Bills @ Commanders
Final Score: Bills 37, Commanders 3
Writer: Chad Simpson (@CaoChadTTV on Twitter)
Talk about an absolute slaughter. While QB Josh Allen struggled with his throws early with multiple ugly throws, it did not matter as the Commanders lack of pass rush, and putrid blocking ability led the Bills to victory. On offense, WR Gabriel Davis got a TD before fading away while Allen hammered WR Stefon Diggs with targets and RB James Cook chewed the clock. QB Sam Howell had a rude awakening on the other side of the ball, suffering a miserable 9 sacks, and it was no shock that Howell also gifted the defense 4 interceptions including a pick-6.
Three Up
- Stefon Diggs – Stefon Diggs is one of the most dominant alpha receivers we have seen in recent years. Nearly 50 percent of Josh Allen’s completions went to Diggs today. Diggs was impossible to cover for any extended period of time A matchup-proof maestro at the position Diggs just needs to uptick the TD totals to start pushing for OPOY consideration this year.
- Bills D – The Bills held Sam Howell and the Commanders to just 125 yards through the air and held them to 1/9 on 3rd down. The pass rush connected on an absurd 9 sacks of Howell while forcing him to throw 4 INT. The defense has been dominant through 3 weeks and even the often lagging run D has drastically improved so far this season.
- James Cook – Cook continued to take a stronghold of the rushing volume in the Bills offense, as Latavius Murray and Damien Harris both were irrelevant in this game outside of garbage time.
Three Down
- Sam Howell – There isn’t much more that can be said about Howell that isn’t covered by 9 sacks and 4 INT. Howell struggled with getting enough time to throw which led to him forcing the ball often. Time will tell if this was a speed bump or indicative of a larger issue with the scuffling Commanders offense.
- Antonio Gibson – Just 5 touches in this game. Gibson has gone from a timeshare in the backfield to being almost completely phased out of this offense. One has to wonder if a trade could breathe new life into Gibson’s withering career.
- Commanders D – Just 8 passes defended and only 1 QB hit led to the Commanders D getting burned out early by their inability to get off the field and the offense’s inability to stay on the field. They allowed Diggs to haul in catch after catch with often little effort. Chase Young is going to need to get back to some semblance of his pre-injury self if there is any hope of this defense getting better the rest of this season.
Buffalo Bills
Quarterback
Josh Allen: 20/32, 218 Yards, TD INT | 3 Carries, 46 Yards, TD
Allen had a terrible 1st week and a great 2nd week, This week Allen decided to mix the two. Struggling with accuracy and forcing bad throws it looked to be a long day for the Bills before things smoothed out. Missing multiple throws on goal to go including a should have been TD for Dawson Knox. His lone interception was a classic Allen INT where he forced a big play that wasn’t there and instead threw a deep bomb to Kendall Fuller who looked like the WR on the play with how much of a step he had on the receiver. Allen still has things to work on but things are trending in the right direction after the Week 1 fiasco.
Notes
- Struggling early
- Bad throws to end drive
Missed Opportunities
- Missed Dawson Knox for a would-be TD
- Burned early drive with overthrow on 3rd and goal.
Running Back
James Cook: 15 Carries, 98 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 14 Yards
Cook quietly puts in strong volume performance. Cook continued his trend of quietly getting most of his yards before coming in with a massive run. Today that came with a 34-yard pitch that he took into a wide-open hole at the line before weaving through defenders like they were statues. Unfortunately, that run ended up with Cook just shy of the end zone. More importantly, he took even more of a firm grip on the RB touches over Latavius Murray and Damien Harris despite the former scoring a TD
Missed Opportunities
- Just missed the end zone on his big gain
Latavius Murray: 5 Carries, 15 Yards, TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 6 Yards
Murray got another TD but with a massive change to how he got it. In the 1st 2 weeks, Murray was mixed into the backfield early and often. Today he was phased out until netting his garbage time TD with the Bills up 30. For those taking fliers on Murray after his serviceable first two weeks might want to cut bait now.
Damien Harris: 5 Carries, 15 Yards
Harris continues to be irrelevant. Despite matching Murray in backfield touches Harris continues to provide nothing of value to this offense or fantasy owners.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Stefon Diggs: 12 Targets, 8 Receptions, 111 Yards
Diggs dominates Bills targets, and puts in another WR1 day. While Diggs continues to struggle in the TD department (3 in his last 8 games), that hardly matters when he is averaging double-digit targets and receptions on the season.
Gabe Davis: 1 Carry -2 Yards | 4 Targets, 1 Reception, 35 Yards, TD
Davis hauls in an early TD before disappearing in the rout. Davis got there on 1 early play where he beat the defender to the pylon right in time for a perfect throw from Allen. After that through a mix of Diggs target share, the game getting out of hand and just wanting to be a headache Davis vanished.
Notes
- Great throw by Allen to him on TD
- On replay good job vs. defender
Dalton Kincaid: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 3 Yards
Kincaid targeted on 1st play from scrimmage but that is where the highlights end. Kincaid was not needed or featured in the blowout win. With Allen eating on the sideline throws and the game getting out of hand there was little need for Kincaid.
Dawson Knox: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 11 Yards
Knox was a non-factor in the Bills victory. He should not have been a non-factor but his 2nd target was a bad throw from Allen that would have been a TD otherwise
Missed Opportunities
- Allen bad throw costs TD
Trent Sherfield: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 18 Yards
Deonte Harty: 2 Carries -2 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 15 Yards
Washington Commanders
Quarterback
Sam Howell: 19/29, 170 Yards 4 INT | 1 Carry, 18 Yards
Sam Howell disintegrates versus Bills defense. Howell suffered from justifiable phantoms in this one with the Bills D seemingly sacking him every other play. Surprisingly Howell managed to be very little with his legs to alleviate some of the pass rush opting instead to unleash not 1 not 2 but 4 picks.
Running Back
Brian Robinson Jr.: 10 Carries, 70 Yards
Robinson was on his way to a great day before the game and the script went against him. Picking up chunk yardage, Robinson brought back flashbacks of the Bills being terrible versus the run before things settled in.
Antonio Gibson: 2 Carries, 17 Yards | 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 7 Yards | 1 Fumble (Lost)
Gibson turns in a ghoulish line in the blowout loss. Gibson is an afterthought at this point. Lacking any semblance of value.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Terry McLaurin: 6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 41 Yards
Terry was a victim of Sam Howell’s poor performance but still managed a strong PPR day with great efficiency and solid target numbers.
Curtis Samuel: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 54 Yards
Curtis Samuel with 2 big plays before disappearing. Samuel did not get much going. settling for 2 catches. A perennial frustration due to his health, it will be interesting to see if he can turn up the performances going forward or settle into a gadget role. Regardless of those answers, Samuel will play 2nd fiddle to Terry McLaurin.
Jahan Dotson: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 21 Yards
A fantasy darling, Dotson managed just two catches in the game as Howell imploded.
Cole Turner: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 35 Yards
Turner turned in a respectable game in the spot start. Once Logan Thomas returns though, his value will take a serious hit.
John Bates: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 12 Yards