The Buffalo Bills flew to New Jersey to take on the New York Jets in Week 1, and they were fortunate to sneak out of MetLife Stadium with a 17-16 victory. While the game may not have been pretty, a win counts as a win regardless of how aesthetically pleasing it may have been.
While some players seemed to have better days than others, a few of our players to watch acquitted themselves quite well in the victory. Here’s a recap of the players we focused in on against the Jets.
QB Josh Allen
Statistically, it sure wasn’t pretty for Allen, who was credited with four turnovers on the day. Of those four turnovers, though, three of them were just bad luck. A ball that, while poorly placed, deflected off of Cole Beasley’s hip found its way into the hands of Jets linebacker C.J. Mosely, who returned it 17 yards for a touchdown. Another tipped pass resulted in an interception. Center Mitch Morse snapped the ball into his own leg rather than Allen’s hands, resulting in a fumble on a fourth-and-one. Allen lost a fumble on a strip-sack where his ball security certainly could have been better, and he also had a pick called back via penalty and another one dropped by safety Marcus Maye. There were negatives, to be sure.
However, Allen’s final line was respectable, as he completed 65% of his passes for only the third time in a game in his career. He threw for a career-high 254 yards, and was responsible for both of Buffalo’s touchdowns. He ran one in from three yards out with just over ten minutes left in the fourth quarter, and he also hit John Brown on a 38-yard touchdown with three minutes left to win the game. Allen wasn’t perfect, but he looked decisive and accurate at all levels of the field. He was in command of the offense, and he didn’t let the poor start rattle him. If this is another step in his development, then there should be even more positives to come.
RB Devin Singletary
The real star of our watch group was Singletary, who was on a milk carton in the first half of the game, but turned in a phenomenal second half to power the Bills to victory. Singletary made the most of his nine touches, gaining a total of 98 yards from scrimmage. He caught five passes for 28 yards, and while he did drop a screen pass in the first half, he showed himself to be an adept receiver overall. He was even more impressive as a runner, carrying the ball only four times, but gaining 70 yards—an absurd 17.1 yards per carry average. Frank Gore out-carried Singletary by a nearly three-to-one margin, but the results suggest that should change.
OT Cody Ford
The second-round pick started at right tackle, but he did not remain there for the whole game. The team instead rotated Ford with veteran Ty Nsekhe on the right side. At various times, guard Jon Feliciano, Ford, and Nsekhe struggled, as the Jets were able to shut down the Bills’ rushing attack for the majority of the game. As we already established, however, there wasn’t much rushing to be had early on. Ford was solid enough in pass protection, and he wasn’t a revolving door like the man he replaced in the starting lineup, Jordan Mills. So on that front, he was an upgrade in Week 1.
DT Ed Oliver
Oliver had two tackles and a hit on quarterback Sam Darnold, but he could have had more. Early in the game, he blew through the Jets’ offensive line only to miss the sack. He was able to penetrate and command double teams throughout the afternoon, which allowed the Bills’ second level—specifically Tremaine Edmunds—the space to make plays. Surprisingly, Oliver found himself dropping into pass coverage on a few occasions, which gave me some bad Rex Ryan-era flashbacks that I had repressed for a while. It was a good-not-great debut for the ninth overall pick.
K Stephen Hauschka
Here’s how important kickers are in the NFL. Buffalo had four turnovers, lost the time of possession battle (32:01-27:59), and didn’t score until the end of the third quarter. But that first score was a 43-yard field goal courtesy of Hauschka, who also nailed both of his extra points on the day. Conversely, Kaare Vedvik missed an extra point and a 45-yard field goal on the day for the Jets. Hauschka looked healthy, kicking four touchbacks in addition to his scoring boots. The veteran kicker is all systems go.