Buffalo 3 Takes: Dominant D & MVP as Josh Allen Stars In Win at Rams - Bills Notebook
The Buffalo Bills' season-opener on Thursday against the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams was one that has Bills Mafia prepared for plenty of fireworks between two high-powered offenses.
Bills 31, Rams 10, in the end, reads like a dominant win. (See "No Weakness'' game story here.)
But it took a while for the AFC powerhouse to get there.
In the first half, it was an entirely different story. The two teams combined for four total turnovers in the initial two quarters, three for the Bills and one for the Rams. QB Josh Allen started off red hot, as did the Bills' offense, but they lost momentum toward the end of the half.
Allen threw two interceptions in the first half (one the fault of receiver Isaiah McKenzie), with the Rams' defense all over the Bills' offense, making their lives difficult.
That was not the case for the second half, however, as the Bills came out blazing. The Bills would put up 21 unanswered points in the second half en route to the blowout victory over the Rams.
One game doesn't tell the entire story of a season, especially the season-opener, but after tonight the Bills look like true Super Bowl threats out of the AFC.
Now, here are three key takeaways from the Bills' victory.
Sloppy, low scoring first half
As mentioned above, the first half was far from a high-scoring, thrilling affair. Rather, it was sloppy and ugly at times, as rust was evident for both teams. Allen showed flashes of the MVP candidate he is, but also two uncharacteristic interceptions kept the Bills offense from hitting that second gear.
They finished the half with only 179 yards of total offense, and only 31 rushing yards. Granted it was only the first half of the first game of the season, but a slow start is never ideal, because slow starts get tougher to overcome once you get deeper into the schedule.
Of course, Allen is capable of overcoming ... well, almost anything, it seems.
Von Miller is still that guy
When the Bills signed Von Miller this offseason, some thought he was ring-chasing and riding off into the sunset of his career. Well, one game into the 2022 season and it is safe to say any notion of Miller simply coasting as a member of the Bills can be put to bed.
In his first game as a member of the Bills, Miller terrorized his former team. He was a nightmare for Rams left tackle Joe Noteboom, recording four total tackles, including two sacks.
Miller showed that he still has it, and adding him makes the Bills' pass rush that much more lethal.
And yes, he's also ring-chasing. And that's OK.
Hello, Gabriel Davis
When Gabriel Davis burst onto the scene in the playoffs against the Kansas City Chiefs, he became a media darling over the offseason. The question, though, was if the offseason hype would see Davis become a viable No. 2 option to Stefon Diggs out wide.
Well, it is safe to say Davis - like Diggs - lived up to that offseason hype.
Davis recorded four receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown, averaging a whopping 22 yards per reception.
Yes, one game is too soon for conclusions. However, if he can continue to produce like this on a weekly basis, this Bills' offense will be even deadlier than it was last season. And the "high-powered'' nature of both Allen's offense and Miller's defense might just produce it together.
