Stefon Diggs led the Bills' passing offense with 114 receiving yards in a big, 40-0 win over the Texans on Sunday.

 Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News

Grading the Buffalo Bills in their 40-0 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday at Highmark Stadium:

Running game: A

Because of the weather, the Bills needed to be able to run the ball, and they did. Devin Singletary and Zack Moss got 14 carries each – turning those into 140 yards, 79 from Singletary and 61 from Moss. Quarterback Josh Allen added 41 yards on six carries, as the Bills had three runs of 15-plus yards. Even backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky got in on the fun, rushing three times for 12 yards and a touchdown during garbage time. If there’s one area of concern, it’s in short yardage. Two of the first three times the Bills ran the ball when needing 2 yards or less for a first down, they failed, including when Moss lost 5 yards on a third-and-1 carry from the Houston 3-yard line in the second quarter, resulting in the offense having to settle for a field goal.

Passing game: A-

It started with an "F" after Allen’s first throw of the game was a bad overthrow intended for Stefon Diggs resulting in an interception by Texans safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. His next throw, also intended for Diggs, wasn’t much better as it sailed out of bounds. Allen settled in from there, though, completing all three of his passes for 47 yards on the opening touchdown drive, which was capped by a 25-yard connection with tight end Dawson Knox. Allen finished 20 of 29 for 248 yards, two touchdowns and the one interception. The new offensive line surrendered just one sack. Allen, though, said after the game he put too many throws in dangerous territory, and that felt like an accurate statement. He was fortunate that a couple of other throws weren’t intercepted. Diggs took some tough hits on his way to finishing with seven catches for 114 yards, while Emmanuel Sanders continues to look like a smart free-agent acquisition, finishing with five catches for 74 yards. Slot receiver Cole Beasley had a quiet game – just two catches for 16 yards – while No. 4 receiver Gabriel Davis was targeted just once on a pass that went incomplete.

Run defense: A+

Defensive tackle Ed Oliver perfectly explained the team’s run defense after a dominating performance this way: “We've been knocking out the run pretty good,” he said. “It's been hard to make plays in the run game, but they stuck to the run. It was raining. So I said, ‘All right, y'all stick to the run, I'm going to stick y'all.’ ” Stick ’em, they did. The Bills held the Texans to just 48 yards on the ground, a paltry average allowed of just 2.8 yards per attempt. Defensive end Jerry Hughes stopped Houston’s David Johnson for no gain on a third-and-3 play from the Bills’ 6-yard line after the Texans were gifted a short field – a sign of what was to come. Safety Micah Hyde stopped the the Texans’ Mark Ingram for no gain on second-and-10 on Houston’s third offensive possession. The Bills held Phillip Lindsay to minus-1 rushing yard on four carries. All in all, an utterly dominant performance on the ground.

Pass defense: A+

Poor Davis Mills. A rookie quarterback making his first road start in Buffalo is always going to be a tough ask, but that’s particularly true against a defense that’s playing with as much confidence as the Bills are right now. Hughes made a huge play early, tipping a pass intended for Johnson on a fourth-and-3 play from the Bills’ 6-yard line to create a turnover on downs. It only went downhill from there for Mills, who was sacked three times and threw four interceptions. Tremaine Edmunds got the first of those in the first quarter, followed by Hyde, Jaquan Johnson and Tyler Matakevich to preserve the defense’s second shutout in three weeks.

Special teams: A-

A grade of B+ was tempting, but it would erase the straight As vibe of the report card, so we’ll bump it to an A-minus. The Bills were only flagged three times in the game, but two of them came against the special teams. Linebacker Tyrel Dodson and cornerback Siran Neal were each flagged for illegal blocks in the second quarter on punt returns by Isaiah McKenzie. Otherwise, the special teams was solid. Tyler Bass hit all four of his field goals in tough weather, while the coverage units were solid. Matt Haack’s only punted netted 30 yards, while McKenzie didn’t break anything big, but held onto the football – job No. 1 in bad weather.

Coaching: A-

Loved the call to go for it on fourth-and-1 in the first quarter. It worked when Allen scampered for 16 yards. Watching how easy that was makes you wonder why the struggles in short yardage seem to be otherwise so pronounced. Credit offensive coordinator Brian Daboll for getting his group on track in the second half. Surely, the Bills felt like they should have been leading by more at halftime, but the Bills buried the Texans with three second-half scores. While most of Bills Mafia was looking ahead to Week 5 against Kansas City, Bills coach Sean McDermott kept his team focused on the task at hand. The run of backup quarterbacks is now over, but the Bills did what good teams do against inferior opponents – won by convincing margins. Now, the real test arrives. Let a fun week begin.

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