Bills score first passing TD of the season by selling the run

The Buffalo Bills took the ball first in Thursday night’s season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, and Bills quarterback Josh Allen was as good as it gets on Buffalo’s opening drive. Allen completed all five of his attempts for 58 yards and a touchdown, despite the fact that Aaron Donald was living in the backfield, demolishing every Bills offensive lineman he faced.

On the 26-yard touchdown pass to playoff hero Gabe Davis with 9:56 left in the first quarter, Allen wisely booted out of the pocket, and the Bills used play-action and a pulling right guard to sell the Rams on the idea that they were running the ball.

As the Rams committed almost all of their defenders to the line of scrimmage as Allen rolled out of the pocket, this was clearly the right call on third-and-1.

New offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey didn’t have to do a ton of research to figure out that Allen is a great boot-action quarterback. Per Sports Info Solutions, Allen attempted 50 play-action passes outside the pocket last season, completing 27 for 343 yards, 249 air yards, seven touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 115.3.

Allen continued his hot streak on the Bills’ second drive of the game… until a ball thrown to receiver Isaiah McKenzie went in and out of the receiver’s hands, and into the hands of Rams edge-rusher Terrell Lewis. Before that, he had completed 10 straight passes.

Story originally appeared on Touchdown Wire