It's pretty easy to wave off Oct. 1 results in the NFL and say it's still too early to draw conclusions. But the game that took place in Buffalo, New York, on Sunday felt like it really did mean something. At least to the Bills.
The Dolphins rolled into town on the heels of last Sunday's 70-point offensive explosion against the Broncos. They were the lone unbeaten team in the AFC and were poised, it seemed, to announce themselves as the new big, bad bullies of the AFC East. It was pretty hard last week to find anyone who wasn't impressed with the Dolphins and the way their offense was humming along. But the Bills weren't having it.
Buffalo thumped Miami, rolling up a 31-14 halftime lead en route to a 48-20 victory. The Bills held the Dolphins under 400 yards, one week after Miami had 726. They won the turnover battle, something they didn't do in any of their three games against the Dolphins last year. They were, in fact, turnover-free. Josh Allen was 21-for-25 for 320 yards, four touchdown passes and a perfect passer rating. Stefon Diggs caught three of the touchdowns. Allen ran for another one. They punted only twice. And as a result, the Bills are 3-1.
The season-opening "Monday Night Football" loss to the Jets, which is destined to be remembered for other reasons anyway, seems to have faded from view. And the Bills are back on top of the division they've won each of the past three years. So this week's overreactions column -- where we judge a few potential takeaways from the weekend's games -- must begin thusly:
Jump to:
Bills still atop AFC East?
Stroud over Young in the draft?
Two-point try for Commanders?
Heinicke in for Atlanta?
Patriots in QB market?
