Here are my hot reads from the Buffalo Bills' 44-34 victory against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Bills Stadium.
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.
Hottest topic
After four games of subpar and ordinary performances, Josh Allen returned to the form he showed as the Bills roared to a 4-0 start.
And in knocking off a club widely regarded as one of the best in the NFL, the Bills made a huge statement.
They didn't simply win back credibility points they lost after back-to-back defeats against Tennessee and Kansas City. At 7-2 for the first time since 1993, they put themselves back in the conversation of being one of the league's elite teams.
And Allen put himself back in the discussion of Most Valuable Player in the NFL.
On a day when the Bills scored the most points since they had 45 against San Francisco in 2016, Allen led the way with his second 400-yard passing game of the season. He completed 31 of 38 passes for 415 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for a TD. Allen, who finished with a passer rating of 138.5, became the sixth quarterback to throw for 300 or more yards against the Seahawks this season.
According to the NFL, Allen is the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era with 400 or more passing yards, at least three passing touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 130 or higher passer rating in multiple games in a season. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes have multiple such games in their careers.
Allen and his receivers made it look incredibly easy, basically playing pitch and catch on every drive. That's not a shock, given the 6-2 Seahawks entered the game with the worst pass defense in the NFL.
But it was still up to the Bills to take advantage of Seattle's defensive shortcomings. Early in the game, Allen was feasting on a lack of pressure, but the Seahawks wound up sacking him seven times, equaling the most times he has been sacked in his career.
By halftime, Allen threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 10 of his first 11 passes for 117 yards and led the Bills to scores on each of their first four possessions.
Well done
This game figured to be shootout, mainly because both defenses were struggling. The Bills' defense let up toward the end. But the Seahawks' D struggled more and Buffalo's rose to the occasion by forcing Russell Wilson, the top candidate for NFL MVP, into four turnovers. Wilson did manage to throw for 390 yards and two scores.
• The Bills' D knocked down Wilson 16 times, more than any quarterback in the league this season.
• Jordan Poyer getting his first interception of the season in the end zone while Wilson was being pressured by Jerry Hughes on a fourth-down play. That set up a Tyler Bass field goal to put the Bills in front, 17-0.
• Hughes forcing Wilson to fumble and the Bills cashing in for another field goal to make it 27-10.
• Tre'Davious White intercepting Wilson for the Bills' third takeaway of the game to set up the possession that ended with Allen's 3-yard TD run to give Buffalo a 41-20 advantage.
• A.J. Klein made it four turnovers by Wilson when he yanked the ball from him on a sack in the fourth quarter, which set up a field goal to make it 44-27.
Ice cold
• There really isn't anything from the Bills that we can put in this category. Buffalo's players and coaches did mostly everything right in this game.
• The officials for a highly questionable roughing-the-passer call on Hughes.
