Breaking down turning point in Buffalo Bills vs. Washington Commanders

After the Buffalo Bills went up 10-0 in the first quarter, it seemed as if the Bills were planning on taking over from there on out. In the second quarter, Buffalo only managed to put up six points to take a 16-0 lead.

With the Commanders coming back from an 18 point deficit against the Denver Broncos the week prior, this game was still within reach if the Washington offense managed to crawl their way back into the game. 

Even though it took until the fourth quarter, the turning point of the game that solidified the Bills to keep this game out of hand occurred when Sam Howell threw a dump-off pass to running back Antonio Gibson. He was tackled behind the line of scrimmage and fumbled the ball early in the fourth and all the momentum went back to Buffalo and it stayed there until the clock hit zero.

From there on out, the Bills scored on each drive (including a pick-six touchdown) and sacked Howell twice on the Commanders second-to-last offensive drive. 

Despite the Bills’ defense getting three interceptions before this turning point, the Buffalo offense was not able to capitalize with six points until the Gibson fumble. After going up 16-0, the Bills turned the ball over on downs and Josh Allen threw his first interception of the game (now his fourth on the season).

This game wasn’t necessarily sluggish for the Bills’ offense, but they were facing a good defensive unit. However, the Bills’ offense managed to protect Allen and they moved the ball well down the field on each possession as they only punted once (a total of two times in the last two weeks).

This defense for Buffalo looks different than last year. They are more physical and everyone is near or on the ball. The toughness that is being displayed is because of the scheme by Sean McDermott and they will be looking to make it three weeks in a row where they dominate an offense against the Miami Dolphins for a 1PM showdown.