The Buffalo Bills are the No. 1 scoring team in the NFL after their 38-20 win over Kansas City.
Buffalo is averaging 34.3 points per game. Second is Dallas at 34 and third is Tampa Bay at 33.4.
The Bills’ 172 points is the most in team history after five games, ahead of the 165 scored in the 1964 seasons. Buffalo has scored 35 or more points in four consecutive games and in seven of the last eight games.
The Bills had 20 first downs against the Chiefs, stretching their streak of at least 20 first downs in each of the last 21 games. The last team to do that was New England with 24 in a row in 2016-17.
Here are the position-by-position grades for the game, based on video review and on a scale of 0 to 5:
Quarterback (5.0). It was an MVP-type night for Josh Allen, who produced 315 yards passing, 59 rushing yards and four TDs. Designed runs accounted for 53 of his yards. His passing was a perfect blend of taking what the Chiefs gave him and making great throws outside of the scheme when he had to leave the pocket.
Kansas City blitzed just once in the first half and on 11 dropbacks in the second half, according to Buffalo News charts. Allen hurt the Chiefs’ blitzes. He was 6 of 9 for 46 yards vs. rushes of five or more men, and he had two scrambles for 16 yards vs. blitzes.
Receivers (5.0). It was great to see tight end Dawson Knox exploit the weakest member of the Chiefs’ secondary, safety Daniel Sorensen. The Bills also isolated Stefon Diggs on Sorensen for a 61-yard gain. There were six pass plays of 20-plus yards, three to Knox. Emmanuel Sanders’ route running continues to kill defensive secondaries. Knox had a strong seal block on defensive end Mike Danna on a 22-yard run by Allen.
Offensive line (5.0). The tackles did a great job blocking the Chiefs’ best edge rusher, Frank Clark. Dion Dawkins blocked him up on the 53-yard TD pass to Knox and on a 41-yarder to Knox, when Allen had 5.1 seconds to throw. Spencer Brown gave up just one hurry to Clark, according to News charts. Brown fended off Clark’s long-arm rush on the 61-yard pass to Diggs. Brown locked up Mike Danna on a key, 16-yard pass to Gabriel Davis. This makes two straight strong outings for Brown in his two starts. Center Mitch Morse had a good block on Allen’s TD run. Morse and Jon Feliciano pulled to lead the way on Allen’s 22-yard run. The Bills benefited from not having to face All-Pro Chris Jones. Hopefully, they won’t have to see him until the 2022 season, at the earliest.
Running backs (4.0). Unlike last year, the Bills made the Chiefs pay when they sat back in two-deep zones and played just six men in the tackle-to-tackle box. The Bills ran eight times for 78 yards vs. “light boxes” (six defenders).
The QB run game was a big part of the attack. Allen had runs of 22, 11 and 9 yards (for a TD) vs. light boxes in the first half. The Bills used a two-back set with fullback Reggie Gilliam on 17 plays, the most of any game this season.
Defensive backs (5.0). The Bills used a mix of straight Cover 2 zone and Cover 2 with man-to-man coverage underneath. Micah Hyde’s interception return for a TD came on a rare single-safety-deep coverage. The Bills were in man coverage, with Siran Neal on Travis Kelce and Tre’Davious White on Tyreek Hill. With Matt Milano out, the Bills made the rare decision to use a dime defense in obvious passing situations, with six defensive backs. They did that on 26 snaps. Neal was on Kelce a bunch on third downs.
White matched up with Hill on a few occasions. He yielded only four catches for 33 yards to Hill.
The Bills finally gave up a pass that traveled 20-plus yards past the line of scrimmage, the first of the season. That was the 26-yard sideline throw vs. zone coverage to Mecole Hardman in the second quarter. (The incompletion ruling was overturned on review.)
Linebackers (4.5). On the first play of the game, A.J. Klein defeated a block by guard Trey Smith and tackled Clyde Edwards-Helaire for a 4-yard gain. Both Klein and Tremaine Edmunds had nine tackles. The fact Mahomes had to hold onto the ball in the pocket was a testament to Edmunds’ strong zone coverage.
Defensive line (4.5). It was a strong effort all around, as Jerry Hughes and Greg Rousseau had strong performances against Chiefs rookie right tackle Lucas Niang. Tackle Ed Oliver did well vs. rookie right guard Trey Smith. The Bills held onto their No. 1 ranking in the NFL in yards allowed. They’re No. 3 against the run and No. 2 against the pass.
Special teams (4.0). The kickoff coverage was good. Neal forced a fumble on the second return that gave the Bills the ball at the Chiefs’ 34. Tyler Matakevich had good coverage. But there also was a kickoff out of bounds by Tyler Bass. Matt Haack had a 4.84-second hang-time punt with a 45-yard net and another punt that pinned KC at its 8. But he also had a touchback and a pull-hook that went 35 yards and set up KC at its own 48.
