Winning in the NFL is incredibly tough, parity or not. That the Buffalo Bills are now 6-1 with a rookie head coach in Joe Brady all while facing a difficult schedule to begin the season is no small feat. Winning is, however, expected with Josh Allen playing quarterback. That also means being willing to admit that it really isn’t how a team wins, but that it continues doing so in the face of adversity.
ESPN Bills beat reporter Nick Suss put it best after Buffalo’s latest win was official, saying “(a)
lot of first-world problems to address coming out of this one, but when your ‘ugly wins’ are 26-point bludgeonings of fellow contenders, allow yourself a few smiles. There was also this gem from Sal Capaccio of WGR 550 stating, “I feel like I say or tweet something like this just about every week. Bills now have 36 points and I have no idea how.”
Those are two statements that properly encapsulate Buffalo’s mystifying Week 8 win. Sometimes fans need to be reminded that it’s okay to enjoy winning, allowing concerns to settle in during a later time. It’s also true that the Bills continue confounding many folks.
Brady’s first go as the lead man after a bye deserves an incomplete at best. Yes, his team won, he gets the victory, but it was anything other than a commanding performance. One will likely wonder how this game unfolds if quarterback Lamar Jackson doesn’t get injured on Baltimore’s first offensive play.
The Bills were a revelation on defense — which deserves both applause in what defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard was able to scheme up, but also a dose of reality in remembering that Buffalo faced an emergency quarterback named Joe Fagnano after Jackson and then backup quarterback Tyler Huntley were lost to injury. That isn’t to take away from what the defense did, specifically what the defensive backfield did to completely erase wide receiver Zay Flowers from the game.
Flowers was wholly irrelevant to the game’s outcome. Sure, some of that is due to enduring two changes at quarterback. Yet, Bills defensive back Te’Cory Couch played a masterful game against Flowers regardless of the situation.
Then there was the mighty Derrick Henry. Buffalo has a complicated history with the certain future Pro Football Hall of Famer, but their latest effort against him went mostly their way. Henry finished with 53 yards on 12 carries, adding a touchdown run, and having a second one called back by penalty. You can’t ask for much more than that in working to limit Henry’s damage.
A truly bizarre game, this is one where the defense carried the day until the offense began to click late. In the modern NFL, holding any NFL team to 10 points is a heck of an accomplishment. Optics matter, and that means recognizing how Jackson’s loss affected Baltimore’s game plan. Still, it’s great to see the Bills play a solid game on defense, all things considered.
There’s plenty of work to do, as Nick Suss stated, and the team will continue being evaluated against a higher standard, where even the slightest flaw will be dissected against what their chances are in postseason play and, hopefully, a fruitful path to the Super Bowl.
Buffalo must get better play in all phases. Today’s effort smelled a lot like a team struggling to re-focus after a bye, at least in the first half. Playing one half of football may catch up with Allen and the Bills in time.
Right now, 6-1 looks fantastic on Buffalo. Up next is a primetime date with the 6-1 Minnesota Vikings and their fearsome defense.
