Bills Mafia… you can take a deep sigh of relief as the Buffalo Bills had an epic collapse against the Los Angeles Rams, but eventually came back in the final seconds as quarterback Josh Allen found his tight end in Tyler Kroft in the corner of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown in a 35-32 decision. It was a sensational start for the Bills as they had a 28-3 lead in the third quarter, but then the defense collapsed in the third quarter and defensive tackle Aaron Donald of the Rams started wearing down the Bills offensive line.
It was a thriller from start to finish and moved to 3-0 on the season. It was a game of highs and lows for the Bills and the play of few represented that inconsistent play.
Following the win, let’s take a look at Week 3’s stock report for the Bills:
Stock up
Josh Allen
Quarterback Josh Allen has had a tremendous start to the 2020 season, with 1,046 passing yards, an average completion percentage of 71 percent and 12 total touchdowns. Not bad. The Bills needed five touchdowns from Allen on Sunday. The quarterback from Wyoming completed 72.7 percent of his passes, threw for 311 yards, and four touchdowns against the Rams. He also rushed for a touchdown, the 19th of his career. Allen was also dropping dimes throughout the game against a stout Rams secondary. The likes of wide receivers Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis benefited most from these passes with the two receivers combining for 181 yards on 10 grabs.
Allen didn’t have a perfect game, he was sacked four times, threw a controversial interception, and had the ball stripped from his hands. With that being said, he was the reason the Bills won the game. His deep shots to Davis and Beasley electrified Bills Stadium, and helped lead the team to victory.
Devin Singletary
After a few weeks in the proverbial dog house, Devin Singletary had a great game against Donald and the Rams. Singletary had 13 rushing attempts for 71 yards, an eye watering 5.5 yards per carry. His performance against the Rams was reminiscent of his rookie season, he was making defenders miss in the backfield and powering through smaller defensive backs in the open field. It was a refreshing performance because in the past two weeks the sophomore back looked stagnant, hopefully this can be the game that propels his season forward.
While he contributed in the run game, he also caught four passes for 50 yards, an average of 12.5 yards per catch. He tallied a combined 121 yards, creating plenty of drive extending plays.
Tyler Kroft
If at the beginning of the week someone had tweeted that tight end Tyler Kroft would have two touchdown catches, and one being the game winner, many would be skeptical. Kroft did just that though, he had just four catches, for 24 yards, and two scores. While not eye-popping numbers, he was incredibly efficient and incredibly clutch. Like Singletary, this could be a game that kicks starts Kroft’s season.
Gabe Davis/Cole Beasley
This is cheating, but the Bills passing attack was led by these two receivers. Davis had his first career touchdown against the Dolphins in Week 2. Against the Rams he had a career high in catches and yards, he had four grabs for 81 yards, and was a safety blanket for his quarterback in the first half. His highlight play came in the form of a 39-yard reception where he displayed some great footwork to drag his toe down the sideline… great technique from the rookie.
Cole Beasley had another great game in a Bills’ uniform, he had six grabs for 100 yards, an average of 16.7 yards per reception. Beasley had an incredibly clutch catch on the Bills’ game-winning drive, where he picked up 24 yards on a third-and-22. This was an important step for the Bills offense who didn’t need to rely on either Stefon Diggs or John Brown to make plays for the unit, instead having contributions across the board, a good sight to see.
Honorable mentions:
The defense got absolutely rinsed in the second half against the Rams, but the first half looked like they were going to shoutout Rams QB Jared Goff & Co. The defense was bolstered by the return of linebacker Matt Milano who tallied one sack, and a Levi Wallace interception… even rookie AJ Epensesa got in on the action. The former Hawkeye tallied his first sack of his career on a Goff rollout.