Report card: Bills top Rams, 31-10
Check out Bills Wire’s Week 1 report card for the Buffalo Bills following the team’s 31-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams below:
Quarterback: B+
Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Allen was close to perfect. Take out his second interception which was thrown a bit behind receiver Jamison Crowder and he essentially was.
The Bills QB completed 26-of-31 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns. He added 56 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
Running back: C+
Bills running back Zack Moss (20) Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Devin Singletary averaged six yards per carry and had a few catches. Unfortunately, that was overshadowed by fumbles from both of his partners in James Cook and Zack Moss. Cook’s came on the first carry of his NFL career.
Wide receiver: A
Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs (14) Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis and Isaiah McKenzie are the top three of Buffalo’s receiving room. All three shined.
Getting the bad news out of the way, McKenzie had a ball go through his hands that led to an interception. He made up for that with a touchdown grab.
Diggs and Davis both also scored. Those came on deep shots. Diggs went on to lead the Bills with 122 yards.
Tight end: C
Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis (13) celebrates a touchdown with tight end Dawson Knox (88) Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Only one catch and five yards for Dawson Knox at tight end. A bit surprising right after his new contract extension.
Having said that, no real bad moments from Knox as a blocker against the Rams.
Offensive line: B
Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
A rough first half for the offensive line at times. Ryan Bates couldn’t handle Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
Worth noting: Few can.
In the second half, that problem seemed to dry up. Allen was only sacked twice and some holes were opened up in the run game for Singletary.
Defensive line: A+
Bills linebacker Von Miller (40) Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Bills had seven total sacks with all of them coming from the defensive front. Leading the way was Von Miller (2 sacks), Jordan Phillips (1.5) and AJ Epenesa (1.5). Additionally, Buffalo had 15 QB hits.
As a team on the ground, 2.9 yards per carry isn’t very good for the Rams either. An all-around effort by the D-line.
Linebacker: B+
Bills linebacker Matt Milano (58) Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Matt Milano was the force for the Bills from the linebacker position. He had seven total tackles and played well near the line of scrimmage.
Tremaine Edmunds had a costly miss on a fourth-down play. However, he had a team-high 10 tackles and again–the Rams couldn’t run the ball.
Buffalo’s offense having successes helps stop opponents from running the ball at times. That wasn’t the case on Thursday, the Bills defense deserves credit.
Secondary: B
Cornerback Dane Jackson #30 of the Buffalo Bills. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Cornerback Dane Jackson had a well-timed interception when the game was tight. Safety Jordan Poyer had a bit of a game-sealing one later in the second half.
The Bills mostly shutdown the Rams’ passing attack, but one does have to wonder about elbow concerns for LA quarterback Matthew Stafford. He didn’t look good.
That’s not to say we’re taking points away from the Bills secondary because of that. Any knock revolves around Los Angeles wideout Cooper Kupp. It got to a point where you knew he was going to get the ball time and time again, but he wasn’t stopped at all.
On the plus side: That didn’t matter.
Special teams: B-
Bills wide receiver Jamison Crowder (80) Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Kicker Tyler Bass looked a little shaky. His botched kickoff out of bounds proved that. No reason to worry just yet though, it’s one game.
There was some positive to be found. Crowder had a 21-yard punt return. Kick coverage was solid all game as well.
