Zack Moss crossed the goal line with 6:06 remaining in the third quarter Sunday for the Buffalo Bills.
Tyler Bass’ ensuing extra point gave the visiting team a 38-3 lead over the New York Jets. At that moment, it was apparent the Bills would be flying home to Western New York a couple hours later with their sixth victory of the season.
Allen was 5 of 7 for 208 yards on passes that traveled 20 or more yards downfield on Sunday.
When the Jets came back out for their next offensive series, however, the Bills’ defensive starters once again took the field. Safety Jordan Poyer ended that drive with the fourth interception of Jets quarterback Mike White, giving the Bills possession on their own 1-yard line.
At that point, 1:08 was left in the third quarter, and with the Bills backed up, it seemed likely that starting quarterback Josh Allen would be able to take the rest of the afternoon off.
Somewhat surprisingly, though, Allen came out for another series. He wound up being intercepted just two plays later.
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Diggs moved up to 10th in the NFL in catches and eighth in receiving yards with Sunday’s big game against the Jets.
The Jets capitalized on the short field when running back Michael Carter scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 12:02 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Even then, the offensive starters came back out for another series. Just two plays into that series, running back Matt Breida lost a fumble.
On Monday, head coach Sean McDermott explained why he decided to stick with his starters for as long as he did in what was a lopsided game.
“You try and get to the to the fourth quarter and see where you're at,” the coach said. “I can tell you I've been involved in this thing a long time, and leads can diminish quickly. And to some extent, we got a little sloppy yesterday, to be honest with you. So, you see how quickly momentum can change, and all respect for every opponent, trying to handle ourselves with class. We were going to try and put the game away. That's how we believe in doing things. And no disrespect to anyone, it was just us trying to put the game away then.”
After Breida’s lost fumble, the Bills’ starting defense forced a turnover on downs. Allen connected with No. 1 receiver Stefon Diggs on a 43-yard gain to get down to the Jets’ 14-yard line, and three plays later, Devin Singletary rushed in from 2 yards out to give the Bills a 45-10 lead after Bass’ extra point with 5:57 remaining.
Given his production, it’s expected that there will be calls for Gabriel Davis to see the field more in the immediate future.
It was only then that McDermott lifted most of his starters.
“If you asked our analytics guys, they would tell you that I was in touch with them as to where we were in the game and what we needed, how many possessions they may have had left or didn't have left,” he said. “We were still playing ball at that point and that's really where we were.”
Here are three more observations from Monday’s news conferences with McDermott, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
1. Tremaine Edmunds is making progress. The Bills’ starting middle linebacker is now classified as day to day, McDermott said, which would seem to indicate he’s at least got a chance to play against the Colts in Week 11. A.J. Klein filled in nicely for Edmunds against the Jets, making seven tackles and breaking up a pass.
“A.J., you know, led our defense,” Frazier said. “He did a great job throughout the week in practice in the absence of Tremaine. Handled all the different situations that came up in the game. I saw him in the hallway earlier and just expressed to him my gratitude for the way he played and the way he led our guys on the field.”
"I think what you saw out there was A.J., a lot of trust and faith in A.J., and he's a good football player," coach Sean McDermott said.
2. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was activated from the NFL’s reserve/Covid-19 list. Trubisky will go back to being Allen’s backup, while Davis Webb reverts to the practice squad. Webb took his first NFL snaps Sunday in relief of Allen, although he did not throw a pass.
“You guys know how I feel about Davis,” Daboll said. “Just tremendous respect for him as a man and as a player. Very unselfish, great teammate. So, it was really good. I was happy for him that he got to get in there and get his first action.”
Defensive tackle Star Lotulelei and wide receiver Jake Kumerow remain on the reserve/Covid-19 list.
The Bills also released wide receiver Austin Proehl from the practice squad.
3. Allen is a finalist for the NFL’s FedEx Air Player of the Week award. He finished 21 of 28 for 366 yards and two touchdowns against New York, with a passer rating of 125.6. The other finalists are Dallas’ Dak Prescott (24 of 31, 77.4% completions, 296 yards, two touchdowns, 127.9 passer rating in a win over the Falcons) and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes (35 of 50, 70.0% completions, 406 yards, five touchdowns, 127.6 passer rating in a win over the Raiders).
