The Buffalo Bills gave their fans a gift on Halloween by defeating the Green Bay Packers 27-17 at home on Sunday Night Football.
The Bills scored three touchdowns in the first half, two from quarterback Josh Allen and one from wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie on the ground, and their defence held firm in the second.
The win pushes Buffalo’s record to 6-1 on the season; they have won 4 in a row.
Allen threw a 1-yard touchdown throw to TE Dawson Knox in the first quarter, giving the Bills an early lead. On the play before the touchdown, Allen scrambled for 20 yards and juked off a Green Bay defender to get down to the 1-yard line, where he then found Knox for the touchdown.
On the following drive, prime-time Diggs emerged, breaking free down the far sideline and making an acrobatic grab in the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown, increasing the lead to 14-0.
Ending the first half on a 24-7 score thanks to a McKenzie 7-yard TD on an end-around run and a Tyler Bass field goal, the Bills went into the locker room with a commanding advantage. In the first half, Buffalo had a 234-132 advantage in total yardage against Green Bay.
The Bills‘ second-half performance was not their finest, as they failed to score and Allen threw two interceptions as the Packers stayed close.
The victory was secured by Buffalo’s fourth-quarter defensive stand, which included an interception by LB Matt Milano, against the Packers’ potent attack.
More details on the Bills’ SNF win are provided below.
Relevant Data and Information
Against the Packers, the Bills have never lost at home.
Since Troy Aikman, only Josh Allen has won three of four games involving a former MVP quarterback (1996). Allen and the Bills are 3-0 this season, with wins against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, and Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
Devin Singletary, the running back, had his biggest run of the season in the first half, going for 30 yards.
Photo by: Joshua Bessex
DE So far, Greg Rousseau has a career-high five sacks this season.
In the first half, wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie scored his first running touchdown of the year.
Stefon Diggs, a wide receiver, has scored a touchdown pass eight times in a row against the Green Bay Packers. That gives him the all-time record for most straight games with a receiving TD vs the Packers, surpassing Randy Moss’s previous record of seven.
Twenty-five touchdown passes have been completed between quarterback Josh Allen and wide receiver Stefon Diggs since Diggs joined the Bills. Now with 25 touchdown passes between them, Allen and Diggs are tied for second on the team’s all-time record with Joe Ferguson and Jerry Butler. First place goes to Jim Kelly and Andre Reed, both of whom are 65 years old.
TE With the 16th touchdown of his career, tight end Dawson Knox moved into sole control of fourth place all-time among TEs in receiving touchdowns.
The 18 touchdown passes thrown by Allen in the first seven games of the season are the most ever by any player in the team’s history. In 2020, Allen surpasses his previous record of 17 throwing touchdowns.
Tim Settle, a defensive tackle with the Bills, had his first sack of the season recently.
Stefon Diggs has scored a touchdown or rushed for 100 yards in five of the seven games he has played this season.
FIELD GOALS
First Quarter 1:40 – Buffalo 7 – Green Bay 0 – Josh Allen 1-yard TD throw to Dawson Knox on short left.
At 15:00, the second quarter, BUF 14, GB 0, and To the right side, Stefon Diggs caught a deep ball from Josh Allen and ran it in for a touchdown, a gain of 26 yards.
Buffalo 14, Green Bay 7 (6:21 2Q): Aaron Rodgers to Romeo Doubs, deep right, 19 yards, TD.
Isaiah McKenzie rushes 7 yards to the touchdown zone on a left-end play at 2:00 of the second quarter, putting Buffalo up 21-7 against Green Bay.
Second Quarter FG by Tyler Bass from 42 yards out puts Buffalo up 24-7 against Green Bay.
Buffalo 24, Green Bay 10 (Third Quarter): Mason Crosby 38-Yard FG GOOD (10:24)
at 6:03 in the third quarter, the Bills are up 27-10 over the Green Bay Packers, and Tyler Bass’s 38-yard field goal is good.
At 6:42 of the fourth quarter, with Buffalo up 27 and Green Bay down 17, Aaron Rodgers finds Samori Toure in the centre of the field for 37 yards and a touchdown throw.
Condition Update
After the fourth quarter, Jordan Poyer departed the game with an elbow brace on. To replace him, the Bills put Jaquan Johnson in the lineup.
Instantaneous hits
To celebrate Stefon Diggs’ sixth 100-yard receiving game of the season, the team sent out a video message. And he’s done it by scoring a touchdown in every single one of those games.
Greg Rousseau recorded his fifth sack of the season, and he would have had a sixth if but for the fact that his teammate was offsides.
The Packers’ reliance on the run meant that Tremaine Edmunds had to take on a lot of responsibility. He made the most tackles (16 total, 13 solos) and had the best stat line. He had a handful of runners tonight who were able to grind him down.
It’s possible the Sabres would want Jordan Phillips to test out for the defensive position. Two times throughout the game, he knocked opponents to the ground with shoulder checks. And just now, the Sabres could use the assistance.
Tonight, Matt Milano had two incredible opportunities to make interceptions, including a potential pick-six. Tim Settle’s pass deflection resulted in an easy basket for the linebacker on the third try.
Who are we to deny James Cook this opportunity? During tonight’s game, the rookie has six total touches for 76 yards.
When given the chance, he performed as well as he ever had in his brief professional career.
Tim Settle had a strong performance today, as he tipped a throw that would have been intercepted and sacked Aaron Rodgers.
You saw many more running yards tonight from both teams than you would have at a regular 2022 Bills game.
There were a total of 58 runs for 361 yards, while 55 passes were attempted for 406 yards. In this game, both teams ran the ball more than they passed.
The Bills ran the ball 27 times, but not once did they hand off Zach Moss (active tonight).
Neither the goal line nor a short-yardage scenario saw him get the ball.
Josh Allen had a night of highs and lows, with some spectacular passes and sprints offset by two interceptions. The key is that he held his poor playmaking until the second half when his side already had a comfortable lead.
