Takeaways from the Buffalo Bills’ Week 2 win over the Miami Dolphins.
For the second-straight week, the Buffalo Bills had a final score line that was not indicative of how close the game really was. The Bills topped the Miami Dolphins (0-2) 31-28 to start their season 2-0.
Miami had a late touchdown drive that cut into Buffalo’s lead, but it was never really in doubt. Buffalo cruised against an AFC East opponent again.
Here are five takeaways from the Bills’ win over the Dolphins:
Heading into Week 2, everyone in western New York knew the Bills would miss the services of their starting linebackers. Both Tremaine Edmunds (shoulder) and Matt Milano (hamstring) missed the contest. Thus far, neither is on injured reserve and the Bills will hope they’re both back in Week 3 because Buffalo needs them. The Dolphins put up a perfect game plan against the Bills defense to take advantage of these misses.
In the middle of the field, tight end Mike Gesicki and slot receiver DeVante Parker took advantage of Buffalo’s holes. There’s a big drop off from Edmunds and Milano to former UDFA Tyrel Dodson and veteran AJ Klein. In addition, big defensive back Siran Neal tried to cover Gesicki, but he was way too much to handle, including his ridiculous one-handed grab.
Gesicki led the Dolphins with eight catches, 130 receiving yards and a touchdown on 11 targets. Parker had his own five catches and 53 yards with a touchdown of his own.
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott updates the injury status of linebackers Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano following win vs. Jets.
Still being a ways away from transparent, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott did indicate some good news in regard to the health of some of the team’s very important pieces on defense that were injured against the Jets in their season-opening win.
Both of the Bills’ starting linebackers, Tremaine Edmunds (shoulder) and Matt Milano (hamstring) were injured in the game. But it turns out they might not miss playing time after all. According to McDermott via video conference on Monday, all linebacker injuries sustained in Week 1 one are “pretty much” not long-term.
“They don’t appear to be long-term injuries at this point, based on what we know. So we’ll put them in the day-to-day category and we’ll continue to update you guys as we get information,” McDermott said.
Milano exited the game just prior to halftime while McDermott said that Edmunds was hurt when he attempted to tackle Jets wide receiver Jamison Crowder on his 69-yard touchdown in the second half. Worst case scenario, Edmunds could have suffered a dislocation or bone break. McDermott’s comments lead one to believe that this was not the case, though.
But Milano has had a history of hamstring injuries, so his situation might be the one to closely monitor this week.
Along with the two starters, two backups were injured as well against the Jets. Del’Shawn Phillips and Tyrel Dodson, who recorded his first-career sack in the win, also both left the game. However, McDermott grouped those four all together with his “pretty much” comment.
The Bills’ next official injury report will not come until Wednesday when the club turns their attention to their Week 2 opponent, the Miami Dolphins (0-1).
What We Learned, Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets, NFL Week 1.
One year ago, the Bills needed a furious fourth quarter rally to beat the Jets in the season opener, scoring 17 unanswered points to steal a win late at the Meadowlands. In the 2020 season opener, the Bills didn’t wait around to put the Jets down for the count.
Buffalo jumped out to a 21-0 lead halfway through the second quarter and were never really threatened in a dominating 27-17 victory over a Jets team that looked rather hapless. The 10-point margin of victory is not exactly indicative of how much the Bills controlled this game. Buffalo more than doubled the amount of first downs the Jets had (31-15), ran 81 total plays to the Jets’ 53, outgained the Jets by 150 yards, and dominated in time of possession (41:16 to 18:44).
Still, the Bills had enough slip ups that they allowed the Jets to hang around in the second half and keep the final score somewhat respectable. Buffalo could have been up by as much as 35 in the first half, but two Josh Allen fumbles short-circuited a pair of drives deep into Jets’ territory. The Bills then struggled for a while to deliver the knockout blow in the second half.
New placekicker Tyler Bass missed his first two field goal attempts, both in the third quarter. In between, Jets wideout Jamison Crowder slipped a Tremaine Edmunds tackle on a short pass from Sam Darnold and broke free for a 69-yard touchdown to bring the Jets within 11 (21-10) with 5:10 left in the third quarter.
The Bills locked the game down from there as Buffalo safety Jordan Poyer forced Chris Herndon to fumble on the Jets’ next possession and Jerry Hughes recovered. Bass rebounded to connect on field goal attempts of 22 and 19 yards in the fourth quarter to give the Bills a 17-point lead with 3:15 to play.
While the Bills had some hiccups along the way, they were in command from start to finish and had little trouble with the Jets on Sunday. The big story from the game was the play of Josh Allen, who became the first Bills quarterback to pass for 300 yards in a game since Tyrod Taylor in 2016 and the first since Kyle Orton in 2014 to do so in regulation. Allen completed 33 passes for 312 yards and used a well-designed passing game to pick apart a beleaguered Jets secondary. The only thing that stopped Allen was himself as he put the ball on the turf twice and had a couple of poor throws that could have gone for touchdowns if thrown accurately.
With that, are four things we learned as the Bills started the 2020 season with a victory at an empty Bills Stadium:
Bills quarterback Josh Allen. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)
The Passing Game Appears to Have Taken a Step Forward
Bills fans were treated to the full Josh Allen experience on Sunday. They saw the passing talent that has been so often promised since Allen was drafted seventh-overall in 2018. They saw efficiency and well-timed throws to open receivers. They also saw critical mistakes that Allen has become well-known for. He fumbled the ball away twice in the first half and also had some inaccurate throws that took touchdowns off the board. But overall, it might have been Allen’s most impressive game as a passer for the Bills in his three seasons in Buffalo.
Allen reached the plateau that so many Bills fans have been fixated on for years: the 300-yard passing game. It’s incredible enough that no Bills’ quarterback has done so in a game since 2016, but it becomes absolutely dumbfounding to think about how no Bills’ quarterback had thrown for 300 yards in regulation since 2014. That streak has finally been broken as Allen hit 312 yards.
The Bills’ passing game has often been a source of frustration in the past and quite frequently the weakness of many Bills’ teams from years gone by. That claim could have been made about last year’s Bills’ team. But on Sunday, the passing game looked like a strength for Buffalo.
The Bills built a 21-0 lead in the first half on the back of Allen and the passing game. Allen was sharp throwing the ball in the early going, hitting his first seven passes of the game. After an Allen fumble on Buffalo’s opening drive, they responded with three straight touchdown drives. Allen ran in for a two-yard score on the first touchdown drive and then threw touchdown passes to Zack Moss and John Brown on the next two drives.
Allen was efficient running the Buffalo offense in the first half, but much of the credit should also go to offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. The Bills had a well-conceived offensive scheme as they picked on a weak Jets secondary. The Bills forced New York to expose the most vulnerable part of their defense by starting the game with four wide receivers on the field. Daboll also utilized the screen game effectively as the Bills created easy throws for Allen that were well blocked and resulted in sizable gains. The touchdown throw to Brown was an inside screen that actually came on an audible at the line of scrimmage by Allen when he saw the Jets’ secondary playing well off Brown.
The Bills also got their new toy involved. Stefon Diggs, the most notable offseason addition by the Bills, caught eight passes for 86 yards in his Buffalo debut. Six of his receptions went for first downs. His presence allowed Brown to see single coverage.
Even with Diggs in the fold, Brown still has a chance to post another big season as defenses focus their attention on the receiver the Bills traded a first round pick for. Brown enjoyed a nice day on Sunday with six catches for 70 yards and his touchdown reception.
Even though the offense was slowed a bit in the second half, they showed enough in getting out to a 21-0 lead that you have to be encouraged by their potential for the rest of the season. It’s only one game, but the passing offense certainly looks stronger to start 2020.
Buffalo Bills 2020 training camp preview of linebackers.
The Buffalo Bills are putting the final touches on their preparations for training camp in 2020, one that’s not going to be like any other.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, everyone from fans to the organization knows things aren’t going to be the same during 2020’s camp. Safety precautions between players and owners are still being discussed and worked out.
Still, the end goal for training camp is the same as usual. The Bills need to trim their roster down and find the best bunch of guys to send into battle together on game day.
Bills Wire will go group-by-group, breaking down each position ahead of camp’s expected start on July 28. This round is the linebacker position:
Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. (AP Photo/Roger Steinman)
Players (age)
Mike Bell (22: Rookie)
Tyrel Dodson (22: 2nd season)
Tremaine Edmunds (22: 3rd season)
Vosean Joseph (22: 2nd season)
AJ Klein (28: 8th season)
Tyler Matakevich (27: 5th season)
Matt Milano (25: 4th season)
Del’Shawn Phillips (23: 2nd season)
Corey Thompson (26: 3rd season)
2019 recap
Traditionally a unit where you’re used to seeing three or four starters, the Bills’ linebacker position really only has two. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott often plays a nickel defense with Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano featured on the field. And that’s pretty much been the status quo for the Bills over the past two season. Edmunds has developed into one of the NFL’s best young middle linebackers, while Milano’s turned into your prototypical, modern-day smaller linebacker that can make plays.
But even with the base two linebackers the Bills play, Lorenzo Alexander also had his important role the past few seasons which we’ll get into. Behind the starting group, the No.1 fill-ins have been Corey Thompson and Julian Stanford in recent seasons, both of which have also played special teams. However, in an effort to bolster that unit, Stanford was replaced heading into 2020.
Now here’s a rundown of storylines to follow in this position group:
How is Lorenzo replaced?
Despite potentially hinting at a return to the field, the Bills can’t bank on Alexander being in the fold when the 2020 season gets underway, so they’re going to have to replace his important role on the field. In regard that, Alexander, like in his complete career, did just about everything for the Bills. He defended passes in coverage, got after the quarterback, and all while lining up as a stand-up linebacker and sometimes with his hand in the dirt. Alexander was legitimately all over the field for the Bills and it’s hard to find one guy who can do that again.
Moving forward, enter… well, a few guys. Buffalo signed AJ Klein this offseason, who previously has experience in McDermott’s defense in Carolina. But he’s not exactly known as a pass rusher or do-it-all type of guy. Perhaps there’s a spot where Vosean Joseph comes into the fold, too. Joseph missed his entire rookie season in 2019 due to injury, but as a bit more athletic guy, he could find himself on the field. Don’t overlook Corey Thompson, either. He’s backed up for both Edmunds and Milano over the past two years, so his versatility could help him take some of Zo’s snaps as well. Guys like Tyler Matakevich, Tyrel Dodson and Mike Bell have better looks making the roster on special teams. The Bills will figure all this out in training camp.
The Bills announced on Monday that the team came to terms with 10 players on a reserve/ future contract.
The contract type keeps a player tied to a team but it doesn’t go into effect until the new league year in 2020. Typically the type of contract is used for practice squad players.
The 10 players signed by the Bills were:
TE Nate Becker
LB Tyrel Dodson
WR Nick Easley
CB Cam Lewis
WR Ray-Ray McCloud
LB Del’Shawn Phillips
OL Victor Salako
RB Christian Wade
QB Davis Webb
DE Jonathan Woodard
Of note on the signees, McCloud was a sixth-round pick of the Bills in 2018, was cut earlier this year, signed with the Panthers and re-signed with the Bills after Carolina cut him. Lewis attended the University at Buffalo and spent the entire season on Buffalo’s practice squad.
Wade was the Bills’ internationally allocated player who used to be a rugby star. Woodard signed with the Bills just last week when Eddie Yarbrough signed with the Vikings. Dodson was a undrafted rookie signee of the Bills who was placed on the exempt list year as the NFL investigated an off-field issue involving him. Webb is the guy in the photo above, he was on Buffalo’s practice squad all year.
