October 29, 2024
A column by CHUCK POLLOCK, Senior Sports Columnist, Wellsville Sun and Olean Star
Normally, when a team is flagged 16 times with 13 of those penalties assessed, plus being intercepted and fumbling twice, a one-sided loss is the expectation.
Well, on Sunday afternoon in Seattle, that’s what happened to the Bills … except the last part.
Instead, Buffalo rolled to a 31-10 victory over the mistake-prone Seahawks while making a statement about its possible performance for the rest of the year.
Yeah, the Bills accumulated those penalties but overcame virtually all of them. On their opening possession, starting with an illegal block on the punt return, Buffalo was flagged five times — also two holds and two false starts — but quarterback Josh Allen took his team 90 yards in 14 plays and put his team ahead for good.
That became a formula for the offense as its next three scoring possessions were also interrupted by infractions, one each on two touchdown drives and three on the drive that resulted in a field goal.
Penalties, especially of the pre-snap and post-whistle variety, are a major frustration to coach Sean McDermott.
“It starts with pre-snap,” he said, “then it goes into making sure we’re using the right technique. There’s always gonna be some (penalties) that pop up.
“I don’t love it, but we’re trying to be aggressive at the same time. So there’s a balance there (but) at the end of the day you can’t beat yourself. That’s the non-negotiable of all this. And if you’re getting behind the chains, or if you’re getting off-schedule offensively, it makes it really hard to get out of those situations.”
On the interception that ended Allen’s 231-pass completion streak, the self-destructive Seahawks, despite great field position, couldn’t turn it into points. And though Allen fumbled twice, both were recovered by teammates.
And while the Seahawks contributed heavily to their demise, Buffalo overcame its own blunders, which is a great sign heading into the final nine games of the season.
SEATTLE coach Mike McDonald summed up the defeat this way: “That’s the result of a good football team that outplayed us in the three phases … and then it got out of hand when you’re doing the things we did today (11 penalties including a killer roughing-the-passer, an interception, a botched shotgun snap over the head of the QB and a trip-up on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line that ended the drive).
“The long and short of it is, we got outplayed and outcoached and we’ve got to make it right.”
FOR THE Bills, there was also some ancillary good news.
Remember the concerns about Buffalo’s receiving corps after Stefon Diggs was traded to Houston and Gabe Davis was lost to free agency?
That issue seems to be working itself out.
There was rejoicing 10 days ago when Buffalo traded with Cleveland to acquire wide receiver Amare Cooper. The first game on the roster, he caught a touchdown pass in the home win over the Titans.
But against Seattle he was targeted twice with one catch for three yards. And Curtis Samuel, a disappointingly small contributor (12 catches, no touchdowns) after being signed as a free agent, was inactive due to a foot injury.
Did Bills fans miss Cooper or Samuel on Sunday?
Unlikely, because Kahlil Shakir, the 2022 fifth-round draft choice from Boise State, has seemingly taken over the No. 1 wide receiver role from Samuel and/or Cooper. At 6-feet, 190 pounds he’s more of a slot receiver with excellent hands, the uncanny ability to get open and produce surprising yards after the catch.
Against the Seahawks, he was targeted 10 times with nine receptions for 107 yards. On the season he’s caught 36 balls with two TDs but has kept countless drives alive.
Also Sunday, rookie wideout Keon Coleman, taken with the first pick of the second round, had seven targets with five catches including a hard-to-believe 2-yard one-handed scoring reception. Over the past five games, he’s had 16 catches with two TDs (three on the season).
And, finally, after a slow start, Buffalo is getting production from its tight-end tandem of Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox. Against Seattle, they combined for six catches for 81 yards including a 12-yard TD by Kincaid.
In short, Allen, when including running back James Cook, has more targets than he might ever have expected way back in training camp.
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun and Olean Star senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
