CURTIS HENRY
Sports Editor
As a wise man once typed into his Twitter without needing 280 characters, go Bills.
The Buffalo Bills have jumped out to an unexpected 3-1 start after defeating the Atlanta Falcons in the brand new Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday. The win follows an equally impressive victory over the Denver Broncos a week earlier.
Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of the win on Sunday for fans was the fact the Bills ended up on the right side of questionable calls, something that has haunted the team too often during their current 17-year playoff drought. As recently as 2016 it seemed as though half of Buffalo’s losses hinged on questionable officiating decisions that went against the Bills.
The biggest call in question came in the third quarter when Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan was hit and appeared to toss the ball harmlessly forward which resulted in an incomplete pass. No whistle was blown, and cornerback Tre’Davious White scooped the live ball and ran it back for a touchdown for Buffalo.
Replays showed Ryan losing control briefly while in his throwing motion, but having control enough to attempt a pass. Given the required indisputable evidence necessary to overturn a call, the officials got it right by declaring the ruling on the field stood as called. Had the ruling on the field been an incomplete pass, it’s hard to say if the video would have overturned that, either.
That play definitively shifted the flow of the game in Buffalo’s favor. Up 14-10 with 11 minutes to play in the third quarter, Buffalo’s defense would do more than enough in the remaining 25 minutes to secure the win. Aided by injuries to Atlanta’s top two receivers, Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu, the Bills intercepted two passes in the second half and held the reigning MVP Ryan to a season-low 62 passer rating.
So much of what plagued the Bills in 2015 and 2016 under the reign of Rex Ryan and Doug Whaley seems to be a distant memory. The last two games have featured the Bills closing out quality opponents; something that has generally be an issue for the team.
Additionally, the special teams woes of seasons past have diminished greatly. Newly acquired kicker Stephen Hauschka hit two fourth quarter kicks of 55+ yards on Sunday, extending his NFL-best streak of consecutive 50+ yard field goals made to 11. Hauschka has made all seven of his kicks in the past two weeks, including four from 50+.
Perhaps the most impressive stat that you can dig up on Hauschka is this: only nine times in the history of the Bills organization has a kicker made a field goal from 55 yards are longer. Hauschka has accounted for a third of that total in the last ten days alone.
The win in Atlanta effectively does two things for Buffalo. Not only does it keep the team atop the AFC East, courtesy of a New England loss to Carolina on Sunday, but it puts this year’s Bills team on the nationwide radar.
It’s fair to be skeptical about whether or not this is the year for the team to end the well-known 17-year playoff drought but, at 3-1, the Bills have a much better shot than anyone was giving them a month ago.
Week 5 brings a matchup in Cincinnati with the 1-3 Bengals. Buffalo will look to move to 4-1 as Week 6 will bring about the team’s bye week.