The Buffalo Bills emerged victorious from the Pacific Northwest, defeating the Seattle Seahawks 31-10 in their Week 8 matchup. This was a very decisive victory as the Bills controlled the game from start to finish; The Seahawks’ implosion definitely helped the Bills throughout the entire game.

Below, we’ll take a look at the most inspiring performance of the day, the side of the ball that still has some questions, the part of the defense that needs better performance, and the most boring performance of the game.

While the Bills’ passing offense wasn’t necessarily bad, it had a tendency to get by with unscripted and improvised plays throughout the first few months of the season. It seemed like the passing game was a lot more cohesive in Seattle, we were finding a way to attack downfield and getting the timing right, especially on screen passes. There were many moments where off-script plays were critical; The Dalton Kincaid touchdown at the end of the first half was a clear standout (happy National Tight End Day, by the way!). With all that said, the Bills overall looked more collected and on schedule than most of the season; This is a positive sign for this team moving forward as they begin to move towards the more difficult part of their schedule.

It was a welcome sight to see rookie winger Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid both score; Coleman, in particular, showed for the second week in a row that he is becoming more comfortable in this offense and has earned more of Josh Allen’s trust. The rookie finished the day with five catches for 70 yards and a dominant one-handed touchdown. Kincaid had four catches for 31 yards and a touchdown, and Khalil Shakir continued his dominant season with nine catches for 107 yards. Additionally, the Bills were able to consistently run the ball the way they needed to; James Cook finished the day with 111 yards on 17 carries and a pair of rushing touchdowns. Ray Davis also contributed late to salt the game with six carries for 29 yards. Another good sign that this team is getting closer and closer to playing true complementary football.

Relating to: All is well, no one is in the Bills’ 31-10 victory over the Seahawks

Speaking of complementary football, the Bills’ defense had a great performance on Sunday. The defense played strong all day, especially against Kenneth Walker, who was a danger every time he touched the ball. Even though the Seahawks’ offensive line has been plagued by multiple injuries, it’s still difficult to contain someone with the speed and cutting ability that Walker has, and the Bills handcuffed him and the rest of Seattle’s offense all game long. The real question is; How well will this situation be maintained for the rest of the season? Not every team will have the inept offensive line that the Seahawks have, and in fairness Seattle had multiple opportunities to score early in this game and found multiple ways to score three points thanks to their own ineptitude. Various chances to go to situations. Von Miller’s return from suspension next week will certainly be a boost to the Bills’ passing offense, which also struggled in this game. That’s not to take away from the excellent performance from the Bills’ defense, and hopefully they can use this as a springboard of sorts to get better moving forward, but it’s going to take more than just one game to be 100% confident. coming weeks.

Despite the good play on the Bills’ defense, they lacked a consistent passing offense. Despite the Seahawks’ offensive line woes, the Bills were unable to get a pass to Geno Smith for most of the game. While Smith deserves praise as a very good pocket manager, getting fewer pressures and sacks like the Bills did is disappointing. As mentioned earlier, getting Von Miller back should be a nice boost, but the truth is that the lack of passing rush is actually due to the lackluster pace on the interior. DaQuan Jones, Ed Oliver and Austin Johnson do not push the pocket effectively or consistently. If this starts to happen, EDGE players’ sacks will definitely start to increase. Otherwise, the Bills will continue to struggle as an effective pass rusher, especially in the playoffs.

Just a few weeks ago the Bills and Jets played a flag-filled game on Monday night, and in that game alone there were more than 20 total points. This game managed to surpass that. It doesn’t really matter if they are the result of bad calls. The Bills weren’t a great team when it came to penalties during the Sean McDermott era. It’s not as bad as the Rex Ryan era, but it’s a pretty low bar to clear. McDermott’s teams have often played with a laxity that comes from wanting your players to play quickly, but this also shouldn’t come at the expense of penalty clearance. Whether it’s holding, offside, defensive pass interference, yada, yada, yada, we all know the drill at this point. The Bills finished the game with 13 penalties for 85 yards and need to be better. Against better teams, the hole you dig yourself into by taking penalties becomes a force multiplier; It becomes exponentially more difficult for you to escape the bad situation you created through punishments.

Relating to: This Keon Coleman blog is the funniest thing you’ll watch today

The Bills return to Buffalo next Sunday to face the AFC East rival Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins are reeling and have won just once since their Week 2 loss to the Bills. Even though their offense looked better with the return of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in Week 8, they still couldn’t find a way to win at home against the Arizona Cardinals. On paper, this is a very one-sided matchup in the Bills’ favor. But split games can get weird, and the Dolphins are absolutely desperate.

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