ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here are my five takeaways from the Buffalo Bills’ 40-0 victory against the Houston Texans Sunday at Highmark Stadium:
1. This went exactly as expected.
The Bills are a Super Bowl contender. The Texans are a joke. The much better team did exactly what it was supposed to do by winning by a comfortable margin.
At points during the first half, it seemed the Bills were content to allow the Texans to simply flounder rather than putting forth the effort to put them out of their misery right away. They were a bit sloppy early on, beginning with Josh Allen throwing an interception on Buffalo’s first play from scrimmage. They looked particularly shaky in Houston territory through the first two quarters, settling for four field goals (three in the first half).
Of course, it’s hard to blame the Bills for feeling as if they were pretty much going against air with the horrific showing by rookie quarterback Davis Mills, forced to start because of an injury to Tyrod Taylor and DeShaun Watson’s uncertain status, and the rest of the Texans’ offense. At halftime, Mills had completed one of seven passes for three yards, with two interceptions. He finished 11-of-21 for 87 yards and four interceptions. There was little chance the Texans would ever mount any significant scoring threat.
How in control were the Bills? Backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky took over for Allen with 8:03 remaining. Trubisky joined the scoring fun with a four-yard touchdown run a little less than five minutes later.
2. The Bills’ defense continues to be the story of the season.
The Texans are a train wreck, but let’s give Buffalo’s D credit for being dominant once again.
This was the Bills’ second shutout of the season and the first time in franchise history they’ve had two in their first four games (the other was against Miami, 35-0, in Week 2) and the third time they’ve had more than one in a season. “You always take pride in goose eggs,” safety Micah Hyde told reporters after the game.
The Bills wound up forcing five turnovers. They held Houston to 109 yards, while the Bills had 450.
And the Bills did all of this with safety Jordan Poyer missing the game with an ankle injury and nickel cornerback Taron Johnson out with a groin injury, and with linebacker Matt Milano missing most of the game after suffering an injured hamstring. Poyer’s replacement, Jaquan Johnson, had one of the picks.
Tremaine Edmunds had one of his better games of the season, with an interception and six tackles.
3. Welcome back, Stefon Diggs.
In each of the first three games, he had fewer than 70 receiving yards, hardly what was expected of the man who led the NFL in receptions and receiving yards last season. Diggs’ last such stretch was when he was the Minnesota Vikings.
Diggs clearly was a key part of the Bills’ passing game Sunday. He was targeted 10 times and made seven receptions for 114 yards.
4. Dawson Knox continues to be the special tight end the Bills were seeking after last season.
Talk about a transformation!
Knox has developed into one of the better tight ends in the league. His two touchdown catches Sunday give him a team-leading and career-best four for the season.
Knox and Allen have developed undeniably strong chemistry, giving the Bills as strong and as deep a pass-catching corps as any in the league.
“The past three of four weeks, in practice, it’s just clicked,” wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said of Knox. “Watching him in practice, you can tell he’s going to have a big game.”
Said Knox, “Just stacking good days on good days in practice, treating it like a game.”
5. Nope, the Bills weren’t guilty of looking ahead to Kansas City.
Well, that might have briefly been the case in the first half. But now, it is time to look ahead to what could be the most defining game of the season.
What the Bills have done to get to 3-1 is all well and good. Their three-game winning streak has been most impressive.
The proof of whether the Bills are, in fact, the best team in the AFC will come with how they play at Arrowhead Stadium next Sunday night against the Chiefs.
The Bills have been seeking to make amends since losing to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game last January.