1. Josh stays hot, hopefully not in much pain
From the opening snap, I thought Josh was sharp. The first third down in the game, he threw a laser to Stefon Diggs and he just kept rolling from there. He threw for 70 percent again on the day and his lowest output of the season at 288 yards, but he's not worried about that. He made enough plays for them to win and made the plays when it counted. It wasn't a day where either team had a lot of possessions, eight or nine for both teams because they both moved the ball effectively and ran the clock. Neither team went for over 400 yards total, but I thought Josh played really well again today. Generally, when you get dinged up, and he downplayed the injury a lot after the game, it's the next day that you truly feel pain. So I'd imagine today he'll be feeling the pain from that hit and from falling on it. He's blessed that it was not his throwing shoulder he fell on, and hopefully, it won't affect him at all moving forward.
2. Bills receivers made plays all-day
It's a great combination of the accuracy of Josh Allen and then the guys on the outside making plays. The top three receivers took their turns making big-time plays. Cole Beasley goes into the end zone, making a great catch while being hit by two guys and getting flipped over; John Brown almost goes into the end zone when he catches the pass, double-covered in the bottom right corner of the end zone. Lastly, Stefon Diggs made a number of great catches today. The biggest one would probably be the deep ball for 49 yards in the fourth quarter. It was right after Josh Norman forced a turnover and those guys are really making a lot of plays for Josh Allen.
3. Josh Norman's displays a lot of confidence
I thought Josh Norman played a solid game against the Raiders. Obviously, everyone's going to remember the forced fumble and the recovery. But, he made a really good play soon after being substituted in. The Raiders ran a toss sweep, he went in and took the legs out of the lead blocker, and caused a tackle for loss on the play. I thought he played for with a lot of confidence and he's also now become one of my favorite postgame interviews to listen to. So, we need to get him up on the podium each and every week.
4. Bills injuries mounting
At this point it doesn't seem like any of the injuries that the Bills are suffering are long term, but still, the injuries are starting to mount. When you look at Milano, especially, when you're facing the Tennessee Titans with Derrick Henry in the backfield, you need him in the game. The Titans were extremely effective last year with Ryan Tannehill under center, after they benched Marcus Mariota. Tennessee has started this year strong, and Matt Milano is going to play a big role in stopping that offense. Hopefully, the pec injury that was reported during the game isn't too serious.
5. Bills continue to air it out
I love that they went against the scouting report. A lot of times when you look at the game plan every week, you want to go against the team's biggest weakness. It's a copycat league. The Patriots ran the ball for over 250 yards last week therefore a lot of people would assume that the Bills would come in and try and force the run game. The Bills have been so effective passing the football using 10 and 11 personnel to start the season. They are spreading the football around, and I love the fact that they just stuck to what they are good at. They made the Raiders adjust to them and played to their strengths as opposed to trying to play to the Raiders' weaknesses.
6. Huge plays for Jefferson and Oliver
Quinton Jefferson made a big play; he forced and recovered a fumble. Ed Oliver beat Gabe Jackson on 4th-and-1. He stood him up and shed him to force the turnover on downs. That was a great play, Gabe Jackson is a good guard in the NFL, and so when you look at the defenders, they're making plays. But I want to see more pass rush from the four-man rush of the Bills defensive line. They go out and get Mario Addison, he had two sacks through two games, and Jerry Hughes is a productive player week-in and week-out, and very good against the run. That kind of goes unheralded for defensive ends. Today it seemed like when the Bills didn't bring pressure, they weren't getting to Carr fast enough. Derek Carr seemed to have all day back there and he was picking the Bills secondary apart. When you go out and spend the money that they did in free agency, you would like to see that defensive line generate more pressure with just a four-man rush.
7. Tyler Bass concerns?
The Bills need to make sure that they are getting consistency week-in and week-out from Tyler Bass. They haven't got it yet, but he's only four games into his career, so it's not time to hit the panic button. It's just something to keep your eye on because the way the Bills are playing, and as solid as they are in all aspects as a team, you want to make sure you're kicking situation is steady.
8. Last time the Bills were 4-0
It's a great start for the Bills, they haven't done this in 12-13 seasons. Buffalo has taken care of business in each game. Now the Bills are going to face an undefeated Titans team, so they get another big test this week. The Bills have handled their business and should be really excited about the start that they've had this season.
9. Big test with next game against 3-0 Titans
The Titans have a lot of weapons offensively and they play a physical style of football. Mike Vrabel their head coach instills toughness into this team. They've gone out drafted and picked up free agents who are tough players. They want to beat you up throughout the game and the Bills are going to have a tough test in Tennessee this week.
10. Titans coronavirus situation
The Bills and everybody around the league need to hope that the Tennessee Titans positive tests are done now, and that would probably allow the game to be played on Sunday. I know the NFL does not want another postponed game. From a scheduling perspective, it's going to make it very tough to reschedule two games for the Titans with the Steelers game already postponed. Hopefully, all the positive tests are behind them, but as a player and as a coach you have some concerns going to Nashville for this game. Playing against the team that had a bunch outbreaks, now the only people that will be able to play in the game are going to be people that have passed the COVID test, just before the game. You would assume everyone playing on the field would not have the coronavirus, but there are just obvious concerns when you're in a situation like this.
