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The Buffalo Bills dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 38-3, at home in Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season. The Bills are now 4-1 and are in first place in the AFC East. Here we'll look at some takeaways from the Bills’ Week 5 win.
The Bills jumped out to a 31-3 halftime lead thanks to four touchdown passes from Josh Allen. He completed two of those to Gabe Davis, the longest of which was 98 yards on the third play from scrimmage. That passing TD equaled the team record for the longest touchdown.
The Steelers, for their part, lost their fourth consecutive game after rookie Kenny Pickett made his first career start on Sunday. They are now 1-4. After scoring on their first possession, the Steelers offense fell silent the rest of the way.
Here are our four takeaways from the Buffalo Bills' Week 5 win vs. the Steelers.
4. Ground D was stout
The Buffalo Bills' pass rush has gotten the most attention this season. That's just right as Von Miller and Greg Rousseau have been the anchors. However, the Bills run defense has also been stout and needs to be recognized as well.
The Bills knew that the Steelers would try to establish the run with a young quarterback, and Buffalo's defense was more than ready. They prevented the Steelers from getting a rushing rhythm going. In fact, Pittsburgh finished the game with only 42 rushing yards, while their leading rusher, Najee Harris, had only 20 yards. He actually finished the game with an average of only 1.8 rushing yards per attempt.
Tyrel Dodson and Kaiir Elam combined for 21 tackles for the Bills defense, though the signing of DaQuan Jones, as well as the return of Ed Oliver and Jordan Phillips, contributed significantly to their performance against the run as well.
3. Next man up
The Bills offense was explosive behind Gabe Davis and Stefon Diggs. In addition, rookie receiver Khalil Shakir, tight end Quintin Morris, and wideout Isaiah Hodgins rose up to support them as well.
On defense, safeties Damar Hamlin and Jaquan Johnson performed admirably. As we already mentioned, Dodson, who filled in for Tremaine Edmunds, also impressed by recording a team-high 11 tackles.
Shakir and rookie running back James Cook both scored for the first time in their careers. Meanwhile, rookie CB Elam made his first interception.
Shakir was undoubtedly the most outstanding rookie, not only taking over as the primary punt returner but also replacing Isaiah McKenzie and Jamison Crowder in the slot. He took McKenzie's spot last week against the Ravens and followed up with three receptions for 75 yards and a TD here.
In the second half, Cook had a strong burst on the ground with a 24-yard touchdown run. He hasn't had much of an opportunity to make an impression, but this could open things up for him.
2. The Great Gabe Davis
Josh Allen and Gabe Davis WASTE NO TIME WITH A 98-YARD TD🔥
(@NFL)pic.twitter.com/qqIEL2PSCZ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 9, 2022
Gabe Davis has been struggling lately, playing with a foot injury. Despite playing a lot of snaps in recent games, he has failed to get involved and become productive.
In this game, however, Davis appeared to be in very good shape. He scored on two deep balls, the longest of which was 98 yards, and finished with three catches for 171 yards.
Without a doubt, Davis had a monster night, finishing the game with 171 yards on three catches.
1. Josh Allen strikes again
Maybe Josh Allen is really just too good.
He and the Bills aggressively pushed the ball in this game and connected on some big plays.
Following his 98-yard connection with Davis, Allen connected with Davis again for a 61-yard touchdown. He also connected with Diggs, Shakir, Morris, and Hodgins for receptions of at least 25 yards.
Allen had an outstanding effort on a day when he seemed to establish a new record or milestone each moment he was on the field. He finished the game with a 13.7-yard per-attempt average. That's a career-high for the Buffalo Bills quarterback. The only other time he averaged more than 13 yards per attempt was against the New York Jets last season.
On his 98-yard play with Davis, Allen, in fact, passed Peyton Manning for fourth most overall touchdowns in a player's first five seasons.
He wasn't done there, either, as he passed for over 300 yards in the first half for the first time in his career. Take note as well that he had four touchdowns in the first two quarters alone.
Though Allen didn't toss any more touchdowns in the second half, he did increase his throwing yardage. The 424 yards passing were the most ever by any Buffalo Bills quarterback in regulation. Drew Bledsoe established the current record of 463 yards in an overtime game.
Yeah. Maybe Allen really is just too good.
