Five observations from Bills win against Jets

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Justin Siejak, Sports Writer

After a crushing loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9, the Bills were able to get back on track on Sunday with a convincing win against their division rivals, the New York Jets. Buffalo dominated the game in all 3 phases, and never let New York within reach of the game. After questions surrounding the team’s performance began surfacing last week, the Bills needed to respond in a commanding fashion, and they did just that.

Multiple notable storylines developed from this game. We are going to dive into some of the most important headlines from this game and analyze some of the key components that lead to the Bills big win on the road.

1. Diggs’ Big Day
After a career year in his 1st year in Buffalo, including a year in which he lead the league in receptions and receiving yards, Stefon Diggs was primed to dominate games the same way he did last year. Still known as one of the league’s best receivers, it seems as if Diggs has not been involved as much as some Bills fans think to begin the year. A player of his caliber expects to be the focal point of a team’s offense. Despite his talent, Diggs has not been targeted the same way as last year. Things changed in Week 10. Catching 8 passes on 13 targets was just the start of Diggs huge day against the Jets. He also had a touchdown and 162 receiving yards; his most in 1 game as a member of the Bills. Diggs could not be covered in this game, and it was evident. He made several eye-popping plays including a touchdown grab over the shoulder for a 12-yard score. It’s worth noting that Josh Allen made it a point to target Diggs more and give him more opportunities to make plays.

“We haven’t given him that much opportunity to be involved, but the point of emphasis was let’s get him the ball as early and often as we can,” Allen said regarding Diggs’ success.

This duo already has a great connection, and if Allen makes it a point to involve Diggs even more, these two may continue to dominate teams together.

2. Ed Oliver Continues to Shine
Ed Oliver was ALL over this Jets offense. The stat sheet may not indicate that, but the eye test sure does. Oliver was constantly in the backfield, disrupting Mike White, making sure he was as uncomfortable as possible. With Star Lotulelei being out due to Covid, and Justin Zimmer tearing his ACL, the Bills were incredibly thin at the defensive tackle position. Oliver made it seem like there was no difference in the line making an impact. One play that stands out in Sunday’s game was his hit on Mike White that caused an errant pass on a crucial 3rd down. Oliver seems to be stepping into his own as a pro, and it couldn’t be happening at a better time. Before the season started, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said that he wanted to see more splash plays out of Oliver this year. Tallying 3 QB hits and living in the backfield against the Jets certainly seems like Oliver is ready to take off as a leader of this defensive line. It will be exciting to watch how Oliver continues to grow as the season goes on.

3. Spencer Brown: The Missing Piece
The Bills missed the rookie right tackle last week against the Jaguars. It was an ugly showing for the Bills offensive line, in a game where Josh Allen was pressured more than he has been the entire year. Right tackle Daryl Williams and right guard Cody Ford simply were not good on the right side of the line, and as a result, Allen had no time to make any plays. Returning this week from his back injury, Brown made a massive impact and a noticeable difference. Brown’s return pushed Daryl Williams inside to right guard, and the two played great holding down the right side of the line. Brown played 100% of the snaps and was crucial to the success of both the Bills passing game and running game. Brown held his own in pass coverage, but one play that really sticks out is on Matt Breida’s touchdown run. Brown pulled to the right side leading Breida’s run and leveled a defender, giving Breida a clear path to the endzone. Brown’s physical and dominant play has been a pleasant sight to see for this Bills team. He has been among the best rookie offensive lineman this year, and has showed great potential. With Brown back in the lineup against the Jets, Josh Allen had a much easier day throwing the ball. And that is all Bills fans want to see.

4. Unlikely Contributors
The Bills had some new faces step up and make plays against the Jets. 2 players that had great games that hadn’t seen much action before this week were RB Matt Breida and DL Efe Obada. Let’s start with Breida. The running game has been less than desirable for this Bills team. This left many fans to call for a shake-up, asking for Matt Breida to get a chance to show what he can offer. Despite these calls, Breida remained a healthy scratch in many of the past games for the Bills. Finally getting his shot in Week 10, Breida made the most of his opportunity. Outside of a fumble, Breida delivered on some electric plays for this team. On the opening drive of the game, Breida caught a touchdown pass in the back of the endzone from Josh Allen to give the Bills their first score. Later on in the game, Breida then scores on a rushing touchdown. Breida has a gear of speed to him that both Devin Singletary and Zack Moss lack. This game was Breida’s audition to potentially stay in the rotation as the weeks go on, and he did a fine job showing his big play ability. The other unlikely performer was DL Efe Obada. The Bills were short-handed on the defensive front, hence Obada being activated for this game. Obada played both inside and out, showing her versatility. His long frame combined with his powerful hands lead to some pretty impressive plays against the run. He also had a couple of QB pressures to go along with that. Obada is buried in a deep defensive line rotation, so it is unknown how much more we will see of him, but in Week 10, he made multiple plays that caught many fans’ eyes.

5. Secondary Turnovers
An incredible day for the Bills secondary included 5 turnovers. One from each core member of the secondary. Taron Johnson and Levi Wallace began the turnover party early in the game, intercepting QB Mike White once each. Right as the 1st half was ending, Mike White threw an impressive dart to WR Corey Davis to get into field goal range. Davis caught the ball and began running until Micah Hyde came and punched the ball loose. Not only did Hyde punch it free, but he also recovered it, saving a potential 3 points before the half. Following the start of the 2nd half, Mike White heaved a long pass down the field only to be caught by another White; Tre White that is. That was then 4 turnovers from Mike White to the Bills secondary. The last member of the secondary that hadn’t gotten a turnover was Safety Jordan Poyer. This would change quickly as Poyer picked off White in the red zone. 5 turnovers from this Bills secondary. It was certainly an impressive showing from this secondary. This performance just goes to show how talented this group really is.

The Bills had this game in the bag from the start. This was another team that they were supposed to beat, and they did so in grand fashion. This game was crucial, as the Bills seem to have found their footing after a couple of uncharacteristic weeks from the team. Buffalo moves to 6-3 on the season after the win against the Jets. Next week, the Bills will be home taking on the 5-5 Indianapolis Colts. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.