The Buffalo Bills defense is healthy and it showed on Sunday.
After allowing a touchdown on the opening drive of the game, Buffalo’s defense swarmed the Denver Broncos. Von Miller turned back the clock against his former team and Matt Milano played his best game since returning to the unit from injury. Tackling was strong and the run defense did their job against Javonte Williams and company.
Denver averaged 32.6 points per game over their final seven regular season games. Against Buffalo, they were held to just seven points.
The Broncos are not in the same class as the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo’s next opponent, but it was a good start for Buffalo to open the playoffs. Following their 31-7 victory, Pro Football Focus graded Buffalo’s performance. Here’s a look at who fared the best and worst for the Bills on Wild Card Weekend.
Top-5 offensive grades
- QB Josh Allen: 90.0
- WR Curtis Samuel: 82.8
- WR Khalil Shakir: 76.8
- C Connor McGovern: 76.7
- LG David Edwards: 74.6
Josh Allen’s performance kind of snuck up on you against the Broncos. He was smart with the football and took what the defense gave him. Eventually, things opened up down the field and the quarterback made Denver pay. He connected on 77 percent of his passes in the win for 272 yards and two touchdowhs. PFF gave Allen an 85.5 pass grade.
The quarterback’s 46 yards on the ground on eight carries resulted in a 76.1 run grade.
Few saw Curtis Samuel’s 3-68-1 stat line coming, but the wide receiver showed off his separation ability against the Broncos. He earned an 81.5 pass catch grade in the win. Samuel could end up being an X-factor for Buffalo in their playoff run.
Top-5 defensive grades
- DE Von Miller: 88.8
- LB Matt Milano: 86.3
- DB Cam Lewis: 77.9
- S Damar Hamlin: 77.3
- LB Terrel Bernard: 64.0
Von Miller was a menace against his former team. Buffalo had limited Miller’s snaps all season long, but he saw an uptick in snaps on Wild Card Weekend. Miller created five pressures on just 16 pass-rush snaps (20 total) in the win earning him an 81.2 pass rush grade. Buffalo needs this from Miller throughout the entirety of the playoffs.
Miller wasn’t the only player who turned back the clock on Sunday. Matt Milano was moving on the field like pre-injury Matt Milano. He was spying on Bo Nix and showed off his athleticism multiple times in-game. PFF credited Milano with a team-leading three stops in the victory. He received high marks in run defense (78.3), tackling (80.0) and coverage (77.4).
Buffalo didn’t have Milano in their first matchup against Baltimore. If this Milano shows up on Sunday, he could be a difference maker in the matchup.
Bottom-3 offensive grades
- RG O’Cyrus Torrence: 56.6
- WR Amari Cooper: 55.2
- TE Dalton Kincaid: 47.8
Buffalo’s lowest grades on offense honestly weren’t that bad against Denver. O’Cyrus Torrence continues to get poor grades from the analytics site, but it doesn’t translate when watching him live. He fared well in pass-blocking (67.4) and receiving a 53.1 in run blocking.
Bottom-3 defensive grades
- DT Ed Oliver: 52.8
- S Taylor Rapp: 44.2
- CB Christian Benford: 41.5
There were a few moments in Sunday’s game where Bills fans were probably asking what Taylor Rapp was doing. That, of course, is in addition to the long touchdown reception that Troy Franklin had early in the game.
Rapp received a 61.6 in run defense, but his coverage grade (46.3) brought his overall grade down in the win. The safety has struggled as of late and Buffalo needs him to rebound quickly with a matchup against the Ravens looming.
*10 snap minimum used for top-5 and bottom-3 grades
