Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills survived the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, winning a 31-19 contest that was much closer than most pundits assumed it would be. To channel our inner Sean McDermott, Buffalo did not play good complementary football, as the offense had far too many lulls, the defense allowed far too many big plays on the ground, and the special teams contributed to lots of plus-field position for the visiting team.
And yet, in spite of all that negativity, the Bills found a way to start the season 4-0, and they are one of two teams — the other is the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles — to remain perfect thus far. Buffalo’s offense made plays when it had to, and the defense buckled down and bowed its neck in crucial situations. While Camerone Johnston buckled down after his knee bowed in a way it wasn’t supposed to, the special teams ultimately did enough to help the Bills to victory.
In a game like this one, there are always plenty of heroes who led the way to victory, but there are also plenty of players who left room for improvement. Here’s how our five players to watch performed on Sunday.
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RB Ty Johnson
Well, so much for that prediction. Johnson carried just once in the game for no gain, and he returned one kickoff for 13 yards. He played on just 20% of the offensive snaps.
In the early going this year, the offensive backfield has really been dominated by James Cook, and Week 4 was no exception. Cook played 73% of the snaps on offense, carrying 22 times for 117 yards and a touchdown as he set a franchise record by scoring a rushing touchdown in his eighth-straight regular season game. Cook also caught three passes for 18 yards. The Bills are playing Cook like a 26-year-old stud in his prime who just signed a lucrative contract extension.
Johnson, for his part, has been the clear RB2 so far this year, as he once again out-snapped Ray Davis by a considerable margin. The second-year man played only five offensive snaps in the game. Johnson will have chances, but on Sunday, the backfield once again belonged to James Cook.
TE Jackson Hawes
The lack of involvement from the tight ends in the passing game against the Saints was confusing to me. Coming into the week, I thought that the Bills would be able to exploit the middle of the field like they did against the Miami Dolphins in Week 3.
Credit the Saints for flooding the middle with some different fire zones and odd looks, forcing Josh Allen and company to throw the ball outside the hashes a little more than they have of late. Hawes still did his thing, blocking like a true pro and hauling in his lone target for a 15-yard gain. We’ll have to wait at least another week to see if the rookie can log his first multi-catch game of his career.
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