A few hours before they took the field against the Washington Football Team, ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown analyst Matt Hasselbeck expressed confidence in the Buffalo Bills, who were 1-1 at the time. He’d seen some of the doomsday takes, but he foresaw the Bills, and quarterback Josh Allen in particular, about to disprove them.
“He’s gonna be fine, this Buffalo Bills team’s gonna be fine. And the overreaction on the first two weeks of this team has been extreme,” Hasselbeck said on Sunday NFL Countdown. “Josh Allen is one of the best players in the NFL. This is one of the best teams in the NFL, maybe one of the best coaching staffs in the NFL.
"Josh Allen’s performance Sunday against the Washington Football Team was the equivalent of pitching a perfect game," writes Jim Kubiak.
“They're gonna start to show it. I believe it will start today."
A few hours later, that prediction looked pretty good. Allen had a hand in all five of the Bills’ touchdowns in Sunday’s 43-21 win over Washington. He threw for 358 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for another.
Hasselbeck knows the first few weeks of the season can be wildly in flux for any team. But the former quarterback and three-time Pro Bowler also thinks Sunday’s game reflected the real Bills.
The Buffalo Bills’ defense has yet to allow a completion on any pass that has traveled 20 yards or more past the line of scrimmage this season.
“We've just been looking past the Buffalo Bills and how good their offense is, and really how good their team can be,” Hasselbeck told The News on Tuesday. “I think if they put it all together, they can be as good as anyone in the AFC.”
But to get there, first they want to shore up things in their division. Hasselbeck pointed out that any team has to start there. He doesn’t think the Bills should have much trouble repeating as AFC East division winners this season.
“Look at it: The Patriots are 1-2. The Dolphins are on their backup quarterback, and they don't scare me. The Jets aren't even worth bringing up,” he said. “And so it's the Buffalo Bills who have a chance to accomplish that first goal, and that's winning their division.”
Their offseason moves reflected that win-now mentality, Hasselbeck said, and he pointed to the Bills bringing in veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who had his first two touchdowns as a Buffalo Bill on Sunday. He and fellow veteran wide receiver Cole Beasley combined for 192 receiving yards on 16 catches.
“Adding Emmanuel Sanders to a team that didn't need to add Emmanuel Sanders – it just shows they're sort of shooting for the stars, gonna land on the moon kind of thing,” Hasselbeck said. “Whereas other people would be like crossing their fingers hoping people could play. This is a team that is investing in weapons for their ultra-talented quarterback.”
The defense stands out to Hasselbeck, too. He acknowledges that sometimes it’s easier or more fun to breakdown Allen’s highlights, but the Bills' defense could be garnering more attention. Still, it’s Allen’s progression to his current level of performance that most stands out.
“How this Buffalo Bills coaching staff was able to get him to a point where he's one of the best quarterbacks that I've ever seen at audibling at the line of scrimmage, making quick decisions when people disguise blitzes and coverages – I'm just incredibly impressed with the coaching job, and also the quarterback play,” he said.
“And I'm not exactly sure who to credit. I'm just crediting Brian Daboll, because I'm sure there's layers in between it, with the quarterback coach and all that kind of stuff. But to me, that offense last year was get-you-out-of-your-chair, standing-ovation type stuff. Really, really impressive.”
