By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Bills circled the wagons once again and topped the Cincinnati Bengals 21-17 in their home opener.
It looked like a tale of two halves for the Bills in this one. Buffalo looked good early and worried fans late. But when it was all said and done, the Bills remained undefeated
Here are five takeaways from the Bills’ win over the Bengals:
Let them stick around
Early in this one, the Bills were absolutely the better team. But it didn’t feel like it because anyone tuning in from out of town wouldn’t have known that. Statistically, the Bills’ team numbers were way better than Cincy’s, but on the scoreboard, the Bills were only up 14-0 at half.
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Quarterback Josh Allen started the game strong, but the offense couldn’t add to their early 8-0 lead. The Bills even got adventurous and converted on a two-point conversion following their first score. Buffalo’s next two scores came via field goals, and then the Bills a missed field goal at the end of the half. Turnovers didn’t help as TJ Yeldon fumbled in the first half and then Allen had an ugly second-half interception.
In such situations, the Bills have to learn to bury teams if they’re going to take the next step. The New England Patriots are on the horizon and they won’t be as forgiving as the Bengals.
Secondary did its job
Buffalo’s secondary had their best test to date this season, and with the Patriots on deck, that’ll be the real measuring stick. However, Andy Dalton entered this game as the NFL’s second-leading passer and John Ross was leading the NFL in receiving. The Bills secondary shut them down. Dalton went 20-for-36 with 249 yards passing with a touchdown and two interceptions. Ross had two catches for a mere 22 yards.
Prior to their final drive of the first half, Dalton only had seven yards passing. Then Micah Hyde stripped Ross, causing a fumble. In the second half, Tre’Davious White, who said the NFL sleeps on him last week, had his first interception of the season. His second wasn’t far behind as he iced the game with the game-sealing interception as the Bengals attempted a comeback of their own. White hauled in a tipped ball there.
All-in-all, you can’t fault the secondary for much in this one. Even Buffalo’s pass rush came to play once again, making things even easier for those on the back end. The Bengals got back into it, but when it came down to crunch time, this group delivered.
Frank Gore can lead the way
Last week the Bills lost rookie rush Devin Singletary to a hamstring injury. It doesn’t appear to be a long-term injury, but he still couldn’t go against the Bengals. That left the Bills with only Frank Gore and TJ Yeldon without LeSean McCoy (who scored two touchdowns for KC, by the way) around anymore.
As mentioned, Yeldon did have his early fumble which slowed Buffalo’s momentum. But it looked as if Yeldon took Singletary’s role in the offense. With Singletary, Gore still was leading the way, he do so again against the Bengals. But in Week 3, Gore showed even at 35 years old that he can still, somehow, lead the way. He’s an awfully impressive athlete.
Gore had 14 carries for 76 yards (5.4 average) and pounded in the game-winning score on the goal line. Gore showed an ability to even take carries outside the tackles, too. Yeldon had eight carries for 30 yards (3.8 average).
Josh Allen was spotty
Credit to Josh Allen. He’s added another fourth-quarterback comeback to his resume in this one, but there were a few sloppy mistakes you’d like to see cleaned up. His interception was one a rookie would throw. Allen was being chased and was out of the pocket… he could’ve just thrown the ball away. Instead, Allen went and tried to force one in there with his arm strength. That ended up costing the Bills seven points because the Bengals came back down and scored one of their own on the ensuing drive.
Then Allen also had a fumble that just appeared to look like he took the play off a second too soon. Looking to run out of bounds, Allen had the ball knocked from his hands on a scramble. Buffalo dodged a bullet there as they kept the ball after a review but he still can’t make such mistakes against better teams. Overall, Allen finished this one 23-for-36 passing for 243 yards with a touchdown and interception.
He grinded out that win, though. Can’t take that from him. Also worth noting somewhere in here is Dawson Knox’s three catches for 67 yards, a team high. He had his first touchdown since high school, too.
Offensive line brutal early
Through the first two weeks of the season, the Bills’ new-look offensive line looked pretty good. They did not look good against the Bengals at times. Defensive tackle Geno Atkins had the lone sack on Josh Allen. It came early in the game and helped kill some early momentum. But Allen was left to fend for himself far too often in this one. In total, the Bengals had seven QB hits on Allen.
Allen’s interception was a bad decision to throw the ball, but he was being chased out of the pocket. On too many plays, things just broke down for Allen. He was patience when he had time, it just wasn’t often enough. Eventually the Bills made a few moves on the line, too. Cody Ford started at right tackle, then Ty Nsekhe moved there. Ford saw some time on the line of the line, too. Things aren’t settled here yet for Buffalo.