Josh Allen was still feeling good after the Buffalo Bills rolled to another victory that proved they belong among the NFL’s top.
Despite playing on a muddy field, Sunday’s 37-3 annihilation of the Washington Commanders was so pristine that Allen and his teammates’ all-white outfits barely got soiled. As Buffalo won a second straight game following a difficult season-opening loss, colleagues on defense who caused five turnovers were aware of that.
Since falling in overtime to the New York Jets in Week 1 at home, the Bills (2-1) have outscored opponents 75-13. Without the Commanders’ 51-yard field goal with 46 seconds left, this would have been a shutout.
Allen scored on a touchdown run and pass while avoiding being sacked. He completed 20 of 32 passes for 218 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown throw to Gabe Davis. He also ran for 46 yards, adding a 10-yard sprint into the goal zone.
The Bills tormented Howell by sacking him nine times in addition to Terrel Bernard, Hyde, Tre’Davious White, and A.J. Epenesa’s interceptions, the last of which caused many Commanders supporters to flee the stadium. They also forced a turnover, bringing their record against quarterbacks with 16 or fewer NFL starts since 2019 to 19-2.
It was the first time since 1995 that a defense picked off a quarterback more than four times and sacked a quarterback nine times or more since the Super Bowl era began in 1966.
Howell, who was making his fourth start for the Commanders (2-1), lost for the first time in his professional career as a result of many offensive line issues that had been concealed by victories against Arizona and Denver. For 170 yards, Howell was 19 of 29.
Washington avoided its first shutout of the Ron Rivera era, which began in 2020, thanks to a field goal by Joey Slye in the final minute. Additionally, it would have marked the first time an Eric Bieniemy-led team has been blanked since the offensive coordinator for Kansas City hired him in 2018.