1. Josh Allen eager to learn from first win
Rookie quarterback Josh Allen led the Bills to their first win of the 2018 season on Sunday, a 27-6 victory over the Vikings in Minnesota. Allen played well in his first career win, completing 15 of 22 passes for 196 yards and one touchdown. The 22-year-old also picked up 39 yards and two scores on the ground.
While Allen is excited to record his first win, he realizes that he did not play a perfect game. He's eager to watch the game back and learn from the victory.
"There's still a lot of plays that I wish I had back in that game," Allen said. "There's a lot to learn from, a lot to get better from. When those opportunities present themselves, we've got to take advantage, and I didn't do a good enough job of doing that. Like I said, going back, watching this tape, and then trying to fix it for next week."
2. Micah Hyde talks about Allen's hurdle
Some feel as though Allen's best play came in the first quarter when he leaped over Minnesota linebacker Anthony Barr en route to the first down marker. Others feel as though this was Allen's lone mistake of the game.
Buffalo safety Micah Hyde said that Allen's hurdle energized the Bills' bench. He also advised the rookie to avoid jumping over players in the future.
"You see that hurdle?" Hyde said. "That's Josh man. He's dope. I'm excited for him. Got his first win in the big leagues. Just another competitor, man. Another guy that can step on the field. He's going to give it his all no matter what, and you saw it today.
"I jumped off the bench, man. I think I was on the field trying to dap him up. Huge play. Don't do it again, though, it's kind of one of those things. But it was a huge play, got the first down and kept the sticks moving."
3. Jerry Hughes on Bills' 'complementary football'
Allen and company put up points early and often on Sunday, scoring on their first five drives. A fair bit of credit has to be given to Buffalo's defense, as the unit forced two turnovers in the first quarter alone. The Bills finished the contest with four sacks, two fumble recoveries and one interception.
Defensive end Jerry Hughes feels as though Buffalo's offense and defense fed off of each other's energy.
"It was great," Hughes said. "It was great complementary football. You know, Trent [Murphy] starts off the game with a strip sack, the offense goes, puts up six points. It was just motivation for me to get out there and do the exact same thing. Try to find ways just to help our team win. I think those two plays were huge, just to kind of get the ball rolling. We always talked about starting fast, he jumped the game off quick and I just wanted to follow his lead."
“I go out every week and just try to prove that I’m one of the best cornerbacks in this league." Cornerbac Tre'Davious White
4. Tre'Davious White on shutting Stefon Diggs down
Most NFL cornerbacks have difficulty covering Minnesota wideout Stefon Diggs. Tre'Davious White isn't like most NFL cornerbacks.
Diggs, who caught 12 passes for 171 yards in the two games prior to Sunday's contest, was shut down by White on Sunday. Kirk Cousins targeted Diggs 10 times, connecting on just four passes for 17 yards.
Shutting down the opposition's top weapon is something that White is getting used to.
"Coach texted me on Monday and told me I was going to have 14 and that he was their big-play guy," White said. "I go out every week and just try to prove that I'm one of the best cornerbacks in this league. I feel like, so far in this 2018 season, my play has been speaking. You can look at all the guys I've been shadowing in the first part of the season, and I've been on everybody. Nobody has been doing anything pretty much. … nobody eats off this Tre."
"This is probably the fastest start that we’ve had defensively. When we play like this defensively, we’re going to put ourselves in a great opportunity to win games.” Linebacker Lorenzo Alexander
5. Lorenzo Alexander says Bills are gaining 'confidence'
Any win in the NFL is big. Picking up your first win after a rough 0-2 start is huge.
Linebacker Lorenzo Alexander feels as though the now 1-2 Bills clicked on every level on Sunday. He thinks the win will give the team a bit of energy moving forward.
"Confidence," Alexander said. "And we just want to continue to gain that. I think even last week in the loss, we gained some confidence. I think Josh did in that last drive. Our defense did, holding that Chargers team to three points in the second half, and we were able to carry that. This is probably the fastest start that we've had defensively. When we play like this defensively, we're going to put ourselves in a great opportunity to win games."
6. Ryan Lewis: Pass rush 'made my job easy'
Buffalo's pass rush was electric in their Week 3 win. The Bills' defensive players took Cousins down on four separate occasions. The front seven seemingly had the quarterback under constant pressure.
The play of the front seven benefited Buffalo's defensive backs. Cornerback Ryan Lewis said that his NFL debut was rather simple thanks to the team's pass rush.
"Oh man, they made my job so easy, man," Lewis said. "Getting in the backfield. That's crazy. [If] we can keep doing that all year, there'll be coverage sacks, whatever it is. Yeah, this defense and this team can excel."
