Bills Central

‘Best in the League’ Buffalo Bills Buck Broncos, 42-15

Buffalo QB Josh Allen and company win the day in the early going vs. Denver. Oh, and the Bills win the day late, too.

Mike Fisher

In this story:

It was completely understandable for all involved - the Denver Broncos and the Buffalo Bills - to envision Saturday’s second preseason outing as a sort of “Von Miller Day.”

But it is the plan of the Bills - 42-15 winners here - for Von Miller to have other days. ... while here? Well, pretty much everybody in a Bills uniform has his day and had his way.

This exhibition at Highmark Stadium featuring two teams that view themselves as AFC title contenders was about other starters beyond Miller. And Buffalo QB Josh Allen and company won the day in that regard.

The Bills happen to be Miller’s new employer, and he’s being embraced in Buffalo (see “toilet paper”) just as he was with the Broncos and the Rams.

Winning Super Bowls in those cities will do that for a guy.

The Bills plan a similar march now, and while this test is a bit wobbly - Buffalo wasn’t playing any Broncos starters in this game - for those who believe in “dress rehearsals” and “fine tuning,” this will suffice.

Allen - who mentioned after the game the passing of a teammate's brother, Luke Knox - "Our hearts hurt with Dawson Knox, and for him, and we'll be here for him'' - finished 3-of-3 passing for 45 yards and a deep TD toss, with Zack Moss among the offense’s featured guys.

Moss bulled for a pair of early TDs, which when combined with a Gabriel Davis scoring catch made Buffalo - with 511 yards gained - look “midseason-form-esque” on offense.

And that was only the start of the trouncing.

And it didn't stop with the first team. Or with the second team.

Case Keenum took the second turn at QB and was 16 of 18 for 192 yards and a TD throw.

Duke Johnson, the veteran who is essentially the Bills' No. 4 back, also scored a couple of TDs in the blowout, and in total, Moss was one of five Bills runners who produced. Toss in the OJ Howard TD catch, and with six touchdowns in three quarters, it almost felt odd that Buffalo went scoreless in the fourth.

Meanwhile, on defense, the Miller-less Bills front looked loaded, even while facing Denver’s backup offensive line. A Bills defensive imperfection? Well, defensive back Nick McCloud sustained a laceration on his face that required stiches. Does that count. By halftime, Buffalo had a 28-6 lead, having given up just a pair of field goals. And it was just a sampling of what was to come.

“We want to see who can come out there and play vs. the best in the league. … It’s an unbelievable opportunity for those guys,” said Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett, and if that’s what Denver, even while sitting new prized QB Russell Wilson, was looking for, it got eyeful.

The Buffalo Bills, starting with the starters and beyond, do indeed look like “the best in the league.”

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983. He is the author of two best-selling books on the NFL.

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