The Buffalo Bills beat the Raiders 33-30 in Week 5 on the road. Tahe game wasn’t quite as close as the score would indicate. Nonetheless, the Bills to head into their bye week at 5-1.
These are my takeaways from Buffalo’s victory.
That was a better defensive performance
It just felt like one, didn’t it? Yes, the unit allowed 30 points, thereby technically raising its average points per game surrendered, and the 6.2 yards yards per play was relatively high.
But through the first 58 minutes, the Raiders defense had scored 23 points and managed
344 yards at 5.7 yards per play. The late touchdown to Tre Tucker was both and exquisite throw and catch and made the score closer than this game really felt to me.
We saw 11 snaps from rookie safety Jalon Kilgore, 22 from Kaleb Elarms-Orr, 26 from Maxwell Hariston, 30 from T.J. Sanders, and a career-high 41 from T.J. Parker. None of those youngsters were spectacular. They all held their own, making an impact play or two during this youth-movement outing. I’m so glad these youngsters are starting to get real opportunities.
The Raiders ran at 3.3 yards per carry. Buffalo is allowing 3.8 yards per tote through six games, the fifth-lowest rate in football. Their EPA figures there are still near in the bottom fourth of the league. But it’s clear the run defense has been better than a season ago.
Is the Bills defense where it needs to be?
Certainly not.
Despite the 30 points allowed, did the much-maligned unit take a step in the right direction?
I thought so.
Josh Allen was calm, cool, and collected
Allen had an adjusted completion rate — when spikes, throwaways, and times when a quarterback is hit as he throws are omitted — of 86.7% against the Raiders. That’s very high. The highest rate he’s accomplished to date this season.
He looked confident, unhurried, and trusting of his mechanics.
The ball placement was superb throughout the contest, and of course he provided a heavy dose of improvisational brilliance. I thought it was Allen’s best game since at least Week 2, if not Week 1 against the Texans.
James Cook’s emphasis on securing the football did not hurt his performance
OK, so he did only rush at 4.3 yards per attempt in this game, lower than his average of 5.6 coming in. There were still plenty of incredibly creative weaves through the middle of the Raiders defense in this game, and Buffalo’s star runner did not look slowed whatsoever when turning the corner or exploding through the second level.
In fact, it marked the second-consecutive game in which Cook was a shoestring tackle away from busting a long one. That feels imminent.
Of course, the offensive line is integral here, yet I can’t help myself in writing this — I think Cook has become the NFL’s best interior runner, something I never would’ve believed would come true when watching his film at Georgia. He regularly cuts so sharply off his blocks, sets up others, and hardly loses momentum in the process.
Then, couple that speciality with his insane cornering ability and breakaway speed — and yeah, he’s absolutely an elite back. He looked like one in this game, despite only averaging 4.3 yards per. His 153-yards from scrimmage on 25 touches represented a reasonably heavy workload but the type of utilization of Cook many have asked for all season.
Keon Coleman is slowly but surely emerging
Coleman hasn’t taken over in the absence of DJ Moore. Importantly, he’s been miles away from a liability. And so much of his Year 3 emergence has come from how well Joe Brady is utilizing him.
He was in the slot just under 33% of the time in the past two contests. Against the Raiders, Coleman was deployed in the slot or in-line at close to 20% of his routes. Better than the 12% as a rookie and 16% a season ago.
Coleman only has one drop, secured three of his four contested-catch opportunities, and 15 of his 19 grabs have gone for first downs. He’s slowly but surely becoming the effective big slot — who does still reside mostly on the outside — many believed was his lone path to success in the NFL when the Bills drafted him in 2024.
The pass rush was a problem once again
The Bills only pressured Kirk Cousins on 16.7% of his drop backs, a very low rate. We saw when they did get to him, he crumbled instantly.
Against Matthew Stafford, Buffalo only managed 23.2% of the time.
Those are really low pressure rates.
Greg Rousseau, and his 17.4% pressure rate — anything above 15% is excellent on the edge — is doing his part. He’s getting held on seemingly every other rep too. Deone Walker is a freak inside. His pressure rate is 11.2%. Anything above 10% for a defensive tackle is tremendous.
The rest of the group has been underwhelming individually, and while it feels like all we can do is criticize Jim Leonhard at this point, I’ve seen Buffalo’s stunting scheme and blitzes create a fair amount of the pressure the Bills defensive line has generated through these first six games.
The Bills have one of the NFL’s lowest pressure rates right now. That unit needs to be better collectively.
After the bye, the Bills will need more regular one-on-one wins from Bradley Chubb (11.6% pressure rate), Michael Hoecht (8.6%), T.J. Parker (4.6%), and maybe even Javon Solomon (one pressure on 15 pass-rush opportunities).
More man coverage please
Entering this game, the Bills were running man at the sixth-lowest rate in football. That is not a trademark element of the Leonhard system. Quite the opposite, really.
In this game against the Raiders, it felt like the best reps from Christian Benford, Max Hairston, and Davison Igbinosun came in man coverage.
Fewer holes in the secondary as a whole too.
Clearly, Leonhard is still working to identify the optimal identity of his defense this season with the Bills… but I have a suggestion — it should feature more man coverage.
