Buffalo Bills’ 2nd-half offense nearly perfect vs. New England Patriots

The Buffalo Bills were in a scary place for the first half of their game against the New England Patriots. But Josh Alien came out and so did all the Bills’ talent alongside him. And maybe a little puke came out too. It’s hazy.

Anyway, Buffalo’s second half offense was a work of art.

James Cook III: 5 yards

The Bills put wide receiver Khalil Shakir in an orbit motion, which gained the attention of much of the New England defense courtesy of Shakir’s reputation for shiftiness. Linebacker Christian Elliss was responsible for running back James Cook, but had to hesitate to move around a teammate. Elliss wasn’t fast enough to make up for that lost half step.

Dawson Knox: 4 yards

A little trickery can go a long way. Tight end Dawson Knox joined the scrum and started off blocking, but quickly slipped out in the same direction Josh Allen was moving for a relatively easy score.

James Cook: 3 yards

James Cook’s ability to cut and change lanes rapidly is seen quite well on this play. While we’ve seen less-than-perfect-hands have bad results before for Cook, he extended in miraculous fashion to cross the goal line here.

Dawson Knox: 14 yards

Courtesy of right guard O’Cyrus Torrence’s first penalty of the year, the Bills were forced into this precarious position. Both teams saw things play out how they wanted in part, but Buffalo’s machinations were obviously more successful.

At the line, Buffalo’s offense moved everything to the left side, allowing Allen to head to his beloved right side while scrambling. The Pats had a spy and it’s not likely at all that even Allen would be able to run it in for the score. Knox timed his route perfectly and Allen found a tiny throwing window to fit the ball in for the score.

James Cook: 11 yards

The Bills were in great shape with 2nd & 1. With a first down likely, The Patriots weren’t selling out to stop the run, but did have defenders in place to try and catch up to anyone slipping out through the line. Cook’s ability to change lanes on the fly showed up again here. Twice. Touchdown Bills!