Crumbling defense, turnovers result in rout
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Ron Rivera stood on the 30-yard line motionless, his arms crossed, as a sea of fans behind him erupted in cheers. For more than eight minutes of the third quarter, the Buffalo Bills picked apart the Washington Football Team’s defense on a demoralizing 17-play, 93-yard touchdown drive. Any chance of an upset fizzled, and any hope of a needed turnaround by Washington’s once-vaunted defense disappeared.
So Washington’s coach just stood there and watched. Rivera said nothing as the players jogged off the field, and a few, including star defensive end Chase Young, were visibly frustrated on the sideline.
In a game he billed as a “measuring stick” for his team, Rivera could only watch as the results defied his early-season expectations. Behind an imploding defense and a turnover-prone offense, Washington crumbled in its first road game of the season, losing to the Bills, 43-21, to fall to 1-2.
The Bills’ dominance was unrelenting beyond a three-minute window in the second quarter, when Washington scored two touchdowns to grab the momentum before quickly losing it.
By halftime, Buffalo had amassed 312 yards as quarterback Josh Allen gashed Washington with 22 completions on 28 attempts. He converted a third and 15 with a 23-yard pass, launched a 28-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders, later completed a 41-yard pass to Sanders, finished with four touchdown passes, guided his team to three other scoring drives for field goals and then, to cap the rout, trotted into the end zone himself in the fourth quarter as Buffalo outgained the visitors 481-290.
Allen, a first-time Pro Bowl pick last season, wasn’t the first to expose Washington’s myriad problems on defense. He just did it better than the others, finishing with 358 passing yards as Buffalo’s second-ranked defense stifled Washington.
Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke’s heroics were masked by his mistakes. The former “quarantine quarterback” threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score but also tossed a pair of interceptions,
and tight end Logan Thomas lost a fumble in the first quarter.
Washington failed to score on its opening drive, as it has in 18 of its past 19 games. Since the start of last season, it has scored only seven points on its first possession and has allowed 57 to the opposition, Buffalo being the latest to pick up a quick seven points to start.
The struggles on third down were shared by both Washington phases. Thomas fumbled after a nice catch on third and eight, J.D. McKissic was flagged for offensive pass interference on third and two (negating a 16-yard catch by Terry McLaurin), and by game’s end the offense had converted just 2 of 11 third-down attempts. Buffalo had little problem finding first downs against Washington’s defense. It found 29, actually, thanks in part to its 60 percent conversion rate on third down.
Buffalo jumped to a 21-0 first-quarter lead, but Washington bounced back early in the second quarter, giving false hope of a turnaround.
Second-year running back Antonio Gibson broke loose for a 73-yard catch-and-run that ended with a dive inside the pylon for a touchdown. On the subsequent kickoff, the ball bounced off Washington linebacker Khaleke Hudson in coverage, then bobbled on the ground before Dustin Hopkins cradled it to recover his own kick.
With another chance to narrow Buffalo’s lead, Washington needed only five plays and 24 yards to find the end zone. Heinicke connected with Thomas on a 14-yard completion, then dived across the pylon for a four-yard touchdown run on the next play to make it 21-14.
But hope soon fizzled as the defense — thanks to missed tackles, miscommunication, blown assignments and leaky coverage — failed to contain Buffalo. And all Rivera could do was watch.