Bills Central

Josh Allen, Gabe Davis Lead 'Uncaged' Buffalo Bills in Dreamy Sprint Past Steelers

Before the game, Steelers rookie QB Kenny Pickett said to the media, ''You guys and everyone else think we're underdogs. But we don't.'' By the time the Buffalo Bills were done in a Week 5 win? He was off ... by a lot.

Mike Fisher

In this story:

This is the dream, the Buffalo Bills offense performing with ridiculous video-game results, rarely erring, and overcoming the occasional glitch with a ... touchdown here and a ... touchdown there.

This is the nightmare, the Pittsburgh Steelers' worst fears - as their coach, Mike Tomlin, conceded: Josh Allen unbothered, untethered, un-captured.

What was it Tomlin said this week about Allen? That the only way to contain him is to 'build a fence''?

Bills 38, Steelers 3 at Highmark Stadium in NFL Sunday Week 5 was about no fence, no limit ...

No dream, for Bills Mafia, too unreal. No nightmare, for the opponent, unrealized.

At halftime, the Bills were up 31-3, with Allen (who ended 20 of 31 for 424 yards) having aired it out for 348 yards and the four TD passes he would end with. Gabe Davis made it happen quickly, with first-quarter scoring grabs of 98 yards (franchise-record-tying) and 62 yards. And then Stefon Diggs got one. And then rookie Khalil Shakir got one.

And then - the heads of the Steelers, and not just rookie first-time-starting quarterback Kenny Pickett, reeling - the scoring stopped.

But only because by NFL rule, teams have to retreat to the locker room at halftime.

Before the game, Pickett said to the media, ''You guys and everyone else think we're underdogs. But we don't.''

He was only off by a bit. A "bit'' being .... 35 points.

Make no mistake, this wasn't the "fault'' of Pickett. ... This was Buffalo (with dominant defensive work, too) moving to 4-1 by winning a track meet in lap-the-field fashion. 

Well, there was a defensive incident or two, Pickett reacting unhappily to a late-game hit, all of which triggered the brawls ...

The one-sidedness of it all? It was reminiscent of Weeks 1 and 2 in the NFL season, when the Bills outscored two vaunted foes (Rams and Titans) by a combined 72-17 score.

Allen also rushed for 42 yards, as did Devin Singletary, with rookie James Cook recording a 24-yard TD on the ground.

And did it seem like "fantasy football''? Yes, in the sense that a "fantasy'' is a "dream.'' But this was real. 

And real scary for Buffalo foes.

Bills Mafia! Get your Buffalo game tickets from SI Tickets ... here!

You're a member of Bills Mafia hungry for more Buffalo coverage? Read here.

Published
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.

Home/News