By McKenna Middlebrook / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills have now moved to 8-3 after beating the Denver Broncos, 20-3 on Sunday. It was a defensive battle throughout most of the game but, Buffalo generated offense in key moments late in the game. At 8-3 this is the best start Buffalo has had since 1996. The team is currently holding onto a wild card spot in AFC postseason.
With that being said, here are the positional grades after Buffalo’s win vs. the Broncos:
Quarterback: C+
We will start with the ugly, Josh Allen threw a bad interception in the second quarter, as the pass sailed over the hands of John Brown and into the arms of Justin Simmons. Allen also had some ugly passes in the third quarter that should have been intercepted, but the Broncos secondary couldn’t handle Allen’s passes.
Outside of some ugly throws, Allen converted 15 out of his 25 throws, a completion percentage of 60 percent. On his 15 throws he had 185 yards, an average of 12.3 yards per completion. Allen also flashed his escape ability and mobility, he had multiple scrambles that resulted in first downs. This was shown by his 56 yards on the ground.
Allen also threw for two touchdowns on the day. In the second quarter he found Cole Beasley from 18 yards out, who created separation with his quick burst speed off the line of scrimmage. In the fourth quarter Allen hit the deep ball to John Brown which gave Buffalo their 17 point lead. Allen ended the game with 241 yards, a very productive game for the quarterback.
Running backs: B
Both running backs, Devin Singletary and Frank Gore were utilized plenty throughout the game. The two had 36 carries and combined for 171 yards. The weather at New Era Field wasn’t suitable for the passing attack, so the two backs needed to deliver and they did.
Rookie Devin Singletary got the start for Buffalo and had 21 carries for 106 yards, an average of 5.0 yards per carry. This was the first time that Singletary went over 100 yards in his career. Bills fans will want to see more of these performances from the rookie throughout the rest of the season.
Frank Gore had 15 carries for 65 yards, an average of 4.3 yards per carry. This was the best performance he has had in the last four weeks. It was during the fourth quarter though that Frank Gore reached 15,224 career yards, putting him third all time in NFL rushing yards.
The two backs didn’t contribute much in the passing game, Singletary had just one catch for eight yards. The two created were the work horses for Buffalo, and helped create much needed balance for Buffalo’s offense.
Wide receivers/tight ends: B-
John Brown’s streak of five catches for 50-plus yards ended on Sunday, with his two catches for 39 yards. His first catch came in the first quarter for five yards, but his second catch was the definitive touchdown that put the game to bed for Buffalo. It was an impressive, diving grab.
Cole Beasley had the most catches and receiving yards for Buffalo on Sunday. His six catches for 76 yards is an average of 12.7 yards per catch. His touchdown came in the second quarter which gave Buffalo a 13-point lead. Beasley now has four touchdowns on the season, leading the team.
Tyler Kroft and Dawson Knox both had catches on the day, Kroft had one catch for 14 yards. Knox had two catches for 11 yards. The receivers and tight ends didn’t have much to do on Sunday, but they were productive given their chances.
Offensive line: B+
The Bills offensive line had just two penalties against the Broncos, which is a massive improvement from their early season struggles. The first penalty was a hold by Jon Feliciano, and the second was a hold by Cody Ford.
The offensive line also gave up one sack, another improvement from earlier in the season. The offensive line created running lanes for Singletary and Ford, and consistent pocket for Allen to throw.
One of the bigger storylines heading into this one was All-Pro pass rusher Von Miller. He had a matchup against a struggling rookie in Ford as veteran Ty Nsekhe missed the game due to an ankle injury. Not a knock on Nsekhe, but he wasn’t missed at all as Ford had one of his best professional games to date. Von Miller had to tip his cap to Ford and left tackle Dion Dawkins following the game for their efforts.
Defensive line: B+
The Bills defense completely shutdown Denver on Sunday, this dominance started up front with their defensive line. The sack streak continued from last week with the Bills defensive line creating four sacks, in total. Defensive end Shaq Lawson had two sacks, rookie Ed Oliver had one, and Star Lotulelei had one as well. It was the second time in Lawson’s career he mustered two sacks in one game and he reached a single-season career-high, reaching five total sacks on the year.
The defensive line also clogged potential running lanes, which made it easier for the Bills linebackers and secondary to get in Denver’s backfield. This was highlighted by the lack of production from Phillip Lindsay, who had just 57 yards on 13 carries.
After the first quarter, the defense held Denver to just 85 rushing yards, a noticeable improvement from recent weeks. The defensive line did their job incredibly well which made the job of the rest defense very easy.
Linebackers: A-
Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano benefited from the strong defensive line play, the two were able to blitz more freely which led to them getting into the backfield or blowing up the plays at the line of scrimmage.
The two made great individual plays in coverage, this is especially true of Matt Milano. Milano made highlight tackles on the outside throughout the game, where he prevented Noah Fant from making big plays. Milano also broke up three passes and was very noticeable early out of the gate on Denver’s first offensive drive.
The two players combined for 12 tackles which contributed to the dominance of Buffalo’s defense on Sunday.
Secondary: A
Quarterback Brandon Allen threw for 82 yards and one interception. It’s safe to say that the Bills secondary did their job on Sunday. Holding any NFL quarterback to just 82 yards is an impressive feat but this was Allen’s third start of his career and wasn’t expected to carve up Buffalo’s secondary.
But we need to give credit where credit is due, Tre’Davious White had his fourth interception of the season, he also broke up four passes which led the team. White shutdown second year receiver Courtland Sutton, who had just 27 yards on one catch.
Both safeties, Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde contributed in the run game which completed this units overall great game. The only complaint that can levied against the Bills secondary is that they should have more interceptions, Tre’Davious White dropped two, and Taron Johnson dropped one.
Special teams: B
Kicker Stephen Hauschka had a perfect game on Sunday, he converted both of his field goals and both of his extra points. His long was just 39 yards but it was into a swirling wind which made kicking very difficult on Sunday.
Punter Corey Bojorquez had four punts, he averaged 32.0 yards per punt, but all four of them landed within Denver’s 20-yard line. Returner Andre Roberts did well to give Buffalo strong field position throughout the game.
Coaching: B-
Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll remained in the booth on Sunday and it served the offense well. The Bills put up 429 yards on a tough Denver defense, and the offense had a nice balance of run and pass. The Broncos entered the game as the fourth-best defense in the NFL and couldn’t keep up.
The Bills defense played incredibly well, and never seemed to be fooled or out schemed by Denver’s offense. The biggest issue the Bills coaching staff faced was penalties. The Bills had 12 penalties go against their way on Sunday, though two were intentional delay of games.