With so much back-and-forth action during the second half, it could feel hard to keep up at times during the Bills' 27-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
Josh Allen simplified it afterward.
"We're 8-3," the Bills quarterback said. "That's what our goal was at the end of this game, whatever it takes. We got it done. Our defense played outstanding. Obviously, on the offensive side of the football, we can do a lot more to help us out."
Here are the top quotes from Allen, head coach Sean McDermott, and others following a rollercoaster of a game at Bills Stadium.
"It's the sign of a good team"
Allen felt the Bills won two out of three phases Sunday and earned the victory as a result. Their defense pressured rookie quarterback Justin Herbert early and often, limiting the Chargers' vertical attack. On special teams, Andre Roberts amassed 111 yards on kick returns to give the Bills advantageous field position.
"Yeah, it's obviously a sign of a good team," Allen said. "When one side of the ball's not doing their job the other side can pick it up. It's a three-phased game and like I said, we won two of those phases today. I wouldn't say we lost on the offensive side, but there's plenty of opportunities that we had that we didn't take advantage of."
What was at one point a 24-6 contest in favor of the Bills developed into a nail-biter largely due to mistakes on offense. The Bills committed three turnovers in a seven-play span during the fourth quarter: a fumble by Devin Singletary, a dropped snap by Allen, and an interception.
There were plenty of positives to choose from, too – none more so than a second straight 8-3 start. As Chris Brown wrote in his three takeaways, Buffalo's run game was a force in the second half and a large part of why the Bills were able to stave off a Chargers comeback.
Learning to close teams out more comfortably, McDermott said, is simply part of the process going forward.
"We definitely can clean somethings up in the fourth quarter there," he said. "It comes back to the ball. The ball keeps people in games. We didn't do a good enough job with the ball and we had some penalties there. … I thought we did some good things and it's hard to win in this league. So, it's good to be 8-3."
"I knew it was going to work"
The Bills dialed up some trickery during the first half with a play that saw Cole Beasley loft a 20-yard touchdown pass to fellow receiver Gabe Davis. Beasley faked a pre-snap motion to the left and swung right for a bubble screen from Allen. Davis faked a block and took off for the end zone.
"I was trying to get them to come up and think it was a bubble screen," Beasley said. "I just had to have eyes on the safety, make sure he's not coming over back there. The guys were guarding the guys going deep, so I had a chance to throw it."
Davis said the Bills had been practicing the play for weeks.
"I knew it was going to work," he said. "We run a lot of those bubble screens, so as soon as I [saw the cornerback] shoot I just knew the ball was coming to me and Cole was able to, you know, put a dart. He said he threw it kind of hard to get it in there but … it was a softball. It was an easy catch and I'm glad we could make that connection."
The passing touchdown was Beasley's first since his days as a quarterback at Little Elm High School, though he admitted that experience had little prevalence Sunday.
"Uh, I don't think so," he said. "My feet weren't set right, it was really ugly but it got there. I'll take it."
"We have an angel on our team and Josh is that"
Allen appeared to sustain an injury during the first half after a tackle by defensive end Joey Bosa sent him to the ground awkwardly. He left the game for one play (a Bosa sack of Matt Barkley) before returning, then went about business as if it never happened. He finished with 32 rushing yards, including a diving touchdown in the third quarter.
"It's actually, like, mind-blowing how strong that kid is," Dion Dawkins said. "Most quarterbacks would have said, 'Oh, I'm going to come back next week, I'm going to fix whatever it is and keep this thing pushing,' but the kid is special, man. He consistently shows it week in and week out. He's the best athlete, honestly, that I've ever been around for his size and for what he does. You know, we have an angel on our team and Josh is that, and he shows it consistently every day."
Allen downplayed the near injury afterward.
"Just twisted up a little bit," he said. "It happens. But it's not going to affect me."
"They never flinched, they always had my back"
Tyler Bass was perfect for the second straight game, including a 43-yard field goal that all but put the game out of reach for the Chargers. His 2-for-2 performance came on the heels of an outing in Arizona in which he tallied three field goals of 50-plus yards.
The consistency has come as the rookie has grown more comfortable following an up-and-down start to his season, including two missed field goals in the opener against the Jets. Bass expressed gratitude for the coaching staff standing by him through those growing pains.
"It means everything to me," he said. "Went through some tough times and they never flinched, they always had my back, and that's something that I'm never going to forget. That's something that's going to drive me each and every day. But, yeah, I would I'm starting to get more experience, more comfortable in the situation, just getting more used to the atmosphere and just trying to be myself. That's all I can do."
