Grading the Buffalo Bills in their 27-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday at Bills Stadium …
RUNNING GAME: A
Coach Sean McDermott said his staff would do a “deep dive” during the bye week on why the rushing attack has so often been stuck in the mud. Looks like they found something. The Bills rushed for 172 yards as a team on 30 attempts, a healthy 5.7 yards per carry. Devin Singletary led the way with 82 yards on 11 carries (7.5 yards per rush), including a season-long run of 24 yards. It was slow going early for Zack Moss, but his determination was rewarded late when he picked up 31 yards, helping boost his output for the day to 59 yards on nine attempts. Credit the newly configured offensive line for providing some big holes for Singletary and Moss to run through. Quarterback Josh Allen chipped in 32 yards on nine carries, including a 3-yard touchdown in the third quarter. After disappointing results most of the season, the rushing attack found the type of performance it has been searching for.
PASSING GAME: C
Ready for a stat that’ll blow your mind? Allen was only sacked twice. Seriously. That barely seems possible after Chargers star Joey Bosa took up residence in the Bills’ backfield. For as good as the offensive line was in opening holes in the running game, it was equally as bad in pass protection. Allen was hit a whopping eight times. Matt Barkley was dropped for a sack on his only play in relief of a temporarily injured Allen. The best play in the passing game came from Cole Beasley, who threw a touchdown to rookie Gabriel Davis on a trick play. Allen finished 18 of 24 for 157 yards and a touchdown, but also threw a pretty ugly interception. He wore a brace on his right knee in the second half. Singletary had three catches and now has at least one reception in 20 consecutive games. That’s the longest streak for a Bills running back since Fred Jackson had at least one in 26 straight games over the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Column: Bills' pattern of close-out struggles continues
RUN DEFENSE: A
It looked early like the improvements made by the rushing offense were not going to be shared on the other side of the ball. Chargers running back Austin Ekeler ripped off a 15-yard run in the first quarter, but the Bills’ rushing defense largely improved after that. The Chargers finished with 74 yards on 24 carries, an average of just 3.1 yards per attempt. Linebackers A.J. Klein (14 tackles) and Tremaine Edmunds (10) combined to make 24 tackles. Excluding three sacks, the Bills had five tackles for loss, two from big defensive tackle Vernon Butler Jr. One big miscue occurred in the third quarter when Chargers running back Josh Kelley ran through a big hole for a 31-yard gain to get inside the Buffalo 10-yard line.
PASS DEFENSE: B-
Here is Mark Gaughan's quarter by quarter look at the Buffalo Bills' 27-17 win against the Los Angeles Chargers at Bills Stadium on Sunday.
Let’s start with the obvious – McDermott better start practice in the coming week with some work against the Hail Mary. It’s inconceivable the defense has allowed that play to be completed in consecutive games. The stats tell a different story than the game film likely will for the Bills. Chargers rookie quarterback Justin Herbert finished 31 of 51 for 316 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Herbert, though, struggled with his accuracy at times, missing completions that could have kept the chains moving and/or resulted in big plays. The Bills did make eight passes defensed, but the coverage was too soft at times. Herbert was sacked three times, with Klein collecting 1.5 sacks. Cornerback Tre’Davious White was targeted much more than usual, giving up a fair amount of completions. White, though, responded when it mattered, reading Herbert perfectly to step in front of Los Angeles tight end Hunter Henry for a crucial interception. White had two passes defensed, as did nickel cornerback Taron Johnson. The secondary held Chargers No. 1 receiver Keenan Allen to four catches for 40 yards, although he did catch a touchdown.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A-
The Josh Allen Experience was back in a big way Sunday, writes Jay Skurski.
Rookie kicker Tyler Bass has come through big recently. His 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter basically clinched the victory. Return man Andre Roberts was solid again, averaging 27.8 yards on four kick returns and 8.7 yards on three punt returns. The team’s kick coverage unit was great, allowing an average of just 14.8 yards on four kick returns. The only small blemish for the special teams was punter Corey Bojorquez putting two of his three attempts in the end zone for touchbacks. Tyler Matakevich was also penalized on the game’s opening play for an illegal formation.
COACHING: A-
McDermott is now 4-0 coming off the bye. It’s clear he put the week off to good use, with the emphasis on fixing the rushing attack paying off. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll picked the perfect time to call the Beasley pass. That was a pretty, pretty play call. Daboll did call a couple of second-and-long runs – it would be nice to see those ripped out of the playbook. The Bills were penalized nine times, including four personal fouls – although at least one of those (unsportsmanlike conduct against Moss) was very questionable. One small quibble: McDermott maybe could have been a little more aggressive at the end of the second quarter and used a defensive timeout to try to steal one more possession after the Chargers faced third-and-9 on their 45-yard line with just about a minute to go.
Cole Beasley’s trick-play throw to Gabriel Davis went for a 20-yard touchdown in the Buffalo Bills’ 27-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
