Report card: Bills top Commanders, 37-3
The Buffalo Bills traveled to Washington D.C. to battle the Commanders in NFL Week 3 and left with a 37-3 victory.
It was a true team win, with the squad getting it done in all three phases of the game.
With the win the Bills improved to 2-1 while logging one of their most productive games defensively under head coach Sean McDermott, who took over playcalling on that side of the ball.
Here’s how Bills Wire graded Buffalo’s performance against the Commanders:
Quarterbacks: B+
Josh Allen took what the defense gave him and went 20/32 with 218 yards and a TD passing and another rushing score to go with 46 ground yards. He had one interception on a long attempt to Gabe Davis, whom he’d hit on a 35-yard deep ball earlier in the contest for a score.
That being said, he otherwise had a good day that included the aforementioned TD pass to Davis in the final minute of the first quarter.
The QB1 spread the ball across targets, hitting nine different receivers, including his favorite target Stefon Diggs who was good for 111 yards in front of his hometown crowd. The team had a balanced attack, getting first downs 10 times passing and 10 times rushing and calling 32 total passing attempts and 33 rushing attempts in the game.
Backup Kyle Allen entered the game and protected the ball while handing it off to the running backs to run out the game clock, and added another scoring drive to the Bills day offensively in the fourth quarter.
Running backs: A-
The Bills running attack accounted for 168 of their 386 total offensive yards.
Second-year back James Cook once again led the way for Buffalo’s backfield group, with 98 yards on 15 carries.
While Allen shouldered the second-most yards on the ground for the Bills, RBs Damien Harris and Latavius Murray each had 15 yards on five carries apiece, with Murray adding a touchdown as well.
Wide receivers/ tight end: B-
Stefon Diggs had a WR1 day with 111 yards receiving going 8/12 on targets.
After him, while the ball was spread around in the passing game, there was not a standout second option.
Gabe Davis went 1/4 making his one reception count as it was the 35-yard lone touchdown throw from Allen, making him second on the day receiving.
TEs Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid were only targeted twice each, with Kincaid only notching three total yards.
Offensive line: A
The Bills offensive line had a productive day against a Washington Commanders defensive front that had been touted as elite during the week leading into the contest on account of their strong start to the season and to their featuring four former first-round picks.
They provided protection for a wide range of plays called, whether protecting Joah Allen in the pocket or opening up lanes for the run game, they did their job effectively.
The O-line gave up zero sacks and allowed only one hit on Allen.
Defensive line: B +
The Bills defense had such a productive day it would be easy to give them all the highest grades.
The defensive line helped make possible nine sacks on QB Sam Howell but also helped fail to stop the run near the line of scrimmage giving up 105 ground yards including 70 to Brian Robinson Jr.
Still, it’s hard not to recognize the defensive front for Buffalo and what they made possible.
Linebackers: A+
While Commanders OC Eric Bienemy lauded Bills LB Matt Milano with praise the week leading into the matchup, it was a younger Bills linebacker who had his biggest game with the team yet.
2022 third-round pick Terrel Bernard kicked off the first of what would be a day of takeaways for the Bills defense. In total, he would finish the day with two sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery, and would lead the Bills with seven total tackles. Micah Hyde, Tre’Davious White, and AJ Epenesa would add picks as well.
Tasked with replacing inside linebacker Tremaine Edmunds this season, Bernard has already matched Edmunds’ highest single-season amount of Sacks (2) and Interceptions (2) through the first three games of this season.
The Bills pass rush pressured QB Same Howell on 27 of 29 dropbacks (69.2%) which was good for the second-highest pressure rate ever in the Next Gen Stats era.
Special teams: B+
The special teams unit was serviceable, which is better than some of the early struggles they had.
The highlight here was a big 54-yard field goal by kicker Tyler Bass.
Coaching: A
It’s unclear whether Allen’s deep pass interception was a throw called by OC Ken Dorsey or by Allen in assessing his targets, but other than that it was a balanced offensively called game.
On defense, head coach Sean McDermott is restoring the Bills defensive unit as one of the top groups in the NFL.
And they are doing this without OLB Von Miller, who will be returning soon from injury.
Both play-callers will face their biggest challenge of the young season next week when they square off against a Dolphins squad that put up 70 points on the Denver Broncos this weekend.
