Recapping five Buffalo Bills to watch against the Seattle Seahawks

The Buffalo Bills notched a big win on Sunday, defeating the Seattle Seahawks in the shootout that was promised. Buffalo’s 44-34 victory was a triumph of the Bills’ offense overcoming an offensive juggernaut in the Seahawks, who came into the game averaging 34 points per contest—and obviously still averaging 34 points per game.

It’s been a good 30 years since teams had to worry about outscoring the Bills, but Buffalo has proven that their offense is as good as any in the league this year when it’s firing on all cylinders. Some may discount Buffalo’s offensive outburst since it came against a horrendous Seattle defense, but those guys are still professionals—and the Bills still dropped 44 points on them.

Here’s how Buffalo’s key players performed on Sunday.

QB Josh Allen

Whoa. Allen was a man possessed on Sunday, marching Buffalo up and down the field at will all afternoon. In the first half alone, Allen completed 24-of-28 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns. I’m old enough to remember when that would be an unheard of total for a single game Allen played, but now that’s what he’s capable of putting up in a half! Allen finished the day with his second 400-yard passing game of the season, throwing for 415 yards while completing over 80 percent of his passes (31-of-38) on the day. Allen took seven sacks, but that was partly due to a blitz-happy Seattle defense that wanted him to find receivers quickly. Allen obliged them, and he led a stellar offensive attack. He added a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter that, for all intents and purposes, ended the game. The MVP talk around Allen may have cooled, but you can’t ask for much more out of the man than what he did last week, all while mourning the loss of his grandmother, who passed away on Saturday.

WR Stefon Diggs

Buffalo’s top wideout showed once again why he was worth the draft capital traded to acquire him, as he led all receivers in the game in targets (12), catches (9), and receiving yards (118). Not only did Diggs lead all wideouts in this game in those categories, but he actually leads the entire NFL in all of those categories. Diggs has been targeted 91 times, hauling in 63 receptions for 813 yards and three touchdowns on the year. A Bills player has never led the NFL in receiving yards or receptions. A Bills player never led the AFL in those categories, either, so Diggs is easily in the midst of the best receiving season in team history. At this rate, he will shatter the franchise records in receptions and receiving yards, both set by Eric Moulds. In 2002, he caught 100 passes, and in 1998, he was second in the NFL with 1,368 yards receiving. On his current pace, Diggs will have 112 receptions and 1,445 yards receiving.

G/C Jon Feliciano

The big man had to fill in at center, and he acquitted himself well at his second position. Mongo might have been part of an offensive line that allowed seven sacks, but Seattle blitzed constantly. The line gave Allen enough time to make big plays on the majority of his throws, and that’s all you can ask for in an offensive line. Hopefully, Feliciano will be able to slide back to his right guard spot next week if both Cody Ford and Mitch Morse can return to play left guard and center, respectively.

DE Jerry Hughes

Jerry made a big play on defense, and while his stat line isn’t as full as some other players (A.J. Klein, I’m looking at you) and his tape might not have popped as his best performance of the year (tip of the hat to Tremaine Edmunds, who finally looked like Tremaine Edmunds on Sunday), that big play set the tone for the second half. On Seattle’s first position after intermission, the Seahawks faced a 3rd-and-10 from their own 25-yard line. Hughes sacked quarterback Russell Wilson, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Tre’Davious White. While Buffalo was ultimately only able to convert a field goal (which should have been a touchdown, as replay showed receiver Gabriel Davis crossed the goal line even though he was ruled out of bounds at the two), that play kept Seattle from opening the half on a better note. Hughes added two quarterback hits to go with his one important sack.

S Micah Hyde

Buffalo’s safety duo was fully intact Sunday, as Hyde cleared concussion protocol and was able to start just one week after missing a game against the New England Patriots. Hyde played a big part in controlling the Seattle passing attack, though his buddy Jordan Poyer was the one who came down with the fourth-down interception. Hyde made six tackles on the afternoon while playing on all 65 of Buffalo’s defensive snaps.