What We Learned From Week 3 of the N.F.L. Season

Allen didn’t panic on the Bills’ third drive, when Washington defensive tackle Daron Payne brought pressure in the red zone. On third-and-4 from Washington’s 7-yard line, Allen shimmied to his right and hit running back Zack Moss in stride with a touchdown pass.

When Jordan Poyer intercepted Taylor Heinicke on the ensuing Washington possession, giving the Bills a short field, Allen found tight end Dawson Knox’s back shoulder for a 14-yard score. The ball placement was perfect.

Washington cut the Bills’ lead to 21-14 with quick scores in the second quarter, but Buffalo smothered the threat with offense, scoring on five of its final seven possessions. Allen was accurate as ever, throwing for 358 yards, four touchdowns and no picks with a 129.8 passer rating.

Everything came so easy for the Bills’ passing game in 2020. Not since Jim Kelly in the early 1990s could locals expect something good to happen late in the fourth quarter instead of something bad.

Short-circuiting for two weeks ushered back that feeling of impending doom. Sunday’s win brought on the realization that, as good as Stefon Diggs is, this Bills team is at its best when Allen is dealing to receivers — like Emmanuel Sanders, who hauled in two touchdown catches — all over the field.

The Vikings aren’t dead yet.

When everything’s perfect around quarterback Kirk Cousins, he’ll carve up an opposing defense. But for most of his career, things have not been perfect and his traditional style has folded in the face of pressure. These Vikings (1-2), however, are loaded at receiver, and Cousins has had ample time to find them. The staggering results of that mix showed in Sunday’s 30-17 win over the Seahawks (1-2).

Through three games, Cousins has passed for 918 yards with eight touchdowns, zero interceptions and has been sacked only five times.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/26/sports/what-we-learned-from-week-3-of-the-nfl-season.html