Now comes the hard part.
Even the most cynical Bills fan would have looked at this season’s schedule and concluded a 2-0 start was to be expected.
Hosting the Jets in the opener and visiting Miami in Game 2 — two division rivals and, not coincidentally, a pair of the league’s weaker teams — seemingly translated to a fast start.
Sure enough, Buffalo is one of the NFL’s 11 remaining unbeatens courtesy of a 27-17 win over New York to begin the season and a 31-28 decision Sunday against the Dolphins in Florida.
But, it’s worth noting that both games were closer than they should have been, the first due to turnovers and missed field goals, the second because of the absence of two critical starting linebackers.
And, this week, there’s a dramatic difference in the opposition’s degree of difficulty.
The L.A. Rams visit Bills Stadium bringing in a 2-0 record and having surrendered the third-fewest points in the league this season. In their first two starts, they beat Dallas, 20-17, in opening game at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium and on Sunday they pounded the Eagles, 37-19, in Philadelphia.
AND WHILE Bills fans are already thinking playoffs, especially with each conference having seven postseason teams, Buffalo’s players and coaches won’t be looking that far ahead.
Rumors of the Patriots’ demise have been greatly exaggerated.
After beating Miami, 21-11, in Foxboro, New England’s bid to upset the Seahawks Sunday night in Seattle ended at the 1-yard line on the game’s final play.
The Pats are 1-1 but quarterback Cam Newton, Tom Brady’s replacement, looks much more like the NFL MVP he was in 2015 than the washed up-appearing player he was the past two seasons.
Winning the AFC East will hardly be easy as New England has already indicated.
HOWEVER, the most encouraging aspect of Buffalo’s fast start has been the electric performance of third-year quarterback Josh Allen.
How fast?
In going 24-of-35 for 417 yards and four touchdowns against the Dolphins, he became only the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw for 700-plus yards, six-plus touchdowns and no interceptions in the season’s first two games.
The others: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.
Indeed, after two games, Allen has thrown for 729 yards, six TDs and no picks.
He followed his initial 300-yard NFL game — 312 yards, two touchdowns — against the Jets by becoming the first Buffalo QB to exceed that yardage total in consecutive weeks in 18 years.
And, oh yeah, that accuracy issue?
In two games he’s 57-of-81 through the air, a glittering 70.4 completion percentage … in his first two seasons that career number was 58.8.
As for long-ball accuracy — passes of 20 yards or farther — last season Allen ranked 29th in the league with a 31 percent connection rate that included drops and throwaways.
On Sunday, he was 7-of-9 on those throws (77.8 pct.) for 211 yards. And while it was only one game, the improvement is undeniable.
Yeah, there are those fumbles. He narrowly avoided one against Miami when he lost the ball at the end of an impressive 16-yard, tackle-breaking run, but officials determined his forward progress had been stopped before the Dolphins recovered.
He also admitted of Sunday’s game, “I was saved a few times from interceptions … there were a couple that could have gone the other way (one could/should have been returned for a TD). I’ve got to do better on that.
“But as long as we’re moving the ball, scoring when we need to score, and keeping our defense off the field … that’s all that matters to us.”
And all that matters to Bills fans is that Buffalo has found its franchise quarterback.
To be sure, two wins into a season against substandard opposition hardly counts as a referendum. But the change from Allen’s first two seasons is palpable and, to this point, it’s hard not to be optimistic.
(Chuck Pollock, a Times Herald senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
