WGR

‘But so was brutal quarterback play by both Josh Allen and Marcus Mariota. Errant throws and sloppy ball handling were the order of the day. In the end though it was all enough for the Bills to get their second win of the 2018 season and keep fans hopes of at least a playoff chase alive into the middle of October.’

‘The entire unit did exactly what’s needed for this team to have to win football games. The formula right now is play really good (maybe even extraordinary) defense, get turnovers, and give the offense opportunities to capitalize. That’s exactly what the defense did against the Titans. They took the ball away three times and never allowed them into their end zone, only giving up four field goals on the day. There isn’t much more you can ask an NFL defense to do on any given Sunday than what the Bills did against Tennessee.’

‘Anderson was last with the Carolina Panthers, backing up Cam Newton. Anderson, 35, has been with the Panthers, Cardinals and Browns in his twelve year NFL career, making 47 starts. Allen also worked with Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll during their time with the Browns.’

‘The Bills signed Marlowe to the roster due to the fact that safeties Micah Hyde and Rafael Bush are questionable for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.’

‘Right now they rank 24th in rushing yards per game (88.3) and 26th in yards per play (3.6). As mentioned above, a good running game would be the best friend of Josh Allen. And the best way to get that running game going is to make sure LeSean McCoy has more than five carries, which is what he had last week in Green Bay. McCoy has only 21 carries on the season and only 29 touches overall. Not enough.’

‘Micah Hyde, who left last week’s game at Green Bay with a groin injury, and Rafael Bush, his primary backup, were both held out of practice Wednesday and were working off to the side with trainers. Head coach Sean McDermott termed Bush as “day-to-day” with a shoulder injury. He called Hyde “week-to-week” Monday.’

‘Phillips, 26, was waived by the Dolphins on Tuesday, is in his fourth season in the NFL. Phillips tallied 63 tackles and 5.5 sacks in just over three seasons with the Dolphins after being drafted by Miami in the second round (52nd overall) in the 2015 NFL Draft.’

‘Bills head coach Sean McDermott said on Monday that safety Micah Hyde will be week-to-week with a groin injury suffered on Sunday in Green Bay. Buffalo has also been without cornerback Phillip Gaines, who’s missed the last two weeks with an elbow injury. In addition, rookie cornerback Taron Johnson has been dealing with a banged-up shoulder since Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens.’

‘“Overall, offense wasn’t good enough at all, bottom line” he said at his weekly Monday press conference. “Not good enough. Running game, passing game, hits on the quarterback… There’s a lot of hands in that jar, though, as it goes to hits on the quarterback. It’s just not good enough. Not solid football. We’ve got to get better.’

‘”At the end of the day you have to be able to score points. Defensively, the goal used to be to keep the other team under 14 points. Now, it’s 17 points. That meter continues to go up.”‘

‘”In the long run, we don’t talk about this loss ruining anything. It’s a clear sign of a lack of execution and preparation. We don’t have the luxury of riding the roller coster of whether we’re good or not.”‘

‘As with their other losses this season, the Bills started out poorly. Rodgers hooked up with Ty Montgomery for a 43-yard gain to set up a touchdown pass from Rodgers to Jimmy Graham from 3 yards out. Packers kicker Mason Crosby missed the extra point, leaving the score at 6-0. However, the Bills offense continued to stagger. The Packers tallied on another touchdown, as they went 9 plays to march down the field against the Bills defense that was missing Micah Hyde due to a groin injury. Aaron Jones capped off the drive with a 3-yard run to make it 13-0.’

‘The offense ended up with 12 possessions and if you throw out the last two drives where they picked up garbage time passing yards, the numbers were horrendous. They went three-and-out on seven of the first 10 drives. Allen and company netted a measly 93 yards in those 10 drives. On the afternoon, the Bills ended up with just 145 yards on 56 plays, managed a frigid 19-percent conversion rate on third down and never got inside the Packers’ 20-yard line.’

‘A couple of these were also on Allen, but for the most part, the Bills’ offensive line was beaten badly and cleanly several times, resulting in Allen going down. The Bills came into the game tied for the league lead in sacks allowed with 14 through three games, then they gave up half that amount in just four quarters.’

‘Josh Allen was pretty good last week in Minnesota. Not great, not bad at all. He wasn’t asked to do much, but what he was asked to do he did well, didn’t make critical mistakes, and kept the offense on schedule. Not much more you could ask from a rookie QB in his first-ever road start, especially in that type of environment. No doubt he was set up in very nice situations by his defense. But to Allen’s credit, he helped the offense take advantage of that. Now comes the next step. Can Allen be as efficient when things aren’t as simple and the offense needs him to make plays because they are down or in a tight game? Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine will test him for sure. We’ll see how he handles it in Lambeau.