Top 3 things we learned from Bills vs. Packers | Week 8

1 – Diggs digging the Packers He was really fired up before the game and once again demonstrated how much he enjoys playing against Green Bay on Sunday Night Football. Stefon Diggs represented almost half of Buffalo’s passing attack with six receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown in Buffalo’s 10-point victory (27-17). It was his fifth 100-yard receiving day in seven games played this season. Diggs found the end zone on the team’s fourth possession as he beat nickel corner Rasul Douglas on an out and up, slipped down the right sideline, to find Josh Allen’s touch pass waiting for him in the end zone for a 26-yard scoring play to push Buffalo’s lead back to 14 (21-7) at the start of the second quarter. It marked Diggs’ eighth straight game against Green Bay with a receiving touchdown, breaking a tie with Randy Moss (7) for the most consecutive games with a receiving touchdown all-time against the Packers. It was also the first time he had gone over the century mark against the Packers since a nine-catch, 128-yard performance with two touchdowns back in Week 2 of the 2018 season. Diggs was quick to deflect credit to the offensive coordinators he’s had both in Minnesota and in Buffalo. "I'd just say give more credit to my OCs, putting me in the right position to score,” he said. “Let me just play ball. In the past we used to play them twice a year too. So, I guess I got one up that way but that was a good team. They're a good team. We knew they were going to give us their best shot, especially on Sunday night football.”The scoring play was also the 25th time Josh Allen and Diggs hooked up for a passing touchdown tying them with Joe Ferguson and Jerry Butler for second on the team’s all-time list. Only the Jim Kelly-Andre Reed combination is ahead of them with 65 career touchdown plays. "That's Stef and he shows up and shows out every single game and we're lucky to have him,” said Josh Allen of Diggs. “The type of leader that he is, the energy that he brings to our sideline. It's second to none.” Diggs did get into a bit of a jawing match with Packers top cornerback Jaire Alexander that began before the game even started. “It got to be a little bit of a back and forth especially with this game,” Diggs said. “Why? I don't know. That's just how football goes sometimes but you know, that's how it is. I don't even know who started it. I finished it. I got the win. I don't deal with moral victories. I don't deal with one-on-one battles because this is not a one-on-one game. We're not out there playing 7-on-7 and this is not one-on-ones. If that's the case, I'm by myself. It's a team effort.”2 – Bills lean on run game early and late Coming out of the bye week, the Bills’ opening possession was far from ideal. It was a three and out. But after the Buffalo defense forced a punt by the Packers, Buffalo’s offense turned to their ground game to kickstart their attack. Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and Josh Allen went with five consecutive running plays on the drive with Devin Singletary handling the first four. Utilizing OL Bobby Hart as a second blocking tight end, Buffalo broke off run plays of nine and four yards to move the chains. Two plays later, Singletary broke off a 30-yard run. After an Isaiah McKenzie run play was sniffed out by Green Bay for a loss, Josh Allen scrambled on a pass play for 20 yards to set up first and goal. Two plays later the Bills were in the end zone, with Allen taking a naked bootleg out to his left and drawing the defender before tossing a one-yard touchdown pass to Dawson Knox. “It was good to see,” said head coach Sean McDermott. “I mean, we were two dimensional in those situations. And I thought the offensive line really did a good job and I think Motor was the one carrying the ball maybe James (Cook) as well a couple of times there.” That first scoring drive, which clicked the offense into gear was the first of five consecutive scoring drives that included three straight possessions that resulted in touchdowns, followed by a pair of field goals staking Buffalo to a 24-7 halftime advantage and a 27-10 edge heading into the final quarter. The Bills used their run game in a similar fashion in their last outing in Week 6 at Kansas City. Although that game was tied at 10 at the half, Buffalo ran the ball 17 times for 101 yards in through the first two quarters against the Chiefs for a 5.9 yards per carry average. Singletary himself averaged 7.6 yards per carry as he was breaking off runs in chunks. On Sunday night, Buffalo had 13 carries for 107 yards for an 8.2 yards per carry average, and Singletary averaged 8.5 yards per rush. “I thought Devin had some unbelievable cuts,” said Josh Allen. “I think our front five and our tight ends did a great job of communicating and blocking who we needed to block. I think James (Cook) had a little spark there for us, too.” Cook, who averaged seven yards per carry in limited work, also had the second-longest pass play of the day when he found space on a play that Allen extended by scrambling from pressure. He hit Cook on a crossing route that the rookie carried to space and Allen hit him for a 41-yard catch and run to set up a first and goal. The Bills also turned to their run game up 10 late in the fourth quarter. Again, they ran it on six consecutive plays, again making use of Bobby Hart as a blocking tight end. Buffalo was again productive but managed to compromise their own effectiveness. “I thought that our four-minute offense, towards the end of the game there, was moving the ball,” said McDermott. “We were creating some holes and the backs were hitting it and then we got the penalty, and we can't do that. So, we've got to be better there. We've got to be more disciplined.” Singletary had converted a 2nd-and-1 play for a fresh set of downs with 3:42 left in Green Bay territory, but a Gabe Davis unnecessary roughness penalty wiped out the play and backed them up 15 yards. Buffalo couldn’t make up the yardage and was eventually forced to punt. The Bills may be building some consistency in their rushing attack like they did down the stretch last season. Buffalo’s 5.9 yards per carry average was their second-best this season. Their best was in the Week 5 blowout of Pittsburgh (6.7 average).3 – Streaking ... There were a number of different consecutive game streaks on the line Sunday night, and all but one held up with the Buffalo victory. The Bills are now 10-0 in their last 10 games at home against opponents who enter the game with a losing record. The Packers came into the game at 3-4 and have now lost four straight. Buffalo also improved to 4-0 in Sunday night games under head coach Sean McDermott. Their other Sunday night wins came against the Chiefs in 2021 and the Steelers in 2020 and 2019. Under coach McDermott, the Bills are now 6-0 coming off their bye week. For the Green Bay Packers the streaks are anything but positive. They are now 0-7 lifetime as a franchise playing in Buffalo going all the way back to their first game in Orchard Park in 1979. And Aaron Rodgers streak of 13 consecutive victories in primetime games also came to an end with the loss to Buffalo.

Top 3 Things We Learned

Top 3 things we learned from Bills vs. Packers | Week 8