Unleashed
Bills offense explodes as Buffalo beats Tampa Bay 44-32.
Any doubt that the offense no longer had it in them to go punch for punch with another team is now gone. The Buffalo Bills came out and showed the league what they were capable of on Sunday – capped by a six-touchdown performance by the leagues reigning MVP. All in a day’s work in an afternoon that saw ten lead changes in the game vs the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows though, as most games aren’t. The Bills run defense still surrendered over two hundred yards on the ground. It didn’t matter, though. Josh Allen was still able to put on the cape and carry the team to what was possibly their most impressive performance of the season.
The Good
Offensively, this is what the team looks like when they’re playing loose. This was the most wide open they’ve looked and the downfield passing game looked like a threat for the first time all season. The return of wide receiver Joshua Palmer and addition of wide receiver Gabe Davis proved to be the lift that the team needed. As well as a surprisingly good performance by Tyrell Shavers who nabbed four catches for 90 yards – capped off by a 43-yard bomb from Allen.
Josh Allen looked a lot like the old Josh Allen in this one. The game started out looking like we were going to get the same type of game that we’ve been getting all season – where everything looked way harder than it needed to, a couple of stupid turnovers, and the fan base wondering what happened to the guy that would run over three defenders just to get an extra yard. Then that guy showed back up – seemingly out of nowhere. Throwing down field with reckless abandon, running around like his hair was on fire, and overall looking like the superman that we’ve all grown accustomed to. Six touchdowns, three passing and three rushing, and two interceptions that included an ill-conceived two-handed chest pass. We got the full experience yesterday. Josh Allen giveth, and Josh Allen taketh away.
Defensively, what a game by Cole Bishop. Since the return of Jordan Poyer, Bishop has looked borderline like an all-pro. He made a hell of a play that resulted in an interception in the third quarter, and looks like he can be at least one of the long-term answers at the safety position. Terrell Bernard also had his best game of the season, piling up 11 tackles throughout this one.
The Bad
The defense wasn’t all good, however. This team cannot stop the run to save their lives. It was another game where they allowed over two hundred on the ground, and was only saved by the offenses ability to move the ball. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this team could be in trouble if they are unable to move the ball and score points on offense.
Turnovers also continues to be a huge issue. As previously noted, Josh threw two picks, one with that two handed chest pass, the other came on a 4th and 2 in-route that was probably the one time they should’ve tried to go to the flat. On top of that, there was a fumbled punt return by newest Buffalo Bill Mecole Hardman, as well as a fumble by running back Ty Johnson that he was able to recover.
My Take
They need to clean up the turnovers, and field some semblance of a defense. But, outside of that, this is what this team should look like. When you have an all-world quarterback, you should unleash him. You should allow him to take control of a game if he wants to and needs to. You should do so without worrying about things like balance or efficiency.
This looked like the team that was :13 away from getting past the Chiefs and heading to the conference championship in 2021. It looked like the team that could go out there and beat anybody. It looked like the team that could take this all the way to Delaware Ave for their Super Bowl parade. And this is exactly how the team should look going into Houston this week for Thursday Night Football.