NFL
Allen threw for 3 touchdowns after finishing his fist 13 passes of the sport.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The more serious Josh Allen feels one week, the higher he performs the subsequent.
Following a four-turnover season-opening dud on the New York Jets, a self-motivated Allen let free with a near-perfect efficiency in main the Payments to a 38-10 rout of the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
“I like feeling how I felt final week. I actually do, as a result of it makes the great really feel that significantly better,” Allen mentioned. “I take the dangerous with the great, I perceive it, and I’m simply attempting to let it gasoline me and use it to my profit.”
Allen threw three landing passes in a sport he opened by finishing his first 13 makes an attempt. Placing apart the over-aggressive tendencies that bought him into bother in opposition to the Jets, Allen established a rhythm by specializing in finishing largely quick and straightforward makes an attempt to complete 31 of 37 for 274 yards and no turnovers.
It was Allen’s twenty first outing with three or extra touchdowns passing, and Buffalo improved to 13-4 in video games following a loss since 2019.
“Simply us getting again to who we really feel like we’re,” Allen mentioned.
Buffalo completed with 183 yards speeding, with Allen accounting for simply 7. James Cook dinner led the way in which with a career-best 123 yards — essentially the most by a Payments working again since LeSean McCoy had 156 in December 2017.
What stood out was Allen enjoying inside his limitations. Heart Mitch Morse referred to the outing as stoic and intentional.
“I feel it represents his tenacity as a competitor, and likewise that he understands who he’s,” Morse mentioned. “It’s a fantastic factor. And it was simply superior to see and be part of this week, particularly Josh going on the market and discovering his mojo.”
The Raiders had few solutions in a sport they opened by scoring on Davante Adams’ 16-yard landing catch lower than three minutes in, after which discovered themselves trailing 28-10 earlier than their first possession of the third quarter.
No matter probability Las Vegas needed to get again into the sport ended 4 performs from scrimmage later, when linebacker Matt Milano jumped in entrance of Josh Jacobs to intercept Jimmy Garoppolo’s cross at midfield.
“I assumed we created some momentum in the beginning of the sport. However momentum is only a phrase,” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels mentioned. “We have to play properly, and coach properly, for 60 minutes. We will’t simply stay off the momentum of a drive. We had 5 respectable performs after which didn’t play very properly the remainder of the sport.”
The Raiders dropped to 1-1 following an outing by which Garoppolo completed 16 of 24 for 185 yards and was intercepted twice, and Jacobs, the NFL’s main rusher final 12 months, was restricted to a career-worst minus-2 yards on 9 carries. In line with Elias Sports activities, it marked the primary time because the NFL’s merger that the league’s defending speeding champion completed with adverse yardage.
“I don’t assume we have to completely flush it. I feel we have to handle the place we went improper, and enhance from there,” Jacobs mentioned. “That’s the factor that makes it so irritating for me is simply the potential. You see flashes of how good we are able to actually be.”
Allen accomplished passes to 9 gamers, with Gabe Davis catching six for 92 yards and a landing. Tight finish Dawson Knox and Khalil Shakir additionally caught landing passes, whereas Latavius Murray and Damien Harris scored a landing every speeding.
Linebacker Terrel Bernard additionally had an interception and Taylor Rapp recovered Zamir White’s fumble on what grew to become the Raiders’ closing possession, closing every week by which the Payments confronted a number of off-field distractions.
Coach Sean McDermott needed to handle his management group after crew proprietor Terry Pegula was accused of creating racially insensitive feedback in a lawsuit filed by a former NFL Media reporter. Pegula denied the allegations.
After which on Wednesday, a Payments media reporter was overheard on an open microphone questioning receiver Stefon Diggs’ character. Diggs went to social media a day later, calling the feedback “hurtful” and “insulting.”
“I feel it reveals the resiliency of this crew. Nobody preferred the style within the mouth we had this week, I feel we introduced a sure edge to this week’s observe and preparation,” Morse mentioned. “It was nothing loopy or confrontational, however simply very intentional.”
INJURIES/INACTIVES
Raiders: McDaniels had no replace on Adams, who completed the sport being evaluated with a head harm. . .. WR Jakobi Meyers (concussion protocol) didn’t play after the offseason free agent addition led the crew with 9 catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns in a season-opening win at Denver. … DE Chandler Jones missed his second straight sport over a dispute with administration.
Payments: S Damar Hamlin was a wholesome inactive for the second straight week. The third-year participant has not appeared in an NFL common season sport since going into cardiac arrest and needing to be resuscitated on the sector at Cincinnati on Jan. 2. … S Micah Hyde injured his hamstring, and DE Leonard Floyd harm his ankle throughout the sport.
NEXT WEEK
Raiders: Host Pittsburgh Steelers in residence opener on Sunday night time.
Payments: Journey to face the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
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