The Bills prove that weather and the 12th Man aren’t always unstoppable forces
The Buffalo Bills traveled west to take on the Seattle Seahawks on a rainy day and made the most of their trip. Finding some success early and capitalizing on Seattle mistakes, Buffalo cruised to an easy win.
Geno Smith and the ‘Hawks started off with the ball, and our beloved Bills looking to make a stop. Buffalo’s defense held strong and allowed a single yard, forcing a three-and-out. Brandon Codrington received the punt and tried to give Buffalo a little more breathing room, but a flag on Cam Lewis set them back.
Josh Allen tried to match the tone, finding Dawson Knox on their opening snap for 23 yards. James Cook and Ray Davis kept things going with another first, but flags were an early problem with a Davis’ 11-yard scamper called back thanks to offensive holding on Alec Anderson. On 3rd & 4, Dalton Kincaid moved the chains after Khalil Shakir had eaten into the distance from the flag. This was immediately followed by another flag, a false start on David Edwards.
The Seahawks found some pressure, landing a strip sack on Josh Allen that you won’t find on the stat sheet thanks to illegal contact on Devon Witherspoon of Seattle. A Josh Allen sneak kept the drive alive, and another promising play was wiped out by another offensive holding call, on Connor McGovern this time. After forcing 3rd & 10, Seattle looked to force Buffalo for a field goal try, but an Allen connection with Keon Coleman for 25-yards put Buffalo at the Seattle 16 with a first down. After an 11-yard run by James Cook, tipped pass floated dangerously in the air but was nearly reeled in for a Coleman touchdown. A Josh Allen scramble didn’t quite punch it in and a third down try at the goal line was a fantastic contested one-handed catch by Coleman for the first score of the game.
Now down by seven, Seattle got the ball back at the 30-yard line courtesy of a Tyler Bass touchback. Buffalo’s defense picked up where they left off, with Rasul Douglas dropping Kenneth Walker III for a two-yard loss. A four-yard gain and incomplete pass led to the second three-and-out to start the game.
Starting at the 12-yard line after the punt, the Bills started off with a pair of first downs. A couple deep shots and a false start set the Bills back to 3rd & 15. Khalil Shakir got most of it back, but not enough to avoid sending on Sam Martin and the punting unit. A rolling ball pinned the Seahawks at their own nine.
The flags continued with Seattle pushing themselves back four yards with an ineligible player downfield. A completion of nine yards put them close to the marker to end the first quarter. Another completion yielded the first, first down of the day for the Seahawks. With their groove found, Seattle drove down the field to the Buffalo two-yard line. A high snap led to the ball flying backwards and ultimately a loss of 19. Now 3rd & goal at the 22, Seattle was hit for a delay of game. A quick pass made the field goal try a bit easier, and Buffalo escaped the drive only giving up three points.
Starting at the 30 for drive three, Buffalo looked to be on the right track with a couple chunk plays. Josh Allen looked short right for Amari Cooper and was picked off by Josh Jobe, for Allen’s first interception of the season. With the rain coming down and excellent field position, the Seahawks were stymied at the goal line on third down. Electing to go for it on fourth, Geno Smith tripped and fell backwards for an easy tackle and turnover on downs.
Now backed up in the Valley of the Shadow of Safety, Buffalo struggled to move the chains until an unintentional Fumblerooski advanced the ball to the 23-yard line. Nearing midfield at the two-minute warning, the breather seemed to help Buffalo steady their approach as the Bills continued to drive into Seattle territory. An illegal shift and roughing the passer call looked like it would be offset, but led to a rare 5 v. 15 rule enforcement with Buffalo benefiting from the 15-yarder (more on that in this week’s penalty recap but don’t expect much more). With the drive continued, Josh Allen found Dalton Kincaid for a 12-yard touchdown.
Seattle had the ball back but little time and elected to kneel out the remainder of the clock, hoping for a better second half.
One of “those games,” the second half started with a flag on Spencer Brown for offensive holding. Keon Coleman gained the yardage back and then some on the ensuing short pass from Allen, creating a manageable second down. Leaning heavily on the pass despite the weather, Josh Allen found Khalil Shakir for a field-flipping 35-yard pass. Moseying down to first and goal, a delay of game flag set Buffalo back five. On the next play, Allen narrowly averted a sack to throw the ball away. Seattle was forced to burn a timeout with Buffalo facing 3rd & goal at the eight. The timeout would not be wasted with Buffalo failing to convert for the touchdown. For the Tyler Bass watchers, his try of 27 yards was good, putting Buffalo up by 14.
Rasul Douglas nearly came away with the ball as Ed Oliver impacted the pass with a QB hit. Now 2nd & 10, more pressure and a dropped pass looked good for the Bills until an illegal contact flag was thrown on Christian Benford. Seattle started to find a rhythm again. That is until Austin Johnson picked off Geno Smith at midfield. Austin Johnson, just like we all predicted.
After a few promising plays, a sideline skirmish resulted in offsetting unnecessary roughness flags. Another fantastic catch by Keon Coleman left the sticks in the dust to continue Buffalo’s drive. James Cook nearly brought it to the house against a reeling Seattle defense. After a brief reset between downs, Buffalo called Cook’s number again for a two-yard touchdown.
Laviska Shenault returned the ball on the ensuing kickoff and was hit hard at the 20-yard line. Another botched snap hurt the Seahawks and a flicker of light on second down in the form of a 14-yard pass was wiped out by an offensive holding call. Followed second later by a false start flag, the Seahawks looked ready to implode. After a decent scramble by Geno Smith led to him being hit on the sideline, Smith tossed the ball at his opponent rather than the ref leading to, you guess it, a penalty. Now 3rd & 20, a short pass did little for Seattle’s momentum and was punctuated by an illegal motion flag (declined) to boot. Down by three scores with the third quarter nearly over, Seattle was forced to punt deep from their own end zone.
An incomplete deep shot closed out Q3, and the final quarter saw two James Cook rushes leaving Buffalo with 4th & 1. The Bills elected to go for it and the resulting Allen “sneak” kept things trending Buffalo’s way. Dawson Knox caught a 27-yarder and the ‘Hawks’ implosion continued with a defensive pass interference call to give Buffalo a free 11 yards. That and the next penalty were only separated by a 12-yard James Cook rush. The five-yard encroachment set the Bills up with 1st & 5 at the at the seven. The drive only lasted one more play with Cook finding the end zone again.
Down four scores with less than a quarter to go, Seattle was firmly looking for a miracle. Finding chunks of yards passing, the Seahawks moved the ball well and found the end zone to cut the Buffalo lead to 21. A false start and incomplete pass led to a three-and-out, giving the Seahawks the ball back. A tripping call on the punt pushed Seattle way back on their side of the field.
Seattle tried valiantly to climb back, but obstacles continued to be insurmountable. A sack on third down near midfield pushed the Seahawks back to their own 34 and a delay of game (after a Buffalo timeout even) pushed them back even further. In what should have been clear four-down territory, Seattle punted on 4th & 24.
With five minutes to go and still up three scores, Mitchell Trubisky came in for Josh Allen to wrap up the game. A predictable run, run, run was stopped by Seattle. The final insult of the day came courtesy of a rain-slick field. Damarion Williams slipped while fielding the punt, sliding to where he was hoping to make the catch. As the ball bounced off Williams, an awaiting Mack Hollins scooped it up.
With the ball back and once again in scoring territory, Ray Davis ran to the left side and slid to make sure he stayed in bounds. With only the two minute warning left to stop the clock and Davis’ run earning a first down, the game was a long commercial break and a few kneel downs away from a Buffalo Bills victory.