They were due, and they knew it.
After combining for 31 interceptions during their first three years together in Buffalo, the trio of Tre’Davious White, Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde had been shut out during the season’s first half.
That changed in a big way Sunday. Poyer and White had interceptions to lead the defensive effort against the Seattle Seahawks in a 44-34 win at Bills Stadium.
“I’m the lone ranger,” Hyde joked after the victory, referring to being the only one of the three still without an interception. “We were definitely due. We were due eight weeks ago. It was good to see 21 and 27 get on the board today.”
Poyer’s pick came first. The veteran safety intercepted Seahawks star Russell Wilson on a fourth-and-1 play from the Buffalo 5-yard line in the first quarter. Poyer stepped in front of tight end Jacob Hollister in the Bills’ end zone.
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“They ran a swap boot,” Poyer said. “I was able to read it and Jerry (Hughes) was able to get pressure in his face and force him to make a throw he probably didn’t want to make. I was able to make a play on the football. Same play Micah Hyde had last year against New England.”
“Po made a hell of a play in the red zone,” Hyde said. “Red-zone picks count as two. Taking points off the board, that’s huge.”
White’s interception came later. Buffalo’s No. 1 cornerback made a good read of Wilson to step in front of intended receiver D.K. Metcalf in the fourth quarter. White returned the interception 28 yards to the Seattle 3-yard line. On the next play, Josh Allen rushed in for a touchdown that put the Bills up 41-20 after Tyler Bass’ extra point.
“Tre’Davious, on third-and-long they were backed up and trying to be aggressive, the game was still tight, a 10-point game at that time. They were trying to put something together and get something going. Tre’Davious made a hell of a play,” Hyde said. “Obviously, we’re busting his chops because he got tackled on the (3-yard line) against a lineman. We’re going to kill him in the meeting room. He has to score that. We talk about scoring as a defense.”
“Has to score,” Poyer chimed in.
“It was good to see them get on the board and it’s something the whole DB group can build off,” Hyde said. “We’re an unselfish group. We don’t care who makes the plays as long as we’re making plays. We went into this game knowing the plays would be out there. We just had to catch the ball.”
The interceptions by Poyer and White were two of four turnovers by Wilson forced by the Buffalo defense. Even though the Seattle quarterback finished 28 of 41 for 390 yards and two touchdowns, the four turnovers proved too much for even the MVP front-runner and his high-scoring offense to overcome.
Hyde and Poyer were quick to point out during their postgame press conference that they knew the Bills’ defense was being questioned heading into Sunday’s game. Asked what the result said about the defense, Hyde quickly cut off the question.
“I don’t want to hear it. ‘Our defense has been bad all year.’ Keep that same energy,” he said. “I don’t care if we’re getting takeaways or not. We’ve got a bad defense, but we’re here, I guess.
“We know everybody picked Seattle today. But that’s all right,” added Poyer.
It’s true that the Bills’ defense has been the subject of plenty of criticism through the first half of the season. The results on that side of the ball haven’t been up to the standards set over the last few years, noticeably in takeaways. The Bills entered the game with 10.
It also was fair to wonder how the unit would hold up against Wilson and the Seahawks, who entered the game leading the NFL in scoring average.
“We’re a resilient group, especially as a defense,” Hyde said. “We’ve put some bad games on tape, but just like in years past, we’ve prevailed. We always come through. The guys in this locker room never quit. We’re just relentless. We want to continue to get better. As long as we’re getting better late in the season, it’s a process, but late in the season we want to play our best football. Today was another game. We were able to make some plays. It’s something to build off of.”
2. White gave the Bills a scare. The team’s No. 1 cornerback was hurt with 2:40 left in the fourth quarter when he tackled Seattle running back Travis Homer. Bills coach Sean McDermott was quick to come out to the field to check on White, who would be nearly impossible to replace if he were to miss significant time because of an injury.
McDermott said after the game he didn’t know White’s status, but the signs were positive immediately afterward. White was able to walk off the field under his own power, and was seen jogging on the sideline. The Seahawks did score a touchdown two plays after White left the game on a 7-yard pass from Wilson to D.K. Metcalf, but Seattle did not get another possession.
3. The offensive line was under siege. At one point during Sunday’s game, the home team was without four starters up front. Starting center Mitch Morse was inactive because of a concussion. In the first quarter, left guard Cody Ford left with an ankle injury. On the second play of the second quarter, right guard Brian Winters left with a knee injury and a short time later, right tackle Daryl Williams came out briefly with an undisclosed injury. At that time, the only starter in his usual position was left tackle Dion Dawkins. Ike Boettger finished the game at left guard. Ryan Bates came in at right guard and Ty Nsekhe played right tackle.
Smelling blood in the water, the Seahawks sent blitz after blitz at quarterback Josh Allen, sacking him seven times. That matched a career high for the Bills’ quarterback, set in 2018 as a rookie against Green Bay.
Winters and Williams were able to return to the game, however, and the line held up when it needed to at the end.
“We protected up front and I had time to get the ball out,” Allen said.
4. Steve Christie’s record is safe. Rookie kicker Tyler Bass was wide right on a 61-yard field goal at the end of the first half. Had he made it, Bass would have set a new team record. Instead, Christie continues to possess the longest field goal in team history – a 59-yarder against Miami in 1993.
5. Dawson Knox returned to the lineup. The Bills’ tight end played for the first time since suffering a calf injury in Week 5. Knox also spent time on the NFL’s reserve/Covid-19 list in the time that he was out. He was activated off that list and returned to practice last week. Knox, however, was quiet in his return. He was not targeted in the passing game and gave up a sack when Seahawks safety Jamal Adams blew through his attempted block in the second half.
6. The Bills went with just two running backs. Taiwan Jones (hamstring) and T.J. Yeldon (back) missed the game because of injury, meaning the Bills dressed just two healthy running backs – Devin Singletary and Zack Moss. On a day when the running attack was an afterthought, Singletary finished with just 1 yard on two carries. Moss led the Bills with nine carries that went for 18 yards. He also had a 1-yard rushing touchdown. Moss became the first rookie running back to have a rushing touchdown in consecutive games since Karlos Williams in 2015.
7. Harrison Phillips was once again a healthy inactive. The Bills’ third-year defensive tackle sat for the third time in four weeks. Phillips led the team's defensive tackles in snaps against the New England Patriots in Week 8, but that was a game in which the defensive game plan focused more on stopping the run.
The Bills also got defensive tackle Vernon Butler Jr. back after he missed Week 8 because of a groin injury.
The Bills' other healthy inactives were tight end Lee Smith and rookie quarterback Jake Fromm.
8. A.J. Epenesa got back in the lineup. The Bills went with five defensive ends against Seattle, with Epenesa, the team's second-round draft pick, returning to the lineup after being a healthy inactive in Week 8. Epenesa did not make the stat sheet, but he did make a heads-up play in the fourth quarter when he fielded an apparent attempted onside kick by the Seahawks' Jason Myers.
9. Former Seahawks get game balls. After the win, McDermott awarded game balls to special-teams coordinator Heath Farwell and defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson. Farwell was the Seahawks’ special teams captain the year Seattle won Super Bowl XLVIII and also spent time as assistant special teams coordinator. Jefferson was signed by the Bills this past offseason after spending four seasons with the Sehawks.
“Good to have you with us,” McDermott told Jefferson in the victorious locker room.
10. The weather set a record. With a temperature of 69 degrees at kickoff, it officially became the warmest home game in November or later. The previous record of 62 degrees was set on Nov. 17, 2013 for a game against the New York Jets.
At 7-2 for the first time since 1993 after defeating the Seattle Seahawks 44-34 Sunday at Bills Stadium, the Buffalo Bills put themselves back in the conversation of being one of the league's elite teams. See photos, analysis and more from the game.
