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The Buffalo Bills came into the 2021 NFL season with the most hype surrounding the organization in the last 25 years. After a breakout 2020 season, Josh Allen and the Bills took the league by storm by running away with the AFC East -- a division that had belonged to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots for the better half of the last 20 years -- and now, Allen has the weight of the world on his shoulders to contest with, as he is tasked with doing something that a Bills quarterback hasn't been able to do since Jim Kelly in 1993, lead Buffalo back to a Super Bowl.
The Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers met in Buffalo to open the season in Week 1, and after delivering a loss to the Steelers that exposed them as (some might say) "frauds" last season, Ben Roethlisberger and friends were looking to give it right back to the Bills. And they did.
Buffalo came out looking flat. Josh Allen couldn't hit a target to save his life, the offensive line let him down by letting him get flattened all afternoon long, and it was the little, careless mistakes (like a blocked punt returned for a touchdown by Pittsburgh) that led to a disappointing loss.
The Bills clearly didn't let the early loss to the Steelers define them, and they took all of their anger and frustration out on their division rival, the Miami Dolphins, in Week 2. Although Josh Allen had another week where he didn't look quite like his 2020 self just yet, this shutout win over the Dolphins proved something huge for the Bills; last season, Buffalo needed Allen to play at an MVP level in order to win games, and that was apparent after their two regular season losses to the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs, two games in which Allen didn't play all that great (Buffalo's third loss against the Cardinals was a fluke then and it's still a fluke now)
After Week 2 this year, it seems as if the Bills aren't putting all their faith in Allen's talent in order to win games. Allen being on his "A" game is still the most important thing to this team, but in sports you can't assume that an athlete is always going to perform out of his/her mind. That's why it's nice to see that the team finally has a backup plan.
Running backs, Zach Moss and Devin Singletary, had themselves a great game. Moss rushed for two touchdowns, and Singletary had himself 82 yards and one touchdown on the day. The rushing game was something that was sorely lacking in 2020. Buffalo's success was mainly reliant on getting the ball through the air last year, so seeing the two young running backs having early season success is a huge confidence boost for the team and their fans.
Josh Allen threw for 179 yards, completing 17 of his 33 attempts, one interception and two touchdowns to Stefon Diggs (unsurprisingly) and tight end Dawson Knox.
The theme of Sunday's win however, was the Bills defense. The Bills secondary had two sacks on the first three plays of the game, the Bills 2021 first round draft pick -- DE Greg Rousseau -- had five tackles and two sacks, Justin Zimmer recorded three tackles and one sack, and Matt Milano capped the afternoon off with five tackles, one sack and two QB hits.
As long as the defense keeps up the good work, Zach Moss and Devin Singletary continue to improve, and Josh Allen gets back on track, I don't see anything that could stop this Buffalo Bills team from reaching the Super Bowl this year.