1. Newcomers contribute in a big way
The Bills have 23 newcomers to the lineup this season. Whether it's rookies or free agency adds Buffalo will be leaning on what they bring to lead the charge this season. Head coach Sean McDermott had a lot to like about the way the newcomers performed in Week 1.
"It's been good for us," McDermott said. "I mean again you go back to not just having players but the right types of players. The right type of people to add to the players were already here in house. Mentioned some of the faces like John Brown, and the list could go on there and then the young guys that contributed like Devin Singletary, Dawson Knox, all of these guys had 20 or so reps. Tommy Sweeney had a catch, Dawson had a catch, Devin made his first appearance, Cody Ford, Ed Oliver and more. Those are good moments for out young players as we continue to build this program to create a good solid foundation."
Bills newcomers accumulated 90 yards rushing and 227 yards receiving on offense and a touchdown. Defensively the effect isn't the same as the Bills returned 10 of 11 starters from last season but the same group was able to limit the Jets offense to under 250 yards of total offense.
2. Brian Daboll wasn't concerned with offense
Buffalo totaled 165 of its 370 yards of total offense on its two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll wasn't worried about the offense's effectiveness despite the teams four turnovers.
"Well we were moving the ball, we had four well-documented turnovers that stopped drives, but if you weren't moving the ball then you're going to have to figure out how to do something else," Daboll said. "We felt like we were moving the ball, we had turnovers. Did we change a bunch at halftime? No. Give credit to the players, that's who I give credit to. They executed and made some good plays when they had to make them. Look we're far where we need to be but they played the best where it mattered most."
Daboll said it was resiliency and mental toughness that were strung together to lead the Bills to victory. Daboll hopes to have another good week of preparation and the Bills won't dwell on Sunday's win for very long.
3. Tremaine Edmunds growth is showing
There's been a lot of talk this offseason about the growth that Tremaine Edmunds has had mentally since the end of 2018. When Sunday's game ended there was finally tape to prove it.
"We try to stress him as much as possible in practice to put him in pressure situations," defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said. "We did a lot of no huddle work last week. I won't get into detail but we tried to test him and try to prepare for opening day on the road. He handled it so well in practice and we were all excited that he would handle it well on Sunday."
Players fed off of Edmunds' poise and his ability to process what is happening in the heat of the moment, says Frazier.
"That has a lot to do with the preparation that went into stressing him as much as possible in the meetings, in practice, because those guys will feed off his energy and he has responded tremendously to help the rest of our defense," Frazier said.
