When contemplating the Buffalo Bills’ performance, you would be justified to reckon Joe Flacco was the reason they won.
Josh Allen wasn’t his sharpest. He threw a pair of clean interceptions, skipped short passes and overthrew deep ones. The downtrodden Indianapolis Colts were ahead well into the second quarter, and a fumbled punt return added to the Bills’ agita before winning 30-20 in Lucas Oil Stadium.
Much of Sunday didn’t look right for the Bills, especially not with the Kansas City Chiefs coming to Highmark Stadium in a week. To be sure, slipshoddiness against the defending champions will hurt.
But the Bills, who have struggled to be spic-and-span, once again reached the end of their game as convincing victors. As close as the game felt at times, it truly wasn’t.
Buffalo’s defense amassed the sweetest highlight-reel plays, but the offense eventually pounded Indianapolis into submission with consecutive 13-play drives in the fourth quarter despite missing top receivers Amari Cooper and Keon Coleman and tight end Dalton Kincaid. The possessions ended with a field goal and a touchdown.
“We always talk about ending the game on our terms,” Allen said. “Going down there and getting six (points) the way we did it, it was a long, grueling drive.
“A lot of guys just gritted it out. Guys are hurt, playing through injuries. I’m proud of our guys.”
The latter possession began with 9:46 remaining at Buffalo’s 16-yard line and Indianapolis trailing by 10 points. Holding calls on tight end Dawson Knox and right guard O’Cyrus Torrence within the first three snaps pushed the ball back to the 7-yard line. Right tackle Spencer Brown wasn’t on the field because of an ankle injury.
Allen scrambled 21 yards to get Buffalo out of the hole and three plays later tossed a third-and-8 slip screen to Khalil Shakir, who broke tackles and weaved for 30 yards into Indianapolis territory.
“I went up to him and said, ‘That’s the biggest play of the game,’” Allen said. “Third-and-8. We understood what type of pressure that they were going to bring there. We had an alert on it. We saw it, alerted it, and guys went out there and made some plays, but his contact-balance, running though would-be tacklers, staying on his feet, he’s very elite at that. We needed that right there.”
Allen and Shakir had been quiet until then, connecting on five of eight targets for 28 yards. A bigger Shakir impact was expected without the other receivers, but it was Mack Hollins who emerged with four catches for 86 yards.
Coleman was ruled out during the week with a forearm injury. The Bills scratched Cooper on Sunday morning because of his wrist injury. Kincaid suffered a knee injury in the first half. He briefly returned to the game, but said he didn’t feel safe.
Buffalo converted two third-and-3s on the drive, including tailback Ty Johnson’s 17-yard, bobbled catch-and-run and Allen’s 7-yard sweep right. James Cook flipped into the end zone on a 2-yard sweep left to make the score 30-13 with 3:04 remaining.
The Bills are a composed bunch who’ve shown a proclivity for overcoming messiness. So are the undefeated Chiefs, who blocked a point-blank field goal to stun the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Next Sunday just might come down to survival of the grittiest.
Everybody ate … on defense
Who had the week’s deepest performance, the Buffalo Sabres’ forwards Thursday night in Manhattan or the Bills in Indianapolis?All 12 Sabres forwards recorded a point in their 6-1 victory over the New York Rangers. Eight Bills defenders recorded one tackle for loss and/or contributed to a turnover.
Now, the Sabres accomplished the feat against superstar goalie Igor Shesterkin, while the Bills exploited Joe Flacco. So maybe there’s your answer. But the Bills’ defensive smorgasbord was remarkable.
Bills nickelback Taron Johnson became the first defensive back in club history to return an interception for a touchdown and notch a sack. He broke up another pass and nearly intercepted that one, too. Johnson also had a path to the end zone.
“His presence out there, his communication and then his ability to make plays, he’s one of the best nickels in the league for a reason,” Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard said. “He goes out every Sunday and proves it again.”
Defensive end Austin Johnson never snagged an interception in his life, not even in peewee before Week 8, but now the ninth-year pro has two in his past three games. Bills safety Taylor Rapp snatched his first of the year.
Edge rusher Gregory Rousseau had a strip sack that safety Damar Hamlin recovered, and cornerback Christian Benford forced a fumble the Colts recovered because Johnson and edge rusher AJ Epenesa knocked each other off the loose ball.
Josh Allen didn’t take kindly to getting punched in the head by Dayo Odeyingbo. (Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
Peanut Punching Allen’s head probably deserved a penalty call
A UFC match broke out early in the fourth quarter, with Colts defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo slugging Allen in the head and getting away with it.Odeyingbo fired punches on Allen’s fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak from the Indianapolis 15-yard line with 13:05 to play. Allen pushed forth for 5 yards in the scrum, but along the way, Odeyingbo punched him twice. The first blow was for the ball, but it struck Allen’s right arm. The second blow connected cleanly with Allen’s head.
No penalty was called. So I reached out to Football Zebras editor-in-chief Ben Austro for insights into how referee Scott Novak’s crew should have handled the situation and how the NFL legislates “Peanut Punches,” a forced-fumble technique popularized by former Chicago Bears cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman.
Austro said unnecessary roughness was the proper call, and Odeyingbo might have deserved an ejection.
“In this case, the focus obviously was on the forward progress of the ball,” Austro wrote in an email. “Initially, Odeyingbo was attempting to punch the ball out of Allen’s hands, which is legal. However, Odeyingbo eventually got frustrated and was not connecting anywhere near the ball.
“In this situation, you would want the referee to have picked up on it, because his primary key throughout the down is the quarterback. But there is a cluster of bodies between him and Allen, and in order to throw a flag, he has to see a punch connect. The side judge might have been able to assist but didn’t see it either.
“Had they dropped a flag, then Troy Vincent in New York would have the ability to make a determination on ejection. Without the flag, New York cannot intercede.”
An Odeyingbo penalty would have moved the Bills half the distance to the Colts’ 5-yard line. Instead, the Bills had first-and-goal at the 10 and eventually kicked a 28-yard field goal for the 23-13 lead.
Tyler Bass looked like his old (good) self
As poignant as Tyler Bass’ special moment was last week, there are no guarantees his confidence issues are solved. A couple of poorly timed missed field goals down the homestretch and the scar tissue will rip open without much sympathy from an organization and fans hungrier for a Lombardi Trophy than warm-and-fuzzies.Bass, however, looked different Sunday. He just might carry the confidence from his 61-yard field goal that beat the Miami Dolphins, a record-breaking kick after missing an extra point earlier in the game and banking another off the left upright.
Bass was perfect in Lucas Oil Stadium. Not only did he make every kick — field goals from 29, 47 and 28 yards and an extra point from 48 yards because of a penalty — but they also were right down the middle.
Brandon Codrington walking a fine line
For all the excitement he creates, rookie returner Brandon Codrington also is establishing himself as reckless.Two weeks ago against the Seattle Seahawks, he fielded a punt on the goal line and returned it just 12 yards. Last week versus the Miami Dolphins, he slithered 29 yards to jump-start the offense in the first quarter.
“He’s a tiny heart attack,” Bills fan Ms. Tollhouse said on BlueSky, and I couldn’t conjure a better way to say it.
Codrington made a couple of borderline-yet-reasonable decisions on his first two touches, bringing both out of the end zone. He caught the opening kickoff 4 yards deep into the end zone and took it to the 22-yard line. The next return was 2 yards into the end zone, but he took clean contact at the 20-yard line and fumbled. The Bills recovered after a lengthy skirmish.
The Colts were ahead 13-10 at the time and almost certainly would have padded their lead with a turnover.
A giveaway there also would have gifted Indianapolis a fourth straight red-zone possession.
One week after Flacco and the Colts failed to reach the red zone against the Minnesota Vikings, they got inside the Bills’ 10-yard line on three straight possessions in the first half. The Colts converted two of their four chances Sunday.
Spencer Brown’s penalty justified
First off, right tackle Spencer Brown didn’t behave poorly enough to deserve an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Second, I’m OK with the penalty even if he had.Brown was flagged essentially for giving Nick Cross a stern talking-to. The Colts cornerback took Allen to the ground after the 13-yard touchdown run with 2:14 left until halftime. Brown, pulling on the play, was the first guardian to arrive on the scene, and his reaction is exactly what you want to see. He didn’t start a fight, just got in Cross’ face.