What We Saw: Week 2

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Raiders @ Bills

Final Score: Bills 38, Raiders 10

Writer: Chad Simpson (@CaoChadTTV on Twitter)

Bills D dominates Jimmy G en route to victory. Constant harassment led to turnovers, favorable field position and kept the Raiders D out there far too often. On the other side of the ball, the balanced and varied Bills offense capitalized on a mediocre Vegas D that also was on the field way too often to be effective.

Three Up

Bills front four – In Jimmy G’s face on seemingly every play. They never allowed plays to develop, forcing Jimmy to settle for quick throws and constant rollouts. This has now been a theme in both games so far this season.
Ed Oliver – They were that dominant that their leader earns a spot as well. Constantly putting hands on Jimmy, Oliver helped set up a potential game changing drive at the end of the 1st half by nearly sacking Jimmy for a safety.
Josh Allen – No “Allen” throws in this one is worthy of a spot here

Three Down

Jimmy Garoppolo – G wasn’t even bad in this one. In fact, if they had won he would easily be on the other list for what he managed to achieve in this game. The reason he is on this list is because he was rarely given that opportunity while under a flash flood warning every snap ahead of the oncoming deluge of players.
Josh Jacobs -Uneventful game is not what you want to see from a player of that caliber.
Maxx Crosby -While his Bills counterparts harassed Jimmy G, Crosby and gang gave Josh Allen all the time in the world all game.

Las Vegas Raiders

Quarterback

Jimmy Garopp0lo: Jimmy Garoppolo: 16/24, 185 Yards, TD, 2 INT | 1 Carry, 1 Yard

Jimmy G, well I’ve run out of ways to say the Bills massacred him and he did everything he could to prevent it. Surprisingly accurate despite that, and with neither INT being much of his own doing he should bounce back when he has more than 0.5 seconds to throw each play.

Notes

Great back shoulder throw to Adams under immense pressure.
Easy TD to Adams to cap 1st drive.
Pick on tip drill while swarmed.
Struggling with pass rush.
Great job extending play on clutch conversion to Adams.
2nd pick was Milano piggybacking and absolutely mugging Josh Jacobs on a short pass.

Running Back

Josh Jacobs: 9 Carries -2 yards | 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 51 Yards

Has game to forget buoyed by PPR with empty carries and and an absolute mugging by Matt Milano surrounding it. Credit to the defense once again for really holding him in check, plus a negative game script certainly didn’t help. Maybe a lack of training camp snaps is a factor as well? Either way, bad bad bad.

Notes

Running into a wall early
Let Milano take his lunch money and the football for an INT.

Zamir White: 4 Carries, 22 Yards, 1 Fumble (Lost)

Fantasy irrelevant right now as he was basically a garbage time RB.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Davante Adams: 8 Targets, 6 Receptions, 84 Yards, TD

Gets there early before quieting down with the rest of the offense. Buffalo made some adjustments to keep the pressure on Jimmy and keep an extra eye on Davante. It’s tough to get the ball to your #1 receiver when you’re constantly running for your life.

Notes

Easy TD on 1st drive.
Great job changing routes on a Jimmy G rollout.

Missed Opportunities

Can’t get turned around on an easy pitch and catch.

Tre Tucker: 1 Carry, 34 Yards | 1 Target

Doesn’t have much to show for it but was one of the of the most exciting aspects of the Raiders offense.

Notes

34 yard jet sweep sets up easy Raiders TD

Missed Opportunities

Made great catch but pass interference landed him just out of bounds and a bad ref call negated it.

Austin Hooper: Austin Hooper: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards

Had a fantasy irrelevant day.

Hunter Renfrow: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 23 Yards

Failed to capitalize on Jakobi’s absence

Michael Mayer: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 2 Yards

Fantasy irrelevant, hope for better days ahead.

Buffalo Bills

Quarterback

Josh Allen: 31/37, 274 Yards, 3 TD | 3 Carries, 7 Yards

Allen spreads the ball and the Raiders D en route to victory. Allen didn’t have to do much in this one but he was accurate, created plays where there weren’t any and led the Bills to an easy victory. Great bounce back game for Josh after throwing three INT vs the Jets – there were no mistakes in this game. Maybe stop trying to hurdle guys, though?

Notes

Easy toss to Knox for TD on rollout.
Needless attempt to leap the defender that had zero chance of success.
Threw hospital ball to Kincaid

Running Back

James Cook: 17 Carries, 123 Yards | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 36 Yards

Watching this game you would never have realized how big of a statistical day Cook had. Constantly getting chunk yardage on bounces outside, it offset the handful of nothing carries he had while Latavius Murray was also heavily featured early. The usage of the other two backs in the red zone is concerning, but Cook is finally looking like the guy we all thought he’d be last season.

Notes

Gained about 4 yards while in air on a dive.
Great job extending a screen into a goal to go situation.
Showcasing explosive ability to get to the edge.

Damien Harris: 7 Carries, 33 Yards, TD

Clear third option but had nice special teams play and a rushing TD.

Notes

Gets goal-line carry.
Nice 43 yard kickoff return

Latavius Murray: 6 Carries, 22 Yards, TD | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 9 Yards

Murray grinded hard and it was reasonable to argue he was actually now the lead back in this offense during the 1st half, but then Cook woke up, and also with Harris getting touches it will be hard for Murray to ever have a dominant game.

Notes

Continues to look more explosive than he has in years.
Powers into the end zone

Missed Opportunities

Couldn’t cash in on 3 goal line carries during the 3rd quarter.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Stefon Diggs: 7 Targets, 7 Receptions, 66 Yards

Diggs gets a bunch of catches a tale as old as time. While Diggs had a mostly Diggs game, he actually didn’t make much of an impact with the quality of his catches.

Notes

Continues to be a target monster early and often in this game.
Takes a brutal shot on a short side arm from Allen.

Gabe Davis: 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 92 Yards, TD

Davis shows up for once, scores TD. Still mostly an afterthought in this offense, Davis made several nice catches that teased owners who have clamored for a breakout for 2 seasons.

Notes

Makes great catch on free play.
Good catch on 4th and goal in double coverage for a TD.

Dalton Kincaid: Dalton Kincaid: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 43 Yards

Kincaid starts slow, finishes strong. Working inside and outside, Kincaid saw Knox and Diggs dominate 1st half targets before getting involved in the 3rd quarter.

Dawson Knox: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 10 Yards, TD

Has great first half, quiet 2nd half. Knox looks like one of the preferred goal line options in the offense.

Notes