The Buffalo Bills defense came into Week 2 looking to prove that its struggles vs. the Baltimore Ravens just a week ago were a fluke. Head coach Sean McDermott said that they had to make things “hard” in practice this week. Playing against a New York Jets team that loves to run the ball — and had great success doing so in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers — the Bills knew they had to be better than they were in the season opener.
Not only were the Bills better this week, but they were absolutely dominant. Buffalo played up to their own lofty standard, and even surpassed it in some ways by turning in a lock-down performance on defense. Buffalo allowed just 154 total yards, the lowest total they’ve allowed in a game since 1990. After the Jets racked up nearly 400 yards of offense in Week 1, the Bills brought them crashing back down to Earth in this game — a contest which really wasn’t close for any time at all.
Buffalo’s top players all showed up this week — special shout-outs to Joey Bosa and James Cook — but some of our players to watch entering the game answered the bell, as well. Here’s how those five players fared in Sunday’s blowout victory.
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After seeing plenty of run in Week 1, Johnson was the clear third-wheel in this week’s running back game plan. Johnson saw just 19 snaps on offense, totaling 25% of the snaps. Ray Davis saw a bit more, totaling 27% on 20 total offensive snaps. James Cook was on the field for much of this one, as he handled 35 offensive snaps, or 47% of the offensive total. Cook had 21 carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns, so sticking with him made sense.
Johnson only carried twice for six yards, and he was targeted once on a screen pass that Quincy Williams blew up immediately by leveling Johnson as the football arrived.
The Bills didn’t do much through the air, and as a result, Coleman’s overall numbers were the type that likely frustrated fantasy football managers who added him after his huge Week 1 performance. Coleman caught all three of his targets for just 26 yards on the day. No Buffalo receiver saw more than tight end Dalton Kincaid’s six targets, and the Bills passed just 27 times overall.
Between Buffalo’s defensive dominance and the success of the run game, there wasn’t much need to throw it. Coleman did what he needed to do, and we’ll take that even when it doesn’t translate to huge fantasy football numbers.
The second-round pick did, in fact, see his first NFL start, but he didn’t do much with it in terms of his overall stats. Sanders had just one tackle on the day, playing a team-high 23 defensive snaps at defensive tackle. Zion Logue, who played just 16 snaps in his first action after being called up from the practice squad, combined with Greg Rousseau for a sack. Deone Walker played 22 snaps, totaling two tackles on the game.
It was a group effort in replacing the injured Ed Oliver, and it will likely be the same thing on Thursday night when the Bills host the Miami Dolphins. Sanders acquitted himself well in terms of holding blocks for his linebackers, which is all we can ask for of a player at one of the most important, yet least glamorous, positions on the field.
After a poor first game, Milano was one of those veteran defenders who I wanted to see more from this week. Well, it didn’t take long for No. 58 to make his presence felt, as he made a quick stop on the Jets’ first play from scrimmage, and then shot a gap to make a tackle for loss on New York’s second play from scrimmage. In terms of his decisiveness and explosion, this was much more like what I want to see out of Milano, who is still one of the best linebackers in the league even after all the injuries he’s suffered.
Speaking of injuries, it appeared that Milano may have injured his shoulder during the game, and while he had his helmet in the second half, it was Dorian Williams playing in his place on defense for the final 30 minutes of the contest. Sean McDermott confirmed that Milano has a pectoral injury in his Monday press conference, but he did not say whether this is a long-term issue or something less serious. Milano tied safety Cole Bishop for the team lead in tackles, notching five on just 23 defensive snaps.
It was a poor first game for Rapp, as well, and he looked much more like himself in this one. Rapp played 37 snaps on defense, ceding time to Damar Hamlin at the end of quarter four with the game well in hand. He did not total any pass breakups, but Rapp had four tackles in the game. He likely would have had more, but the Jets’ passing attack was so anemic that Buffalo’s defensive secondary didn’t have much to do.
New York completed just 10-of-22 passes for only 83 yards in the contest, so as a whole, the Buffalo secondary looked fantastic this week. Rapp was a big part of why.
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