Bills offense was great, but let's pump the brakes and consider context

Almost everything about the Bills’ 42-15 rout of the Broncos on Saturday looked tremendous, especially on the offensive side of the ball where they almost put up an immaculate game - touchdowns on every drive - and hey, the Patriots weren’t even the opponent!

The Bills went 6-for-6 before finally punting midway through the fourth quarter. They rolled up 32 first downs and what was incredible about that is they faced only three third-down situations all day, converting two. They had 208 yards on the ground, 302 in the air, the three quarterbacks threw only three incomplete passes (one of those was on purpose), and 13 different players caught a pass.

But leave it to Josh Allen himself to pump the brakes and properly put into perspective what was going on.

“It’s preseason. We know that,” Allen said after the game. “Things are going to be different come regular season, obviously higher stakes and all that jazz that comes with it. But in terms of operation, getting the play into the huddle and getting out and having time to at least be at the line and make adjustments if need be, I thought we did a real good job of that today.”

The Broncos played only a couple starters, and none of them were named Russell Wilson, Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Melvin Gordon, Bradley Chubb, Justin Simmons or Patrick Surtain II.

“Certainly understand where Denver is and what they were doing today not playing their starters,” coach Sean McDermott said. “A lot of respect for Nate (Hackett, the head coach) and George (Paton, the GM) and what they’re trying to do and how early they are in their build.”

In other words, the Bills knew the Broncos had no chance of succeeding in this game, first, because Buffalo’s starters played a little, and second, Buffalo’s roster is much deeper and more talented so even when it was backups vs. backups, it wasn’t much of a fight.

Seven thoughts on the victory over the Broncos

1. Offensive line coach Aaron Kromer is making a difference: Kromer has more than 20 years of experience and it seems to be paying dividends for the Bills. He’s even working apparent wonders with Cody Ford and Bobby Hart who, after being considered automatic cuts by me, are making a run at roster spots. “I have a lot of trust in Aaron and what he does for our front and I think he’s building a good dynamic with our offensive staff,” McDermott said.

The Bills’ line last year was mundane at best, and where we’re really seeing Kromer’s influence is in the run game as the big guys are moving people, and RBs Devin Singletary, Zack Moss, James Cook, Duke Johnson and Raheem Blackshear averaged eight yards per attempt in this game.

2. Khalil Shakir could be another mid-round draft steal: I really like the way this kid plays. He just seems to have a knack for how to get open, and when the ball comes his way, he catches it. In two games he’s been targeted eight times and has caught them all for 151 yards.

Still, while Jamison Crowder may not beat out Isaiah McKenzie as the starter in the slot, he’s going to have a role in this offense, and probably at Shakir’s expense until the rookie gains more experience. Again, preseason is much different than the regular season.

3. Isaiah Hodgins may beat out Jake Kumerow: As a receiver, all day long it’s Hodgins over Kumerow, but the special teams aspect is critical and Kumerow has been a four-core guy. However, Hodgins, who caught three passes for 28 yards, played nine special teams snaps after playing eight against the Colts. If he grades out well, that could be a sign that Kumerow is in danger. Overall, the kickoff coverage unit was not good in this game as the Broncos averaged 26.7 yards on six returns.

4. O.J. Howard’s status remains fuzzy: The tight end caught a TD pass from Case Keenum and had two other short receptions, but it was notable that in the six snaps Allen played, the two tight ends used were Quintin Morris (who started in place of Dawson Knox) and Tommy Sweeney. Howard came in when Keenum entered and then played 33 snaps, most of any Bills skill player. That’s not a great look for a sixth-year veteran. It’s entirely possible that he’s not on this roster when the season begins, either via a trade or an outright release.

5. Young DBs still a work in progress: All three of the cornerbacks vying for starting roles - third-year man Dane Jackson and rookies Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford - committed penalties within Denver’s first three possessions, and all three resulted in automatic first downs. Jackson and Elam started, but I’m not sure anything is figured out yet, especially if Tre’Davious White won’t be ready for Week 1, which means two of the three would have to start.

6. David Quessenberry may be the RT: He got the start with the first unit over Spencer Brown, though McDermott did say, “In fairness to Spencer, he hasn’t been able to be out there as much as he’d like or we would have liked to this point. We’re trying to bring him back the right way and building his endurance and getting him more and more comfortable as the days and weeks move forward here.” Brown is practicing more and more, and it’s certainly possible that he regains the starting job, but if I had to make the call right now, I think Quessenberry starts against the Rams.

7. A.J. Epenesa started along with Greg Rousseau on the edge: Von Miller didn’t play, and Epenesa took his place. Pro Football Focus credited Epenesa with three QB pressures. If his usage is an indication, he’s ahead of Boogie Basham and Shaq Lawson in the rotation. Lawson had a very nice game with four pressures, but all of that came in the second half on 32 snaps so again, context.

What they’re saying in the locker room

▶ Josh Allen understanding why he might not play against Carolina: “I don’t think it’s the end of the world if I don’t play. I do know that Brandon Beane’s got a tough job ahead of him. I’m sure he wants to see some guys out there that maybe haven’t been out there enough or need to be out there more.”

▶ Gabe Davis on getting a chance to play with Keenum: “I know me and Diggs were excited. I know Case was excited as well to get out there with (us). We don’t get as many reps with Case, so to be able to go out there and see how ready and prepared he was, it was a lot of fun. And I know whenever 18’s out there, we can trust him and I’m glad he’s on our side of the ball.”

▶ Dion Dawkins evaluating the running backs: “It seems like every year our running back room is like super stacked. The young kid (Cook), he’s been doing a great job, Duke has been doing an amazing job, Moss is healthy now, and Motor’s still Motor. They just keep chucking away, they’re trusting what Kromer is coaching and the run installs and it’s obviously showing and they’re doing a great job.”

Getting to know … LB/ST Tyler Matakevich

The Bills place a high value on special teams. Now, I don’t think that’s some new philosophy in the NFL because most teams know the importance of being sound in the kicking game, not just the actual kicking and punting, but of blocking and tackling.

That’s why they sighed Matakevich before the 2020 season. Sure, he can fill in at linebacker in a pinch, but he’s on this team for one primary reason - he plays on the four core special teams of punt and kickoff coverage and return.

“A lot of success on special teams after your kicker, punter and snapper, is the continuity of the core,” special teams coach Matt Smiley said. “And we’ve been very fortunate to have not only real good players, but players that have been here multiple years, a lot of those core guys. That’s a big benefit.”

This is why cutting Kumerow would be tough, if they do, because he’s one of those guys Smiley would count on, whereas Hodgins would be a new piece.

Matakevich was a seventh-round pick of the Steelers in 2016 out of Temple, where he was a teammate of Dawkins. He quickly endeared himself to coach Mike Tomlin and made the team that season because of his ability to play special teams. He went on to play four years for Pittsburgh, three of which he was the leading special teams tackler, and in 2019, he led the entire NFL with 16.

He has led the Bills in his first two seasons as well, 10 in 2020 and 13 in 2021, with a simple philosophy. “You see ball, you go get ball,” he said. “People always ask me, what do you do? I really just tell them I’m just running down there as fast as I can. I’m not going to let anybody block me and I’m going to beat you to the ball. That’s what I love about special teams. You don’t have 70 snaps out there to run down on kickoff, you only have maybe three or four so you have to make them count.”

This story sums up who Matakevich, a native of Stratford, Connecticut, has always been. When he was in prep school, Matt Rhule - now the Carolina Panthers head coach who then was a Temple assistant - was on the recruiting trail when he came across Matakevich.

“I went up to Milford Academy in Upstate New York and they put me in a back room,” Rhule recalled. “I was sitting by myself with a bunch of DVDs. I was watching this kid from Connecticut play linebacker. I said, ‘He’s a pretty good player.’

“I went out and they had like a three-hour practice in the mud, and I watched him play all day, make play after play, love playing. I remember calling (Temple coach) Steve Addazio and saying, ‘Coach, you’re just going to have to trust me on it. There’s this undersized linebacker at Milford Academy who’s someone we should offer.’”

They offered, and that turned out pretty well for both sides. Matakevich became a four-year starter who made more than 100 tackles on defense every season, was named to the American Athletic Conference first -team three times, and he won the 2015 Bronco Nagurski Award given to the best defensive player in college football.

Here are a few other things to know about Matakevich:

He’s a dog lover: He and his wife Shannon have two dogs, Cash and Bailey, and he works with the Show Your Soft Side campaign that tries to teach young people to have compassion toward animals. He rescued both of his dogs via the organization.

Pregame ritual: Cleaning his house, which I’m sure his wife appreciates.

Hidden talent: Cooking, which I’m also sure his wife appreciates.

Favorite TV show: Below Deck.

Nickname: Dirty Red which is a play on his fire red hair, and the dirty work he does playing special teams.

Favorite musical artist: Summer hits of the 1990s playlist on Spotify.

Buffalo Bills birthday bio: Paul Maguire

The former punter and backup linebacker who played for the Bills during their glory years in the mid-1960s when they won back-to-back AFL championships wasn’t nearly good enough to get his name affixed to the Bills’ Wall of Fame.

But he was popular enough - partly because of his playing career, partly because he was always the life of the party, and mostly because of the long career he forged as a national and local television broadcaster - to have one of the luxury club facilities at Highmark Stadium named after him.

There are probably many young fans who sit in the Paul Maguire Club who have no idea who its namesake was because today he turns 84 years old and he last wore football pads in 1970.

Maguire was one of a very small list of players who played in all 10 of the seasons the AFL was in existence, the first four with the Chargers, the last six - plus one more after the merger with the NFL - for Buffalo. He played in five AFL championship games, winning one with San Diego and two with Buffalo.

And along the way, Maguire found a way to have more fun than any football player ever has. In fact, he drove his last coach, John Rauch, so crazy that Rauch made disparaging remarks about Maguire and defensive tackle Ron McDole on a Buffalo radio program and it ultimately led to his resignation just before the start of the 1971 season.

Rauch had traded McDole to Washington in May 1971, saying he was done as a player. Of course, McDole went on to play eight more productive years with the Redskins and when that franchise celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2002, he was recognized as one of the 70 greatest Redskins of all-time.

And Maguire, who Rauch had feuded with throughout the 1970 season, had already retired in June to pursue his career in broadcasting, knowing he couldn’t play for the autocratic Bills boss any longer.

Yet still, even with both players gone, Rauch found the need to say of McDole, “He has not played what I would call winning football for the last three years.” And he called Maguire, “the clown of the team” who was more interested in, “how we can get out of work or where’s the party?”

Less than a week later team owner Ralph Wilson, who appreciated the many contributions those players had made to his team, told Rauch that he was going to publicly defend them, and Rauch promptly tendered his resignation.

“I told John that I was going to make a statement to the media in defense of McDole and Maguire as I felt they gave the Bills’ organization several years of outstanding service,” Wilson said. “He told me if I did so, I would have to look for a new head coach.”

That wasn’t such a bad thing because Rauch was a terrible coach. This was the man who had O.J. Simpson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1969 draft, for both of his seasons in Buffalo, and refused to make him the featured player on offense, saying he felt using Simpson as a decoy was the best way for the offense to succeed.

So yeah, in addition to being a fine punter who had a career gross average of 41.7 yards, Maguire played a role in getting one of the worst Bills coaches out of town.

His wise and witty approach to football analysis landed him starring roles on broadcasts for NBC and ESPN, and during more than 30 years on the air, he broadcast two Super Bowls alongside Dick Enberg and Phil Simms.

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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills offense was great, but let's pump the brakes and consider context