The Buffalo Bills did not seem to miss Marcell Dareus, who they traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday. In fact, they did better without him. The Bills hosted the Oakland Raiders at New Era Field this afternoon. The defense was three steps ahead of Derek Carr and the Raiders all day. They only managed two touchdowns. Carr was intercepted twice and the Buffalo defense walked away with a pair of fumble recoveries. They pulled off a 34-14 victory, and the Bills are now in second place in the AFC East.
Bills' defense stole the show
The Buffalo Bills’ defense stole the show with four turnovers.
When DeAndre Washington took a massive hit from cornerback Leonard Johnson, the coughed-up fumble landed right in the hands of linebacker Matt Milano. Milano ran it right into the end zone for a score. When quarterbacks make even the slightest mistake, Buffalo’s defense will make their opponents pay. A deflection by Buffalo’s Preston Brown was snagged by Micah Hyde. As stated by Buffalo Rumblings, Hyde has five pics for the season. Running back Jalen Richard was kept in check by Buffalo and ended up with less than 30 yards for the day. Hard hits kept the Oakland offense off-balance for most of their series.
Trae Elston sealed the game, as he intercepted Derek Carr in the red zone with less than two minutes left.
Despite Oakland having two timeouts left in the game, they chose not to use them. All Buffalo had to do was run out the clock, as they walked away with the victory.
Andre Holmes got even
Former Raider Andre Holmes brought his best game to the field against his old team. Holmes made a great sideline grab for over 20 yards to keep the chains moving for Buffalo.
The wide receiver also made an incredible touchdown catch where he managed to stay in bounds by dragging his foot. He put up 51 reception yards for the game.
Zay Jones looked more confident
Zay Jones made three catches in the game. He did not have any drops and is starting to look more like that second-rounder that the Bills drafted.
Jordan Matthews and Brandon Tate made some clutch catches to keep the ball in the hands of the Buffalo offense. Despite Tyrod Taylor only throwing for 165 yards and a touchdown, as stated by ESPN, he was on the money for most of the game.
LeSean McCoy broke loose
After a slow start to the season, Lesean Mccoy seems to have found his rushing attack stride. He chipped away at the Raiders’ defense with 151 yards for the game, as stated by Buffalo Rumblings. McCoy broke for a long run at the end of the match-up that resulted in a touchdown. Back-up Mike Tolbert used his power running style to secure some needed first downs for Buffalo.
The Buffalo Bills are 5-2 in the AFC East. They play the New York Jets on Thursday night and will be in first place if they win.
