The Buffalo Bills are 2-0 for the first time since the 2014 season. After coming from behind to beat the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in Week 1, the Bills had to travel back to New Jersey for their second straight road contest. This one was never in doubt, as the Bills dominated almost from the jump en route to a 28-14 victory over the New York Giants.
Our five Bills to watch all performed well, or were at least major parts of the storyline from the game. Here is how our spotlight players performed on Sunday.
QB Josh Allen
I know it’s early, and I know it’s a small sample size, but I don’t know how you can watch Allen over the season’s first two weeks and not come away impressed. He was efficient and effective in the pocket again on Sunday, completing 19-of-30 passes (63%) for 253 yards and one touchdown. He also added seven rushes for 21 yards and a touchdown on the day. Sure, the touchdown pass was a glorified hand-off, as he tossed a shovel-pass to wideout Isaiah McKenzie, who took the ball 14 yards for the score. But Allen made a whole host of great throws, including a few while on the move that not too many people on Earth can make. After only completing at least 60% of his passes in a game once over his first 11 career games, Allen has now done it in three straight contests, dating back to last season’s finale against the Miami Dolphins. He’s turning a corner and starting to look like the franchise quarterback Brandon Beane saw when he made Allen the No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
WR John Brown
The diminutive wideout came up big for the second straight week, catching seven passes for 72 yards against the Giants. Allen targeted Brown eight times on Sunday, making the seven catches that much more impressive. On the year, Brown has 14 catches on 18 targets, 195 yards, and one touchdown. All of those are team-highs through the first two games of the year. Brown has been worth every penny of the big contract he signed in March, and the Bills should be given kudos for securing his services just one offseason after being spurned by the same player.
RT Cody Ford/Ty Nsekhe
The Bills have rotated their right tackles pretty evenly through two games, but the veteran has been far more effective in his time on the field than the rookie. In fact, Buffalo’s offense has been better with Nsekhe at right tackle, as well, as five of Buffalo’s six touchdown drives have come while Ford was on the bench. This could be purely coincidental, but Nsekhe wins the eye-test battle so far. Additionally, the Bills have protected better while he’s been playing. Nsekhe was injured early in the game yesterday, but he walked off under his own power and returned to the game. Perhaps the coaching staff sees what we see and will start allowing Nsekhe to play more, which is in no way a knock on Ford—the young tackle is going to be a very good, if not great, offensive lineman. At this point, however, Nsekhe should receive the lion’s share of snaps based solely on performance.
LB Tremaine Edmunds
Containing Saquon Barkley and Evan Engram is easier said than done, but the Bills were able to do it about as well as could be expected. While Barkley managed to run for 107 yards and one touchdown in the game, the majority of his production—four carries, 55 yards, one touchdown—came on the game’s first possession. After that, the team held Barkley to 14 carries for 52 yards, and a large part of that was due to Edmunds plugging holes and hitting New York’s star running back hard. Barkley was not terribly effective as a receiver, either, catching three passes for 28 yards. Add in Engram’s line (six catches, 48 yards), and there are a whole lot of positives for Buffalo’s interior defenders. Edmunds finished the game with seven tackles and one pass breakup—another solid outing for the tremendously talented linebacker.
S Jordan Poyer
The Bills’ defense was lights-out after that first possession, and while Poyer didn’t have a huge day on the stat sheet, his presence was obvious. He made two tackles, had one pass breakup, and had one interception on the day. But, as the numbers for Barkley and Engram would suggest, he was excellent in coverage as per usual.