Dion Dawkins walked out of Sunday’s win with a simple question for anyone who had doubts about Buffalo’s offensive line.
“What they gotta say now?” Dawkins asked as he headed to Buffalo’s locker room.
It was a fair question after the Bills handled a Texans pass rush that had every reason to make life miserable. Houston came in with Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter and plenty of pressure potential, and Buffalo’s front had already lived through the ugly version of this matchup last season. At Reliant Stadium, Josh Allen was sacked eight times and hit 12 times in one of the unit’s roughest outings of the year.
This time, the Bills looked far more in control. Allen went down only twice, and Buffalo gave him time to work through his throws.
The ground game wasn’t a heavy part of the plan, but James Cook still managed 4.4 yards per carry on 13 attempts. The payoff was a 36-point night, with Allen throwing for 334 yards and accounting for four touchdowns.
Dawkins entered the season with his own reset in mind. The 32-year-old said at the ESPY Awards that he wanted to trim down and come back faster.
“I’m dropping like 45 pounds this season to play a little faster, play a little better because something is not getting us over that hump,” Dawkins said at the ESPY Awards. “So I want to be at the best that I could possibly be.”
Sunday showed why that mattered. Dawkins did miss one block early on a fourth-down designed run for Allen, but the lighter frame showed up in the way he moved and how well he stayed in front of Houston defenders. Buffalo’s line wasn’t perfect - Dawkins was concussed in the game and Spencer Brown also dealt with a shoulder injury - but the overall performance was enough to quiet the noise after a week of skepticism.
If the Bills keep getting that kind of work up front, the questions around this group won’t linger long.
In Other News...
Bills Home Opener Is Becoming A Costly Headache For Fans
The Bills home opener against the Detroit Lions is turning into a planning exercise as much as a football date for fans hoping to be in Orchard Park. Hotel rooms near Highmark Stadium are scarce and expensive, and even getting a place to leave the car has become part of the scramble, with stadium parking already sold out and neighborhood lots left as the main backup.
With a big crowd expected, the game day logistics are getting tighter by the hour. Several roads around the stadium will close before kickoff, adding another layer for anyone making the trip, and it has turned what should be a straightforward opening weekend into a costly headache for Bills supporters trying to get in the door. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Fans Got The DJ Moore Update They Needed
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That is welcome news for a Bills offense that already saw what Moore can bring in his debut. He finished with five catches, 100 receiving yards and a touchdown, giving Buffalo a big-play presence that showed up right away and should matter again as the schedule stiffens. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Win Didnt Stop Jim Leonhard From Zeroing In On One Concern
Jim Leonhard had plenty to like after Buffalos 36-31 season-opening win over the Houston Texans, but the Bills defensive coordinator did not sound interested in treating the result as proof that everything was already in place. The score mattered, of course, and so did the way Buffalo opened the year with a victory, yet Leonhard still spent his review pointing out the defensive areas that need cleaning up as the Bills move deeper into September.
One of the clearer concerns came with inside linebacker Terrel Bernard, who played the entire game but showed up on the injury report the next day. For a defense trying to settle into Leonhards approach, those small turns can matter just as much as the big-picture result, and the early evaluation suggests Buffalos coordinator is keeping a firm eye on both the progress and the problems after a week one win. [Read more 🡒]