The Bills’ offseason bet on D.J. Moore paid off right away in Week 1, and it wasn’t just because of the box score.
Buffalo brought in Moore to give Josh Allen a true No. 1 target, and in the opener he delivered with five catches on eight targets for 100 yards and a touchdown. More importantly for the Bills, the connection already looks real.
“Yeah, I think our off-field chemistry and friendship has accelerated the on-field connection,” Moore told 13WHAM’s Dan Fetes. “We talk almost every other play about something dealing with a route.”
Allen said Moore’s presence also opened things up elsewhere, including on the game-winning touchdown to Joshua Palmer. Palmer slipped free on a post route in the end zone, and Allen made it clear that the play developed because defenders were leaning toward Moore.
“You want the absolute truth? We call this a horseshoe,” Allen told CBS sideline reporter Evan Washburn.
“This is not where the ball is supposed to go. We have never once repped the ball going there.”
“I just felt that those safeties started cheating to DJ a little bit,” Allen added. “Josh ran a great route; put it on the line for him. He goes, and he does the rest.”
In Miami, the Dolphins are trying to clean up plenty after their 27-13 loss to the Raiders, and the pass protection stood out for all the wrong reasons. They allowed five sacks, and quarterback Malik Willis put the responsibility on himself rather than pointing at an offensive line that has only one new starter from last season and is still taking shape.
“I got to watch the tape, but you can just blame (the sacks) all on me,” Willis said via USA Today’s James Trefry. “I got to take care of the ball, and I got to do right by my offensive line, get the ball out.
It takes all 11, got to make sure the receivers are in the right spot, got to make sure I’m doing the right thing, we got to make sure our backs are doing the right thing, and it all works together. But you can blame the sacks on me.
A sack is a quarterback stat, and I’m going to take the O-line out for that.”
The Jets also had injury questions coming out of Week 1, though head coach Aaron Glenn didn’t sound alarmed. He had no update on safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who is dealing with a groin issue, or receiver Omar Cooper Jr., who is nursing an ankle injury, but Glenn said he isn’t concerned about either one being serious. Rich Cimini reported the update.
In New England, Romeo Doubs’ first game in a Patriots uniform did not go the way anyone wanted. He was shut out statistically and also had a costly open drop that would have produced a big gain, a rough start after the Patriots paid him heavily this offseason. Still, Mike Vrabel isn’t ready to make it a bigger story than one bad moment.
“He dropped a pass,” Vrabel said via the team website. “You know what I mean?
Guys, everybody drops a pass. Everybody misses a tackle.
You talk to him the same way you always talk to him. Figure out a way to make a play to help us win, and he did a lot of great things during camp, just like everybody did.
And so, I know he’s excited to get back out there, get to work and to find a way to help us win.”
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Bills Fans Got The DJ Moore Update They Needed
DJ Moore gave the Bills something to keep an eye on after he was hurt on the final snap of Buffalos game against the Panthers, but the immediate concern has eased. Head coach Joe Brady later said Moore was good to go, and the receiver is not listed on Buffalos injury report heading into the next matchup with the Detroit Lions.
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 🡒]