Buffalo Bills defeat Seattle Seahawks 44-34: Here's your guide to Bills postgame coverage

Should the Bills have had a touchdown on their first series of the second half?

Gabriel Davis caught a 39-yard pass from Josh Allen and was ruled to have been knocked out of bounds at the 1-yard line. 

The Bills did not challenge. A run, a short pass to John Brown and an incomplete pass led to fourth down and Tyler Bass kicked the 22-yard field goal.

Here is the play:

Looks like Gabriel Davis was in bounds on the long catch. @MikePereira says if the #Bills had challenged, appears it could have been overturned for the TD. pic.twitter.com/7gntTO6KJt

— Bradley Gelber (@BradleyGelber) November 8, 2020

"To me, the heel doesn’t get down," Fox rule analyst Mike Pereira said during the broadcast. "The fact that he ruled him out of bounds at the goal line, you can review that and give him an additional step into the end zone. In this case, the ball going over the top of the pylon, had it been challenged, you could have turned it into a touchdown."

After the game, Davis tweeted:

🥺 https://t.co/pWi4RKTe52

— Gabriel Davis (@DavisGB1) November 8, 2020

How confident were bettors that the Seattle Seahawks were going to win Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, and cover the three-point spread? Very confident. 

In fact, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Seahawks had 91% of the bets, the most lopsided game of the day. 

Baltimore giving one point to the Indianapolis Colts was second with 89% of the wagers. 

Showing the variance of betting site, Baltimore Ravens-Colts had 93% of the money at DraftKings, and Bills-Seahawks was second at 89%. 

Needless to say, not a lot of folks liked the Bills plus the three.  

Needless to say, a lot of folks were wrong after the Bills' 44-34 victory, a game in which the Bills never trailed.  

Josh Allen's 24 completions and 282 passing yards are the most by a Buffalo Bills quarterback in a first half since at least 1991, according to the team. 

Allen was 24 for 28 with three touchdowns and three sacks as the Bills took a 24-10 lead. 

Allen had three passing touchdowns in the first half for the first time in his career. 

His 154 yards in the first quarter were a career high, surpassing the 125 yards he had on Nov. 25, 2018, against Jacksonville. 

Allen's 23 touchdowns are a franchise best through nine games.

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.

Report Card: Bills passing game returns to its A+ ways

“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.

Analysis: Josh Allen's audible to John Brown highlighted QB's huge day

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.

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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.

The Seattle Seahawks’ defense went for the jugular with the Buffalo Bills backed up in a third-and-16 situation early in the fourth quarter.

Seattle had pulled within 27-20. There was 12:21 left in the game, and the Bills were at the Seattle 35.

The safe play was to drop back in zone coverage, force the Bills to kick a field goal in the 45-yard range and stay within 10 points.

Instead, head coach Pete Carroll instructed defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. to call an all-out blitz.

Maybe Josh Allen would have been flustered in 2018 or last season. Not in his third season.

Quarter by Quarter: Bills roll up the numbers in knocking off Seahawks

Here's a quarter by quarter look at the Buffalo Bills' 44-34 victory over the Seattle Seahawks at Bills Stadium on Sunday.

The Bills quarterback audibled to a receiver screen to John Brown that went for 33 yards to the Seattle 1. The ensuing touchdown put the Bills in control for good, up 34-20.

“He made a great check on the all-out blitz to John Brown,” said center Jon Feliciano. “That was a huge play in the game. That’s all Josh’s preparation and the confidence of him noticing the defense, noticing they were bringing all out, and he got to the right play.”

Here’s a look at some of Allen’s big plays from the Bills’ 44-34 victory Sunday, starting with the key receiver screen.

Third and 16. Seattle had been hurting the Bills with heavy blitzes throughout the third quarter. On this play, the Seahawks rushed their four defensive linemen, both linebackers and both safeties, Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs.

“I made, contributed the call that they hit the screen on, third and 16,” Carroll said. “All the calls didn’t work out quite right, as it happens sometimes.”

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The interceptions by Jordan Poyer and Tre'Davious White were two of the four turnovers of Wilson forced by the Buffalo defense.

Cornerback Quinton Dunbar was playing well off the line of scrimmage, with Brown lined up wide right. Allen fired the quick pass to Brown, who had a clear path up the middle of the field to the 1-yard line.

“They made it a little bit of a zero game late in that first half and then in the third quarter,” Allen said of Seattle’s all-out blitzes. “Then we hit the screen to John and kind of got them out of that. I got to recognize those earlier and get to our checks earlier, whatever the case may be. If we continue to see it, we’ll have to adjust and find different ways to attack it. As soon as you hit them once or twice there the team usually doesn’t go back to it.”

Brown caught eight passes for 99 yards. He has been battling a foot injury that kept him out two of the previous four weeks, and he had just one catch in the other two games the past month.

“He’s just another guy that you gotta worry about,” Allen said. “His route running, his speed, he’s a vertical threat. He’s a very smart, instinctive runner. He knows when to find zones. He’s a heck of a player and a heck of a guy. When he’s on the field ... now you have to worry about three or four different guys on the field at all times. As soon as you take attention away from him and that’s when we use him.”

Deep over TD. Allen hit Isaiah McKenzie for a 25-yard TD to cap the first drive of the game.

It was a deep over route from the right slot against Cover 3, with Diggs playing free safety in the middle of the field.

Allen pump-faked to Brown, who ran a hitch on the left side of the field, which drew the attention of the other safety, Adams. Diggs had no chance to keep up with McKenzie screaming past him toward the left side of the end zone.

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“Josh made a great throw, great protection,” McKenzie said. “We worked on that play during the week and it was like, listen, if we got the look, you throw it no matter what.”

McKenzie did a nifty dance move to celebrate his second TD of the season.

“After a touchdown I’m always dancing, so I brought the little salsa moves out,” he said.

It’s good to be 237 pounds. The Bills’ second TD in the first quarter was set up by a 22-yard catch and run by Devin Singletary to the Seattle 5.

Seattle rushed five men, and Rasheem Green beat Cody Ford up the middle. Green got an arm around Allen’s legs but the big quarterback was too tough to bring down.

It looked like Allen was going to scramble, which drew Adams toward the line of scrimmage. But Allen had his eyes downfield and dumped off to a wide-open Singletary.

Bad slot matchup. Due to injuries, Seattle is on its third option at slot cornerback, undrafted D.J. Reed. Stefon Diggs abused him for a 21-yard gain on the Bills’ third TD drive. Diggs faked a curl from the left slot, then sprinted on a cross toward the right sideline. He was wide open for a 21-yard gain to the Seattle 36.

Bad wide matchup. On the next play, Diggs ran a hitch near the left sideline against Dunbar, who was giving a big cushion. Seattle sent a six-man rush, but the Bills kept both Singletary and Dawson Knox in to block. It was an easy throw, and Diggs ran away from Dunbar for another 21-yard gain.

“Yeah, he had a tough day,” Carroll said of Dunbar. “He was playing on a sore knee. Eventually we had to take him out.”

A Daboll special. The Bills capped that drive with a 4-yard TD pass from Allen to Gabriel Davis. Talk about scheming it up by offensive coordaintor Brian Daboll.

First McKenzie ran a jet-sweep motion to the left, and Allen faked a shovel pass to him.

Then Allen took a step toward the line of scrimmage, with running back Zack Moss leading the way as a blocker, as if it was a quarterback power run off right guard.

Then Allen stopped and threw a jump pass to Davis, who ran a slant against Dunbar. Wide open. The Bills had a 24-7 lead.

“We didn’t want to be off them as much as it wound up looking like at the end,” Carroll said. “That was not the plan. I’ve got to see why that happened. It’s such an out of character game across the board that I don’t even recognize us.”

Grading the Buffalo Bills in their 44-34 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Bills Stadium …

RUNNING GAME: C

The Bills’ 19 rushing attempts were their fewest in a game this season. They didn’t produce much – just 34 yards – but there were a few bright spots. Rookie Zack Moss had a 1-yard rushing touchdown. He also picked up three first downs on his seven carries. That included the first down that allowed the Bills to run out the clock when Moss gained 1 yard on a third-and-1 attempt with 1:40 left to play. Excluding three kneeldowns at the end of the game, quarterback Josh Allen rushed four times for 13 yards, including a 3-yard rushing touchdown. At the end of a couple of those runs, he took bigger hits than he probably should have. Devin Singletary had just two carries for 1 yard.

“The message was, ‘Just execute whatever is called.’ That’s what we did,” Singletary said of the pass-happy attack.

PASSING GAME: A+

Allen absolutely feasted on a historically awful Seattle pass defense. In going 31 of 38 for 415 yards and three touchdowns, he became the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era with 400-plus passing yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 130 or better (Allen was at 138.5 Sunday) in multiple games in a single season. Only Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Patrick Mahomes have multiple such games in their careers. Stefon Diggs led the Bills with nine catches for 118 yards. Diggs now has four 100-yard receiving games this season – the most for the Bills in a single season since Sammy Watkins had five in 2015. Singletary and Moss combined to make five catches for 63 yards. Both Isaiah McKenzie and Tyler Kroft caught a touchdown on their only targets of the game.

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RUN DEFENSE: A

Just like with the rushing offense, a bit of an afterthought. Seattle ran the ball just 17 times for 57 yards (3.4 yards per carry), but did have two rushing touchdowns. Leading 14-0, linebacker A.J. Klein and safety Jordan Poyer combined to stop Seahawks running back Travis Homer for no gain on a third-and-1 play from the Bills’ 5-yard line in the first quarter. That was significant, given that quarterback Russell Wilson threw an interception on the next play. Tremaine Edmunds and Vernon Butler Jr. had tackles for loss in run defense.

PASS DEFENSE: B-

Wilson’s final numbers – 28 of 41 for 390 yards and a pair of touchdowns – are impressive, but the Bills got the big plays when they needed them in pass defense. Poyer and Tre’Davious White each had an interception. Jerry Hughes had a strip sack. So did Klein. A team is going to win almost every time when it's plus-four in turnover differential, as the Bills were Sunday. The pass rush was ferocious. The Bills sacked Wilson five times – two from Klein, one by Hughes, one by Mario Addison and one by Edmunds – and hit him a whopping 11 times. In addition to the two interceptions, the Bills had four more passes defensed.  

Column: With a heavy heart, Josh Allen leads Bills to statement win

SPECIAL TEAMS: B+

Andre Roberts started things off on a strong note with a 60-yard kick return – his longest of the season. It took Allen and Co. just three plays to cash in the good field position with a touchdown. Roberts also gained 11 yards on his only punt return of the game. Tyler Bass went 3 of 4 on field goals, with the only miss coming from 61 yards. Each of Bass’ three made field goals gave the Bills a three-score lead at the time, so each was clutch. Bass also had a whopping eight touchbacks. The only time Seattle did return a kickoff, the Bills covered after just a 17-yard gain by Freddie Swain. Punter Corey Bojorquez was only called on twice. He averaged 40.5 net yards on those two punts, but did put one of them into the end zone for a touchback.  

COACHING: B

They’ll largely go unnoticed because of the win, but Sean McDermott made some questionable decisions. The Bills had to use a timeout on their first defensive series and another one after a first down with more than 4 minutes to go in the second quarter. That came into play when the Bills had just one timeout to work with on their final drive before halftime. McDermott could have thrown the challenge flag in the third quarter when a TV replay appeared to show that wide receiver Gabriel Davis did not step out of bounds at the Seattle 1-yard line at the end of a 39-yard reception, but rather made it the full 40 yards into the end zone. The Bills didn’t score a touchdown, despite having a first-and-goal after Davis’ catch, with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s play calling on that particular sequence leaving a lot to be desired. McDermott also elected to punt on fourth-and-1 near midfield in the first quarter. That’s defensible, but electing to use a timeout before punting was also questionable. If the plan was to leave the offense out to try to draw the Seahawks offside, fine, but just take the delay-of-game penalty from that spot on the field. Those issues aside, McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier had a strong game plan ready for Wilson, who was pressured relentlessly. McDermott rolls his eyes at the idea of “statement” wins, but this certainly qualifies.

Had it just been about the the passing yards and the touchdowns and the elite status of the opponent, Josh Allen's performance Sunday would rank as high as any by a Buffalo Bills quarterback.

That was only part of a much larger story.

The 415 yards and three touchdowns Allen produced with his arm, along with the one he scored on foot, came under emotional circumstances that weren't made public until nearly 45 minutes after the Bills' 44-34, statement-making victory against the Seattle Seahawks at Bills Stadium.

And it wasn't Allen who shared the fact that on Saturday, his grandmother, Patricia Allen, died suddenly at age 80. He went through his postgame video call with reporters without mentioning it, and he wasn't asked about it because the news had yet to be revealed.

Sean McDermott handled that unprompted in a subsequent video call. Only then was it known that a day before his second 400-yard passing game of the season and his career, Allen was processing devastating news and being asked by his coach how he even felt about playing Sunday.

"Before meetings last night, I called Josh and just asked him where he was on it and, obviously, I was expressing my sympathy to him, as well as his family," McDermott said. "He said that he wanted to play. We just felt like he was going to have to compartmentalize for the better part of 24 hours in order to get through the game. And that's what he did and then he was emotional after the game.

"Not an easy thing to play through.”

Allen did so much more than "play through" the challenging circumstances.

He became the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era with 400-plus yards passing, three-plus touchdown throws, no interceptions and a 130-plus passer rating (138.5) in multiple games in a season. Allen had thrown for 415 yards and four TDs, zero picks and a passer rating of 147 in a 31-28 win against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 20.

What's more, he stole the spotlight from his Seattle counterpart, Russell Wilson, who through most of the first half of the season has been the front-runner for NFL MVP. Wilson threw for 390 yards and a pair of TDs, but had two interceptions and two fumbles. He also was hit 11 times and sacked five times.

“It was the kind of game that we’re not used to seeing," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, whose team entered the game widely viewed as the best team in the NFL, told reporters. "It ended up as such an out-of-character game across the board that I don’t even recognize us."

The Seahawks sacked Allen seven times, but for much of the day, he was playing pitch and catch with receivers who consistently were wide open against three-deep zone coverage. Stefon Diggs caught nine passes for 118 yards, his fourth 100-yard game of the season, while John Brown had eight receptions for 99 yards and Gabe Davis caught four for 70 yards.

Allen showed exceptional poise, accuracy and superb decision-making. He was in firm control from the very first snap.

"Josh played a heck of a game," McDermott said. "He was under pressure at times, he was able to escape, was so smart with the football and got it where he needed to get it, to his outlets at times when they were pressuring. And, listen, Josh was emotional. He lost his grandmother last night and it was a big, big win and a great, great thing for him to play like he played. Just a mentally tough young man."

“He did a really nice job, being resourceful, moving around and making plays, which we had seen him do," Carroll said of Allen. "In the first half, it seemed like every time he moved, he made something happen, got a first down. We didn’t disrupt him nearly enough as we needed to do.”

Donations in honor of Josh Allen's grandmother soar past $250,000

The bond between the fans and Allen continues to get deeper and stronger.

Allen and the rest of the Bills' offense were back to the dominant form they showed through a 4-0 start when the QB was included in MVP talk and the team was living up to preseason hype of a deep playoff run.

At 7-2 for the first time since 1993, the Bills not only fortified their chances of winning the AFC East, but they also won back league-wide credibility points lost after back-to-back prime-time defeats against Tennessee and Kansas City.

Of course, it's hardly a coincidence that the Bills' dynamic showing came against an opponent that entered the game with the NFL's worst pass defense, allowing 358.7 yards per game. It's also not a coincidence that the Bills, who primarily ran their way to victory against the New England Patriots the previous week, chose to employ a game plan that made running barely an afterthought. The Bills finished with 34 rushing yards on 19 carries. The only game they've ever won with fewer yards on the ground was when they had 31 in an overtime victory against Minnesota in 2002.

Of the Bills' 34 plays in the first half Sunday, 32 were called passes. Allen completed 24 of 28 attempts for 282 yards and three touchdowns; the completions and yards were the most by a Bills quarterback since at least 1991. 

The Seahawks (6-2) never saw it coming.

"We didn’t think they would just totally abandon the running game," Carroll said. "We had a real nice plan if they were going to run it. We have to be able to adapt better to make sure we can turn it around faster."

The Bills raced out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter with Allen touchdown passes to Isaiah McKenzie and Tyler Kroft and a 44-yard Tyler Bass field goal on their first three possessions. They promptly answered Seattle's first TD, late in the second quarter, with a four-yard Allen scoring throw to Davis on their fourth series to make it 24-7.

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Jay Skurski weighs in with his grades of the Buffalo Bills after their 44-34 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Bills Stadium.

Giving offensive coordinator Brian Daboll the green light to throw so often isn't exactly in the DNA of McDermott, whose defensive coaching roots run deep. How was he able to reach a point of being comfortable with that strategy?

"We go through, we vet everything out we talk about it as a staff, we have great communication during the week," McDermott said. "We want to be responsible in what we're doing, but also know how we want to try to win each game. So, I really thought we did a good job of establishing the line of scrimmage a week ago in the run game and this week, we just felt like the right recipe, the right formula was to go out through the air a little bit there. And I think you saw the fruits of that."

Allen's reaction to the game plan was predictable.

"I loved it, personally, and I know the receivers loved it," he said. "Whatever it takes to win is what we're willing to do, what I'm willing to do. If it's checking out of a pass and getting to a run play, that's what I'm doing, and just trying to put us in the right situation each and every play ... Whatever the situation is, I trust in Coach Daboll and in our offensive staff to develop a game plan, the guys got to go out there and execute it, and I think we did that today."

For Allen, it was done with the heaviest of hearts.

Here are my hot reads from the Buffalo Bills' 44-34 victory against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Bills Stadium.

Hottest topic

The Bills have started at least 7-2 for the ninth team in franchise history. Here is how past teams have fared:

1964: Reached 9-0 on way to 12-2 regular season and championship victory against San Diego.

1965: Got to 8-2 before a tie with San Diego; finished 10-3-1 and won championship against San Diego.

1974: Started 7-2 and finished 9-5 and lost to Pittsburgh in divisional playoff.

1988: Began 11-1 and lost three of last four to finish 12-4; beat Houston in divisional round and lost to Cincinnati in AFC title game.

1990: Started 9-1 as part of a 13-3 regular season; lost first of four Super Bowls.

1991: Started 10-2 during a 13-3 regular season; lost Super Bowl.

1992: Started 9-2 and finished at 11-5 overall; lost Super Bowl.

1993: Started 8-2 on way to 12-4 record and fourth consecutive Super Bowl appearance.

Here's a quarter by quarter look at the Buffalo Bills' 44-34 victory over the Seattle Seahawks at Bills Stadium on Sunday.

First quarter

Theme: Josh Allen on fire.

Setting the tone: Andre Roberts returned the opening kickoff 7 yards deep in the end zone and went 60 yards to the Seattle 45.

One if by air: The Bills called 12 passes and one run on their first two possessions and scored touchdowns on drives of 45 and 72 yards. Allen was 13 of 15 for 154 yards and two TDs.

Key stop: Credit defensive end Jerry Hughes with an assist on the end-zone interception late in the quarter. It was a fourth-and-1 play, and Hughes hurried Russell Wilson to force the throw.

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Balmy: With a temperature of 70, it was the warmest November home game in Bills history, surpassing a 62-degree day in 2013 vs. the Jets.

Matchup watch: With starting CB Shaquill Griffin and slot corner Ugo Imadi out due to injuries, that pushed third-year veteran D.J. Reed onto the field in passing situations. Reed, a former undrafted free agent, is Seattle’s third option at slot corner and was a liabilty.

Fast starters: The Bills have outscored foes 66-27 in the first quarter. Seattle has a 56-50 first-quarter edge.

Second quarter

Theme: Bills defense gets a stop.

End zone breakup: Levi Wallace broke up a 28-yard pass down the right sideline into the end zone for Freddie Swain to force Seattle to settle for a 45-yard field goal late in the quarter. It pulled Seattle within 24-10.

Huge 30 minutes: Josh Allen was 24 for 28 for 281 yards and three touchdowns.

Blitz beater: Allen hung in the pocket, despite pressure from blitzing Jamal Adams and threw a 4-yard TD pass to Gabriel Davis to give the Bills a 24-7 lead. Adams came up the middle and got to Allen’s legs, but not before the pass was released.

Matchup watch: The Bills matched up Tre’Davious White with D.K. Metcalf on numerous third downs, but mostly had White and Wallace stick to their sides. Metcalf beat White for a 41-yard deep ball thanks to pure speed, and also got a 25-yard pass interference call against White.

10 observations: White, Poyer finally get interceptions in Bills' big win

The interceptions by Jordan Poyer and Tre'Davious White were two of the four turnovers of Wilson forced by the Buffalo defense.

Rare road flop: The Seahawks had won nine of their last 11 games on the road. Seattle had won 10 straight 1 p.m. Eastern kickoffs and was 18-6 in its last 24 1 p.m. Eastern games.

Third quarter

Theme: Seattle creeps closer.

Defense hangs on: It’s odd to say, but the Bills’ defense did its job, despite giving up a 75-yard TD drive and a 48-yard field goal drive. The defense forced a turnover at the Seattle 22 to start the half.

No challenge: Gabriel Davis may well have stayed in bounds and stretched the ball over the pylon for a TD on his 38-yard catch to the 1. The Bills did not challenge the stop. FOX analyst Mike Pereira thought it was a TD. Still, the Bills were stopped on three downs and settled for a field goal.

Magic man: Siran Neal had Russell Wilson dead in his sights and then in his grasp on a blitz. Somehow, Wilson eluded Neal to heave a third-down incompletion.

Zebra report: Jerry Hughes was called for roughing the passer on an incompletion. It was a dubious call because Hughes held up a big. But it’s a call NFL officials often make. It didn’t matter, because the Bills’ defense held Seattle to a field goal.

Out of the half: Seattle has outscored foes 80-39 in the third quarter. The Bills have been outscored 59-23.

Fourth quarter

Theme: Turnovers seal the deal.

Bills D steps up: Tre’Davious White intercepted a Russell Wilson third-and-25 pass and returned it 28 yards to the Seattle 3. Later in the quarter, A.J. Klein made a strip-sack of Wilson and took the ball away to give the Bills the ball at Seattle’s 19.

Key play: John Brown took a screen pass for 33 yards to the Seattle 1 on a third-and-16 play. It set up the TD that put the Bills ahead, 34-20.

Big offense: The 44 points were the most for the Bills in four years, since a 45-16 win over San Francisco in 2016.

Fantasy stud: Josh Allen scored his fifth rushing TD of the season with a 3-yard run. It was the 22nd of his career.

Nine-game sprint: Allen’s 2,587 yards is the second most through nine games in team history (to Drew Bledsoe in 2002), and his 19 TD passes are second most (to Joe Ferguson in 1981).

Twenty and nine: The Bills hit the 20 first-down mark in all nine games. It’s the second-longest streak in team history.

Rolling: It’s the first time the Bills are 7-2 since 1993.

Patricia Allen, the grandmother of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, died Saturday in California, the Bills said. She was 80.

Her death is not related to coronavirus, a team spokesman said.

Josh Allen spoke to team officials Saturday night and decided to play Sunday, coach Sean McDermott told reporters after the Bills’ 44-34 victory against the Seattle Seahawks.

“Obviously, our thoughts and prayers go out to Josh and his family,” McDermott said. “Before meetings last night, I called Josh and just asked him where he was on it and, obviously, I was expressing my sympathy to him, as well as his family. He said that he wanted to play.

“We just felt like he was going to have to compartmentalize for the better part of 24 hours in order to get through the game. And that's what he did and then he was emotional after the game. Not an easy thing to play, through.”

Reporters did not learn of Patricia Allen’s death until after Allen had spoken with the media. A team spokesman said Allen will address his grandmother’s passing Wednesday during his weekly news conference.

Bills fans began making donations of $17, Allen's number, to Oishei Children's Hospital, on Sunday night.

Patricia was married for nearly 54 years to A.E. “Buzz” Allen, who died in 2013. They were married shortly after Buzz was discharged from the Marines and they moved to Firebaugh, Calif., where Buzz and his brother Dink formed a large farming operation. Buzz's son Joel helped manage the operation. Joel would eventually enlist help from his own family, including Josh, on the farm.

Patricia and Buzz had four children: three sons and a daughter. Josh Allen is one of Patricia's grandchildren.

The Allen family donated the land for Firebaugh High, where Josh Allen was a star quarterback.

Kyler Murray might need to chew a few antacids after seeing the beating the Bills’ defense laid on Russell Wilson.

Five sacks. Eleven quarterback hits. Four forced turnovers.

“It’s something we’ll have to think about, because it worked great,” Bills defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson said about replicating their aggressive performance in the weeks to come. “Why give a quarterback a chance to even think or even set his feet? Just come after him.”

The Bills’ relentless front seven, led by veteran defensive end Jerry Hughes, enjoyed a breakthrough performance against the top-scoring offense in the NFL and fueled a 44-34 victory against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Bills Stadium.

Buffalo dominated a marquee opponent by not only building a big lead, but holding it and finishing the job, as the Bills improved to 7-2 for the first time since 1993, tightened their grip on the AFC East and turned next week’s trip to face Murray and the Arizona Cardinals into an opportunity to head into the bye on a four-game winning streak with back-to-back triumphs against NFC contenders. 

Bills coach Sean McDermott praised the aggressive game plan developed by defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and said the defense could build off the performance.

“It’s probably a mindset,” McDermott said. “I think when you have clarity during the early part of the week in terms of how we want to attack the game plan and then they can go out there and execute, the practice time we put in allows the guys to understand the ins and outs of the defense and the game plan and then they can go out there and play free.”

Wilson, the front-runner for NFL MVP, completed 28 of 41 pass attempts for 390 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score.

While that is the most passing yardage the Bills have allowed, Wilson also critically threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles.

The Bills scored off each turnover, resulting in 16 points and an even greater swing, considering Jordan Poyer’s interception in the end zone kept points off the board in the first quarter.

Report Card: Bills passing game returns to its A+ ways

Jay Skurski weighs in with his grades of the Buffalo Bills after their 44-34 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Bills Stadium.

“It was fourth-and-1 and we tried to make a play and go for it,” Wilson said. “I’m not going to just throw the ball out of the end zone. We almost had a touchdown there. They made a good play.”

It was Hughes’ pressure on Wilson that resulted in Poyer’s pick, his first of the season, after the Bills raced to a 14-0 lead.

And Hughes’ strip sack to begin the third quarter kept the momentum in the second half.

Hughes has a sack in three consecutive games for the third time in his career.

“Our D-line stirs the drink for our defense,” Poyer said. “We talk about all week that they’ve got to play on the other side of the line of scrimmage, and that’s what they did today.”

The Bills had blown a 28-10 second-half lead against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3 before rallying for the comeback victory. But there was no such drama this time around, even though the Seahawks clawed to within a touchdown.

Tre’Davious White, who hopped on Hughes’ forced fumble at the Seattle 23-yard line in the third quarter, also snared his first interception of the season with the Bills ahead 34-20 in the fourth, capping the defense’s most aggressive and productive series of the season.

On first down, Wilson was sacked by Mario Addison.

On second down, he was sacked by A.J. Klein.

On third down, he was intercepted by White, who returned the ball to the 3-yard line.

10 observations: White, Poyer finally get interceptions in Bills' big win

The interceptions by Jordan Poyer and Tre'Davious White were two of the four turnovers of Wilson forced by the Buffalo defense.

"More upset about the one late when we were down,” Wilson said. “(White) made a good play. We’ve just got to be cleaner. We had a great chance to win the game, despite it all.”

Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said there was “a lot of energy on the sideline.”

“We preach each and every week about winning the turnover battle,” Edmunds said. “All those plays are big for us. It’s a momentum swing and we were just able to give our offense a short field and let them go to work. All that stuff was amazing to see because we preach it all throughout the week.

“Just to see it come alive on game day when we needed it, it was a good thing to see.”

Moments after White’s interception, Josh Allen waltzed into the end zone for a 41-20 advantage with 9½ minutes to play.

Allen also completed 31 of 38 passes for a career-high-tying 415 yards and three touchdowns as the Bills scored their most points in a game since McDermott became head coach.

“Coach challenged us on defense to think offensively,” Hughes said, “so with those two big key interceptions, one to keep points off the board and another one with Tre White inches from the actual end zone, those are huge plays, because you’ve got Russell Wilson back there and you know he’s going to come swinging for four quarters.”

The Bills did the same.

The 44 points were the most a Pete Carroll-coached team had allowed since Nov. 14, 2009, when he was the head coach at USC and surrendered 55 points to Stanford, then coached by Jim Harbaugh, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Klein, starting in place of injured linebacker Matt Milano, had a team-high four quarterback hits and two sacks, including a strip sack and fumble recovery at the Seattle 19-yard line with 6 1/2 minutes remaining, snuffing out any threat of a Seattle comeback.

“We have to keep this momentum going,” Klein said. “We’ve been waiting on a game where we can come out and get this many turnovers in one game. It seems like we’ve been on the cusp. With Tre’Davious’ pick and Po’s pick, I think Jerry had a sack fumble, as well. These are types of plays and things that we need moving forward to continue to build to become a great defense.”

A.J. Klein hadn’t done much through the first half of the season, despite starting four of eight games as an injury replacement.

And Bills fans on social media had been happy to let him know.

“I don't pay attention to any of that stuff,” Klein said Sunday, after the game of his career. “I go out and do what I need to do and try to perform to the best of my ability. It's a good feeling when you go out and perform like this.”

Klein had a team-high four quarterback hits and two sacks on Russell Wilson, plus five solo tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup in the Bills’ 44-34 victory against the Seattle Seahawks at Bills Stadium.

Klein’s strip sack and fumble recovery at the Seattle 19-yard line with 6 1/2 minutes remaining ended any threat of a Seattle comeback.

It was the fourth turnover forced by the Bills’ aggressive defense, after Jordan Poyer and Tre’Davious White recorded their first interceptions of the season and White pounced on a fumble caused by Jerry Hughes. Entering the game, the Seahawks had just seven giveaways on the season. 

“Tre’Davious made a hell of a play. Po made a hell of a play. Our D-line was eating,” safety Micah Hyde said. “A.J. Klein had the day of his life coming off the edge, had a couple of sacks. When (defensive coordinator Leslie) Frazier’s calling an aggressive game and our D-line is eating like that, that’s when we play at our best.”

Klein, whose 2 1/2 sacks this season match his career high from a year ago, said the aggressive game plan paid dividends.

“I think that's part of the mentality, that we went into this week knowing that we were going to have opportunities to get after Russell," Klein said. "We didn't want to, obviously, let him get comfortable because we know he's one of the best, if not the best quarterback in the NFL of making things happen with his feet, especially when things break down, so bringing pressure and getting him uncomfortable was a key part of the plan.”

Klein, 29, was starting in place of linebacker Matt Milano, who was placed on injured reserve Saturday with a partially torn pectoral muscle, meaning he’ll miss at least two more games.

Bills coach Sean McDermott said the 6-foot-1, 240-pound linebacker was around the ball all day.

“I know A.J. made the big play down the stretch on a sack fumble there, which is huge,” McDermott said. “That’s not a team that turned the ball over very much coming into this game, so my hat goes off to our defense and the defensive coaches.”

Report Card: Bills passing game returns to its A+ ways

Jay Skurski weighs in with his grades of the Buffalo Bills after their 44-34 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Bills Stadium.

Klein wasn’t satisfied with his performance.

“Big plays cover probably some mistakes from earlier in the first half, but I know I can play football,” Klein said. “I have all the confidence in myself and I really don't pay attention to any outward or outside noise. That's one thing in this league you can't do. You just have to focus on yourself, focus on the process and get the job done on Sundays.”

Klein, a fifth-round draft pick by the Carolina Panthers in 2015, spent the last three seasons with the New Orleans Saints before signing a three-year, $18 million contract with the Bills in March. The deal included $11.3 million guaranteed.

10 observations: White, Poyer finally get interceptions in Bills' big win

The interceptions by Jordan Poyer and Tre'Davious White were two of the four turnovers of Wilson forced by the Buffalo defense.

Klein played for McDermott when he was defensive coordinator of the Panthers.

“He hasn't changed,” Klein said. “The same person he was as a (defensive coordinator) is who he is as a head coach, and that's part of the reason I decided to come here to Buffalo, because I want to be under his leadership. He makes this team what it is. We feed off of him, and he sets the tone and the tempo for the rest of the team. That's part of the reason I came here – familiarity with him, familiarity with the defense, which obviously now is paying off in the win column.”

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen's grandmother, Patricia Allen, passed away Saturday at age 80. 

Coach Sean McDermott said he spoke to Allen on Saturday night to offer his condolences and see whether Allen wanted to play. 

"He said that he wanted to play," McDermott said. "We just felt like he was going to have to compartmentalize for the better part of 24 hours in order to get through the game. And that's what he did and then he was emotional after the game."

On the question of Allen's decision to play, his mother, Lavonne, tweeted that there was no decision because Patricia, aka "Grammy," was Josh's biggest fan. 

Lavonne Allen, Josh's mom, tweeted Sunday night: "It was a very rough day yesterday but grammy wouldnt have had it any other way but to have Josh out on that field with his family/teammates. She lived for Sundays to watch her grandson and favorite team the Bills ... Grammy and Papa had the best seats in the house 7-2."

It was a very rough day yesterday but grammy wouldnt have had it any other way but to have Josh out on that field with his family/teammates She lived for Sundays to watch her grandson and favorite team the Bills💙❤️ Grammy and Papa had the best seats in the house🙏🏼💔7-2🎉

— Lavonne Allen (@LavonneAllen) November 8, 2020

The post includes blue and red hearts (Bills colors) and a broken heart, along with a celebratory symbol for the Bills' record.  

In response to Patricia's death, Bills fans have donated $200,000 and counting to Oishei Children's Hospital, an organization close to Allen's heart. 

#BillsMafia we first share in your support of @JoshAllenQB with the loss of his grandmother. Thank you all for the overwhelming amount of donations, totalling at $19,000 and still coming in. We are incredibly grateful and this level of support will make such an impact. Thank you! https://t.co/RxlVAbkTaD

— Oishei Children's Hospital (@OCHBuffalo) November 9, 2020