1. Why Josh Allen was fired up on Friday night
Josh Allen was nine years old when Frank Gore hit an NFL field for the first time. Allen grew up watching the running back on television and even owned his jersey as a child. Now, Allen gets a chance to watch the 36-year old running back but from a different view.
When Gore was hit late out of bounds on Friday, Allen jumped in to confront the Detroit Lions' Tracy Walker.
"I was fired up when Frank Gore got hit late out of bounds. I jumped in because I wanted to stick up for my teammate, that's what we do for each other," Allen said.
Gore broke off his longest run of the night on the play but came up limping because of the hit. But the ageless wonder that Gore is, was able to return to action after sitting out one drive.
It's only his second year but Allen is already showing signs of veteran leadership.
2. Jerry Hughes: Everyone's clicking on all cylinders
Buffalo's first-team defense has had a pretty good preseason. They've seen the secondary maintain its lockdown-type play and the defensive line has shown no signs of slowing down despite Kyle Williams retiring at the end of the last season. Jerry Hughes, the longest tenured Bill, is excited for where the team is currently at.
"We're doing pretty good," Hughes said when comparing to this time last year. "Everyone's clicking on all cylinders. We're learning the playbook and coming together. We're just trying to put all the pieces to the puzzle together."
Hughes didn't play in Friday's game, with the Bills inserting Shaq Lawson into the starting lineup. Lawson finished the game with a sack and a tackle for loss.
The Bills have also seen the emergence of rookie pass rushers Ed Oliver and Darryl Johnson. Oliver has inserted himself into the starting lineup while Johnson has been a standout throughout the preseason working mainly with the second team.
"They're doing a good job," Hughes said. "Listening to their coaches, understanding the game plan and understanding how to be coached. Which is going to help us out."
"We're happy to help them because we understand that we got to win the game. So we're just trying to do our best to put our best foot forward."
3. Former Bills safety Jairus Byrd named to All-Time PFF team
In honor of the NFL's 100th season, Pro Football Focus named its all-time team since the site began grading players 13 years ago. Players were named to the team based on their highest single season grade from the site.
Only one Bills player was named to the team – safety Jairus Byrd. Here's what was said about Byrd's 2012 season.
Safety: Jairus Byrd,Buffalo Bills(2012) — 93.2
The former Bills star was simply sensational on the backend of his team's defense in 2012, grading above 90.0 in three of his games on the year. His 94.7 coverage grade is still tied for the best grade ever recorded by a safety (see below), in large part due to his six combined pass breakups and interceptions and 24 total defensive stops.
