Even without Stefon Diggs, the Buffalo Bills proved that they can still move the ball downfield with the best of them. Josh Allen and the vast majority of the starting offense played through the first two quarters, and the unit looked phenomenal. Gabriel Davis, in particular, stood out, but just about everyone that suited up played well in the third preseason game.
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Gabriel Davis, Josh Allen, Highlight Buffalo Bills Preseason Winners
Superstar wide receiver Stefon Diggs missed the preseason finale with a minor injury, giving a chance to see just how good the offense could be without their premier weapon. As it turns out, the unit is still pretty dangerous. Buffalo’s offense went up and down the field at will, with Allen looking just as good as he did throughout 2020. Overall, the quarterback completed 20 of his 26 pass attempts for 194 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions while only taking one sack.
Gabriel Davis and Emmanuel Sanders saw most of the work in two-receiver sets, with Cole Beasley coming on the field whenever Buffalo went three-wide. Sanders saw more targets, but Davis was far more effective when the ball came his way. The second-year pro finished the night with five receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown on five targets. Sanders, meanwhile, recorded just four receptions for 27 yards on eight targets. Sanders has reportedly had the stronger camp and will probably start opposite Diggs. That being said, don’t be surprised if Davis eats into Sanders’ targets as the season progresses.
This angle of Josh Allen’s 31-yard TD to Gabriel Davis 🔥 (via @psmith023)
— Overtime (@overtime) August 28, 2021
Establish the Pass
The Buffalo Bills had one of the highest passing rates last year, and that’s set to continue in 2021. Buffalo started the game with 13 straight passing attempts, not even pretending to try and run the football. This is fantastic news for Bills fans, as today’s NFL is all about throwing the football, and recent data studies show that establishing the run doesn’t actually impact passing efficiency.
Just like in 2020, it looks like running back snaps will be evenly divided between running backs Devin Singletary and Zack Moss. Singletary received all of the snaps in the first quarter but didn’t record a single carry. He did, however, haul in two receptions for eight yards. Moss saw the majority of the work in the second quarter and was marginally more effective. While he finished with just 10 rushing yards, he had a nice run called back due to an offensive holding penalty. Additionally, he also added a receiving touchdown late in the second quarter. From a fantasy perspective, you shouldn’t want either guy, but Moss will probably carry a little more upside.
The Defense Dominates
Even though it’s just the preseason, it’s always good to shut out the opposing offense. Aaron Rodgers didn’t play in the preseason finale, but Jordan Love played well earlier in the preseason. Shutting out that offense is still an impressive feat, even if it was largely against Green Bay’s second- and third-team offense.
The defense had a good day, but it wasn’t quite as good as the score might suggest. Jordan Love moved the ball into the Bills 25-yard line on three separate occasions, which is not a good thing. The Bills defense definitely deserves credit for keeping Green Bay out of the endzone, but that type of redzone performance simply isn’t sustainable. They’ll need to get better on third down once the games start counting.
Overall, this is just a minor nitpick in what was otherwise a fantastic finish to the preseason. The Kansas City Chiefs will always be the team to beat as long as Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are in town, but there is a real case for Buffalo being the second-best team in the AFC. The Bills looked the part on Saturday, and now have two weeks to prepare for their season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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