Buffalo Rumblings
It wasn’t perfect, but it was another conference win on the road for Buffalo
The Buffalo Bills beat the Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis on Sunday for the first time since 1998, winning 30-20 in a game that had plenty of back-and-forth to it. Well, the first half was hotly contested, anyway, as Buffalo jumped out to a 10-0 lead, trailed 13-10, and then ultimately ran out to a 30-13 lead before allowing a garbage-time touchdown.
While that late touchdown didn’t do much for anyone — unless you bet the over — it did make the final margin of victory look closer than it should have. On defense, Buffalo did plenty of things well, and while the offense turned it over twice in a single game for the first time this season, they still won the turnover battle by forcing four more turnovers of their own on defense.
Our five Bills to watch certainly played a big part in the outcome of the game, and if not for a wayward pass from quarterback Josh Allen, they would have done even more. Here’s how our five Bills to watch fared this week.
Look, I’m not saying that Hollins should be a starter when Buffalo’s receiving corps is fully healthy. But, I’m not saying that he should be relegated to afterthought status, either. As the year’s progressed, Hollins and Allen have built much more chemistry, and while his red zone expertise wasn’t necessary this week, some of that chemistry came in handy.
Hollins caught all four of his targets for a game-high 86 yards. That included one huge play at the end of the first half where Allen eluded the Colts’ pass rush, high-stepped towards the line of scrimmage to avoid Laitu Latu, and hit Hollins for a 44-yard gain with eight seconds before intermission. Hollins not only made a sliding catch, but he had the presence of mind to jump to his feet and run out of bounds, thereby preserving Buffalo’s final timeout just in case something went wrong on the next play. Hollins also made a sliding grab on a Cover-2 “hole shot” to give the Bills a first down when they were backed up in their own end.
With Keon Coleman already ruled out for next week and Amari Cooper’s status up in the air, we should expect to see plenty more of Hollins against the Kansas City Chiefs. He’s been on a good run of late.
The Bills tried to give Kincaid some shots, and he saw four targets in the first quarter alone. Kincaid made two catches for 24 yards, as both of his grabs went for 12 yards. He would have had three catches for 52 yards and a touchdown, but Allen flat-out missed him on a wheel route late in the first quarter. That overthrow came on a third down, and Buffalo went for it on fourth down rather than attempt a 46-yard field goal. The stick...
