Buffalo Bills in early Super Bowl form: “We’re playing smart football”.

The Buffalo Bills have outclassed the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans in their first two games of the season. There are several reasons why the team around quarterback Josh Allen is the measure of all things in the NFL.

Munich – 10,220 days had to pass before the Buffalo Bills once again won a Monday Night Game in their own arena. The 41-7 triumph over the Tennessee Titans, however, didn’t just end Buffalo’s Monday night malaise, which had been going on since 1994.

Rather, it was proof that the Bills are a serious Super Bowl contender. “We play smart football and have some guys who make unbelievable plays,” praised quarterback Josh Allen, who threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns.

Last season they fell just 13 points short of the AFC finals

The Bills have been one of the NFL’s top teams for the past two seasons, but fell to the Kansas City Chiefs both times. In the 2020 season they were eliminated in the AFC Championship Game, last season in the Divisional Playoff Round.

Bitter: Only 13 seconds were missing to defeat the Chiefs and reach the AFC finals for the second time in a row. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes needed only this short period of time to put his team in field-goal position and finally set up the victory in overtime.

Buffalo did not falter in this defeat. On the contrary, the team kept its core together and strengthened well at certain points.

Von Miller has continued to improve the strong defence

Linebacker Von Miller transferred to the Bills from the Super Bowl-winning Los Angeles Rams and shined in the season opener against his former team with two sacks. The defensive line got more new faces with DaQuan Jones, Tim Settle and Shaq Lawson.

Buffalo already had the best defence in the league last season. No other team allowed as few yards (average 272.8 per game) and points (17.0).

The defence has now seamlessly continued this performance. In the first two games they allowed an average of only 8.5 points – the second best value in the league. They rank the same with an average of only 215 yards allowed.

One of the keys to success is that the opposing quarterback is constantly under pressure. 9 sacks within two games are the second best value behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10.0 sacks). The pass rush is almost unpredictable for the opponent. Six players of the Bills already ripped the opposing quarterback to the ground at least once.

Strong run defense, lots of turnovers

The run defence is also strong, allowing an average of just 66 yards of space gain in the two games – the best in the league. Even Titans superstar Derrick Henry, who ran for 143 yards in last season’s clash with the Bills, was taken almost completely out of the game, getting just 25 rushing yards on 13 carries. “We had a good gameplan and the players executed it great,” praised head coach Sean McDermott.

Then there were the forced turnovers. The defence won eight balls in the first two games. That is also the best value in the league. In the game against the Titans, they combined for two interceptions and two recovered fumbles.

“This is my sixth year on this defence now,” said free safety Jordan Poyer, who caught an interception in each of the two games. “It feels like I’m going into 10th grade now. I can see the field a lot better because I’ve learned how to prepare all week for the next game. “

The NFL’s highest-scoring offense

Similarly, the offense is performing impressively: the fact that the offense lost two big-name wide receivers in Cole Beasley and Emmanuel Sanders apparently didn’t leave a void. With 605 passing yards in two games, they rank 4th in the NFL. Overall, the offense got 72 points – more than any other team in the league.

Stefon Diggs is the second most effective receiver behind Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins with 270 receiving yards. He was especially challenged in the second game of the season against the Titans, missing another top receiver in Gabe Davis due to an ankle injury.

Diggs made that absence go away with 12 catches, 148 yards and three touchdowns. “It felt good to get him the ball early and often,” Allen said. “He did a great job running free, making the plays and making great catches. That’s Stefon Diggs. We know he’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest receiver in football right now.”

The receiver returns the compliment to his passer, “I have a quarterback that can do everything. So I just have to do my job. “

Fighting statement towards Miami Dolphins

The Bills don’t have too much time to gloat over their successful start to the season. Sunday, the Miami Dolphins await an opponent that also won its first two games and is also buoyed by a 42-35 comeback win over the Baltimore Ravens.

Wide receiver Jake Kumerow sends a fighting message towards Florida: “They’ll see our confidence when we come in. I’m not worried about their form. It’s about us. They have to compete against us.”

Given the Bills’ strong form, no one should like to do that at the moment.

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2 years ago
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Super Bowl
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