). They aren't as dynamic, and had it not been for Keon Coleman stepping up, who knows if they would have as much as success as they did.
At the same time, resting Moore these last two games was the best choice. It's more important to have Moore healthy for the remainder of the season at 100% rather than taking a high chance of him injuring that shoulder even more. With the Bills on a bye next week, he should be ready to go for Week 8 against the Baltimore Ravens.
8.) Tyler Bass was the real MVP
Tyler Bass put up 15 points himself, going 3/3 on PAT attemps, and 4/4 on field goal tries with his longest one being 47 yards. He also managed to make it a two-score game with under 2 minutes to go which took pressure off of the Bills late in the game.
Bass has yet to miss a field goal try this season, which is showing that he is earning the trust back of Bills Mafia after a few inconsistent seasons prior to him missing the entire 2025 season with a pelvic injury.
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