Bills' Bobby Hart Suspended 1 Game for Swinging at Titans Player, Punching Coach
Sep 20, 2022
CHARLOTTE, NC - AUGUST 26: Buffalo Bills tackle Bobby Hart (68) during a NFL preseason football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Carolina Panthers on August 26, 2022 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Bobby Hart has received a one-game suspension for violating the league's unsportsmanlike conduct rules after Monday night's win over the Tennessee Titans, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan sent a letter to Hart and it revealed that he swung at a Titans player and wound up punching a coach in the head:
A seventh-round pick in 2015, Hart has bounced around the league and is in his third stint with Buffalo after signing a one-year deal with the team in April. He originally signed with the Bills in 2021, but he was released that August as part of final roster cuts. He re-signed with the team's practice squad the next month, but the Titans added him as a replacement for their injured tackles.
Hart played three games for Tennessee with one start last season before he was released and added to the team's practice squad in November. Buffalo then signed him that month after injuries to linemen Jon Feliciano and Spencer Brown. He appeared in one game for the Bills last season.
Hart was drafted by the New York Giants and started 13 games at right tackle during his second year in 2016. Upon his release in 2018, he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals and became the team's full-time starting right tackle for the next three seasons.
During the 2020 offseason, Hart was subject to critcism after sharing an anti-gay image on social media. He also shared conspiracy theories regarding COVID-19 and expressed support for former NFL receiver DeSean Jackson after he received backlash for antisemitic posts.
The Bills (2-0) should have no issues dealing with Hart's absence after establishing themselves as the best team in the NFL with a pair of dominant wins to start the season. Buffalo will travel to face the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
Bills CB Dane Jackson Released from Hospital After Suffering Neck Injury vs. Titans
Sep 20, 2022
INGLEWOOD, CA - SEPTEMBER 08: Buffalo Bills cornerback Dane Jackson (30) during the Buffalo Bills game versus the Los Angeles Rams on September 8, 2022, at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills cornerback Dane Jackson
has been released from the hospital after being taken off the field
in an ambulance because of a neck injury suffered during Monday
night's game against the Tennessee Titans.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network
reported Tuesday that "all indications are he has
avoided a major injury":
From @gmfb: Great news on #Bills CB Dane Jackson. He’s home after walking out of the hospital last night following that scary scene on the field in the game against the #Titans. pic.twitter.com/YFfvxsWsGm
Jackson suffered the injury shortly
before halftime. The Bills released a statement saying he retained
full movement of his extremities:
CB Dane Jackson has been taken to ECMC for evaluation of a neck injury. He will be getting a CT scan and an x-ray. Jackson has full movement in extremities.
Buffalo safety Jordan Poyer said after
the game he'd exchanged text messages with both Jackson and Micah
Hyde, who also left the game with a neck injury, and received
positive responses.
"It was just kind of a weird game
with a bunch of guys going down," Poyer told reporters. "I texted
Micah, he said he was all right. I texted Dane, he said he was
all right."
Jackson has been serving as the Bills'
No. 1 cornerback in the absence of Tre'Davious White, who's
continuing to recover from a torn ACL suffered last season.
Two rookies, first-round pick Kaiir
Elam and sixth-round selection Christian Benford, will be the
projected starters on the outside if Jackson misses time. Taron
Johnson will continue to man the slot.
The injuries are starting to pile up
for Buffalo, which has looked dominant in wins over the Titans and
reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams to open the season.
Along with White, Hyde and Jackson, other Bills dealing with ailments include No. 2 wide receiver Gabe
Davis and four more key members of the defense: Ed Oliver, Matt
Milano, Jordan Phillips and Tim Settle.
That's a major concern as they prepare
to face one of the NFL's five other undefeated teams, the Miami
Dolphins, on the road next week for an early spot atop the AFC East
standings.
Jackson, 25, has been quite a find for
Buffalo since being selected in the final round of the 2020 draft.
He's recorded 64 total tackles, 13 passes defended, two interceptions
and a fumble recovery across 24 career games (10 starts).
His strong play in White's absence is a
significant reason the Bills rank second in both total defense (215 yards
allowed per game) and scoring defense (8.5 points allowed per game)
early in the 2022 campaign after finishing first in both categories last year.
Von Miller on Bills' Super Bowl Aspirations: 'We Have an Attitude of Domination'
Sep 20, 2022
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 08: Linebacker Von Miller #40 of the Buffalo Bills leads teammates onto the field before the NFL game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on September 08, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Buffalo Bills have looked like the best team in football to start the year, and Von Miller explained Monday it's a team-wide mindset:
Von Miller: "Whenever you start thinking about Super Bowls it's like drinking from a fire hydrant."
"We have an attitude of domination. We're not playing the game to just win the game. We're playing the game to dominate the game." pic.twitter.com/Ebvh2PzzNH
"Whenever we're up, we keep saying to each other, 'Don't blink, don't let our foot off the gas,'" Miller said. "It's a killer instinct, it's a blood-in-the-water instinct."
The Bills have certainly dominated in the first two games, beating the Los Angeles Rams 31-10 in Week 1 before Monday's 41-7 blowout over the Tennessee Titans. The Rams won the Super Bowl last year and the Titans took the No. 1 seed in the AFC, so the games truly sent a message to the rest of the league.
Buffalo is now clearly one of the favorites to win a Super Bowl, although Miller preached patience in taking it one game at a time.
Considering the linebacker has won two titles in his career, including last year with Los Angeles, his teammates should heed his advice.
Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs Praised as NFL's Top QB-WR Combo as Bills Rout Titans on MNF
Sep 20, 2022
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 19: Stefon Diggs #14 of the Buffalo Bills celebrates with teammate Josh Allen #17 after scoring a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans during the third quarter of the game at Highmark Stadium on September 19, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Joshua Bessex/Getty Images)
The NFL schedule-makers seemingly did the Buffalo Bills no favors with early matchups against the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams and last season's No. 1 seed in the AFC, the Tennessee Titans.
It turns out, that doesn't really matter when Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs are on the roster.
Buffalo's dynamic duo led it to a dominant 41-7 victory over the Titans in Monday's AFC showdown, improving the team's record to 2-0 despite the daunting start to the season. The Bills looked every bit the part of Super Bowl contenders with Allen going 26-of-38 for 317 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Diggs added 12 catches for 148 yards and three touchdowns as the pair earned nothing but praise on social media:
The Bills wasted no time setting the tone, with fullback Reggie Gilliam capping off the game's first drive with a touchdown catch. It was time for Allen and Diggs to take over from there, and the quarterback scrambled away from pressure and found his go-to receiver for another touchdown to open a two-score lead shortly before halftime.
That combo was just getting started and broke it open in the third quarter with two more touchdown strikes, one of which came on a 46-yard deep ball.
Diggs figured to draw the majority of the defensive attention with Gabe Davis sidelined because of an ankle injury, but Tennessee's secondary still had no chance against the two-time Pro Bowler's ability to blow past defenders and come down with contested catches.
It isn't difficult to envision this duo putting up monster numbers all the way to the Lombardi Trophy, and they will look to keep things rolling in Week 3 against the Miami Dolphins.
Bills' Dane Jackson Taken to Hospital After Being Injured in Collision with Teammate
Sep 20, 2022
ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 31: Dane Jackson #30 of the Buffalo Bills before a game against the Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium on October 31, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
Football took a back seat to a scary situation during the second quarter of Monday's game between the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans.
Cornerback Dane Jackson suffered an injury when his "head and neck were bent back in an awkward, violent collision with a teammate," per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. An ambulance drove onto the field to take him away as his Bills teammates gathered around him to express their support and concern.
"Jackson has been placed on a backboard and gurney with his neck immobilized," Pelissero noted. "Crowd applauding as he is loaded into the ambulance."
The Bills announced he had full movement in his extremities and was undergoing a CT scan and an X-ray.
Jackson has been with the Bills his entire career since they selected him out of Pittsburgh with a seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft. He appeared in just five games as a rookie but played all 17 games last year.
His injury was the scariest of multiple physical setbacks in the first half of Monday's game.
Titans offensive tackle Taylor Lewan was carted off the field with a knee injury, and Bud Dupree, Ola Adeniyi and Trenton Cannon also dealt with injury concerns on Tennessee's side.
As for Jackson, he seemed on his way to a breakout season in his third campaign if the season-opening win over the Los Angeles Rams was any indication. He intercepted Matthew Stafford and finished with five tackles and another pass defended.
He also had three tackles and a pass defended in the first half against the Titans before the injury.
Stefon Diggs Fined $10,609 for Taunting Jalen Ramsey in Bills' Week 1 Win over Rams
Sep 17, 2022
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 08: Wide receiver Stefon Diggs #14 of the Buffalo Bills warms up before the NFL game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on September 08, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs has been fined $10,609 for taunting Los Angeles Rams star Jalen Ramsey in the team's Week 1 win last weekend, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
The incident occurred after Diggs caught a 53-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to give the Bills a 31-10 lead.
The Bills and Ramsey have some history dating back to when the Rams cornerback called Bills quarterback Josh Allen "trash" in an interview with GQ before Allen's rookie season in Buffalo.
At least five players, including Diggs, were fined for unsportsmanlike conduct in Week 1, per Pelissero.
The NFL began cracking down on unsportsmanlike conduct infractions during the 2021 campaign, and it appears players will only continue to be fined, and flagged in games, despite pushback from fans last year.
Diggs caught eight passes for 122 yards and one touchdown in Buffalo's Week 1 win. He's expected to put together a similarly impressive Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans on Monday.
The 28-year-old has been with the Bills since the 2020 campaign after beginning his career with the Minnesota Vikings, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft out of Maryland.
Diggs has posted at least 1,000 receiving yards, earned two Pro Bowl selections and was an All-Pro selection in his first two seasons with the Bills.
Jordan Poyer, Bills Agree to Reworked Contract, Includes Up to $2M in Incentives
Sep 10, 2022
FOXBOROUGH, MA - DECEMBER 26: Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer (21) during a game between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills on December 26. 2021, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Jordan Poyer didn't get the contract extension he was seeking from the Buffalo Bills, but they did adjust his current deal so he can potentially earn more money in 2022.
Drew Rosenhaus, Poyer's agent, told ESPN's Field Yates the Bills agreed to rework the All-Pro safety's contract for this season that increased the amount he can earn through incentives from $500,000 to $2 million.
"Jordan appreciates this good will gesture by the Bills as we continue to work for a contract extension," Rosenhaus said to Yates.
Under his current deal, Poyer's $9.75 million salary this season ranks 16th among all safeties.
Poyer made it known throughout the offseason that he wanted an extension. He skipped the Bills' voluntary workouts in April but was in attendance for mandatory minicamp in June.
When the Bills opened training camp in July, Poyer was asked about his contract status.
"I want to be here," Poyer told reporters. "That’s how I feel—I want to be here."
On the same day, general manager Brandon Beane briefly addressed the status of negotiations with Rosenhaus.
"Drew and I have a great relationship, as do us and Jordan, and Drew and I have had many conversations," Beane said. "This just happened to work out for him to come up here and do this to start camp, but we’re good. I don’t talk about negotiations, but we love Jordan. Drew is great to work with and that’s probably the extent I’d be willing to talk about it."
Per Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus, Hoyer has an 81.0 overall grade over the previous two seasons, which ranks sixth among all safeties.
The Bills originally signed Poyer to a four-year, $13 million deal in 2017. He received a two-year extension worth $19.5 million in March 2020 that tied him to the team through the 2022 season.
Poyer has established himself as a key part of Buffalo's defense during his first five seasons with the team. The Oregon State alum was named to his first All-Pro team in 2021 after recording 93 combined tackles, eight tackles for loss, nine pass breakups and five interceptions.
Prior to joining the Bills, Poyer played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns.
NFL MVP Odds 2022: Josh Allen Moves to +500 Betting Favorite After Win over Rams
Sep 9, 2022
INGLEWOOD, CA - SEPTEMBER 08: Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) passing during the NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Rams on September 8, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
If you want to place a bet on Josh Allen being named NFL MVP this season, do it now.
After an impressive performance in a 31-10 Week 1 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium, the Buffalo Bills quarterback's odds jumped from +650 to +500 ($100 bet wins $500), per DraftKings Sportsbook.
Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills: +500
Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: +850
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs: +900
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers: +900
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers: +1000
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals: +1200
Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos: +1400
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys: +1600
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams: +2000
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens: +2000
Allen completed 26 of 31 passes for 297 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 56 yards and one score.
Even before the season started, Allen was projected to be one of the league's top candidates for the MVP award. If he can continue to play at a high level, he could become the first Bills player since running back Thurman Thomas in 1991 to win the honor.
A quarterback has won the MVP in each of the last nine seasons.
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Video: Bills' Isaiah McKenzie Does Gender Reveal for Sister After Scoring TD vs. Rams
Sep 9, 2022
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 08: Wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie #6 of the Buffalo Bills celebrates a seven-yard touchdown reception against the Los Angeles Rams during the third quarter of the NFL game at SoFi Stadium on September 08, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie did a gender reveal for his pregnant sister after scoring a touchdown in Buffalo's 31-10 season-opening win over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.
After McKenzie caught a seven-yard touchdown from quarterback Josh Allen during the third quarter to put the Bills up 16-10, he yelled into the camera, "It's a boy":
Buffalo WR Isaiah McKenzie did a gender reveal for his sister after scoring a TD 💙🏈 @BRGridiron
The Bills tweeted footage of McKenzie's sister and family celebrating since that was McKenzie's way of announcing to the world that his sister was about to have a baby boy.
Following the release of Cole Beasley during the offseason, McKenzie got the start at slot receiver for Buffalo on Thursday, and he made his presence felt with two receptions for 19 yards, including what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.
The 27-year-old McKenzie is in the midst of his sixth NFL season after entering the league as a fifth-round pick of the Denver Broncos out of Georgia in 2017.
Thursday marked the start of his fifth season in Buffalo, and he seems poised for a career year.
McKenzie has never had a huge offensive role aside from his penchant for gadget plays, but both he and Jamison Crowder figure to receive a lot of playing time out of the slot in 2022.
Last season, McKenzie had just 178 receiving yards after recording a career-high 282 yards in 2020, but he seems likely to far exceed those totals this season.
If that wasn't exciting enough, the speedy wideout is on the verge of becoming an uncle as well.
Josh Allen, Bills Look Every Bit the Super Bowl Favorites They’re Hyped Up to Be
Sep 9, 2022
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 08: Quarterback Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills looks to pass during the first quarter of the NFL game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on September 08, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The defending-champion Los Angeles Rams took on the Buffalo Bills—the oddsmakers' 2022 Super Bowl favorite—to kick off the NFL season on Thursday night. When the dust settled, only one team looked the part.
The Bills didn't play a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination. Josh Allen had a pair of interceptions. Zack Moss had a late fumble that gave L.A. a final gasp. Rookie running back James Cook fumbled on his first professional carry.
Yet Buffalo still dominated the game in almost every way imaginable. Leslie Frazier's defense flustered Matthew Stafford early and often. The offense clicked throughout the game. Former Ram-turned-Bill Von Miller? He's still a difference-maker.
Final score: Bills 31, Rams 10. If not for Buffalo's miscues, it could have been even uglier.
Buffalo came into the season with no glaring weaknesses. The Bills did have a few questions, but they answered most of them on Thursday. One game won't define a season, but Sean McDermott's squad looks like the team to beat right now.
Josh Allen's Evolution Continues
The biggest reason Buffalo is perceived as a Super Bowl contender is the presence of Allen. The 26-year-old Wyoming product is the epitome of a modern-day NFL quarterback. He's big, strong, can sling the ball anywhere on the field and can run around, over and through defenders.
What makes Allen truly amazing, though, is the growth he's shown over the past four-plus years. He was incredibly raw coming out of college—Allen finished his 2018 rookie campaign with a paltry 67.9 passer rating. That's lower than what New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson (69.7) posted as a rookie last year.
Allen has progressively gotten better since. He was a Pro Bowler in 2020 and took the Bills within a few plays of the AFC title game last season, tossing nine touchdown passes and no interceptions in two playoff games. On Thursday, he flashed the sort of accuracy and field awareness that seemed unfathomable during his inaugural season.
Allen completed 26 of 31 attempts and hit seven different receivers against Los Angeles. Those two interceptions look bad on the stat sheet, but one was a drop by Isaiah McKenzie.
The Rams defense—which is still loaded with talent, even after the Miller departure—struggled to contain Allen after going into halftime tied 10-10. His final stat line: 297 passing yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions, 56 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown.
Allen looks like an early favorite for MVP.
Questions Asked and (Mostly) Answered
The biggest questions surrounding Buffalo involved the departure of offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Cole Beasley. Daboll had led the offensive game-planning since Allen was a rookie, while Sanders and Beasley combined for 1,319 yards and five touchdowns in 2021.
Under new coordinator Ken Dorsey, the Buffalo offense didn't miss a beat on Thursday. Dropping 31 points on the defending Super Bowl champions doesn't happen by accident.
And while replacing the tandem of Sanders and Beasley might be a challenge, Gabe Davis has settled in nicely as the new No. 2 target opposite Stefon Diggs.
Diggs led Buffalo with eight catches for 122 yards and a touchdown, and Davis (four catches, 88 yards, 1 TD) gave L.A.'s secondary plenty of trouble as well.
The Gabriel Davis breakout season is off to a GREAT start for fantasy football managers:pic.twitter.com/JGRax8zXAy
Buffalo had high expectations for Davis coming into the regular season.
"When I was in Bills camp, I was told with certainty that his four-TD
performance in the playoff loss at Kansas City was the start of
something big, not a fluke," Peter King of ProFootballTalk wrote. "He's a worker, and Josh Allen sees him as a great complement—not a distant number two—to Diggs."
Thus far, Davis has not disappointed.
The few problems the Bills showed Thursday seem mostly correctable. Both of Allen's interceptions involved his slot receivers—he was slightly off the mark to Jamison Crowder on the second. Buffalo will need to find some reliability there. The running game also remains a work-in-progress.
Allen led the Bills in rushing, while Devin Singletary, Moss and Cook combined for 65 yards. Fumbling didn't help the cause on the ground. It's worth noting that Singletary (6.0 yards per carry) and the running game as a whole (121 yards, 4.8 yards per carry) were effective.
Ball security can be stressed, and Dorsey can figure out a plan to make the ground game go. Perhaps the biggest remaining question is how good Buffalo can be when it plays four full quarters of clean football.
The Von Miller Factor
We can't talk about how dominant the Bills were on Thursday without mentioning Miller. The longtime Denver Broncos star and future Hall of Famer helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI in February, and he helped put them away in Week 1.
Miller, who finished with four tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss, was virtually unstoppable at times. If he's lost a step at age 33, it's not obvious.
For as impressive as Miller was individually, his impact on the Bills defensive front might have been even more eyebrow-raising. Buffalo had the league's No. 1-ranked defense and logged 42 sacks last season but never had "that guy" who could command a team's attention on the edge.
Mario Addison led Buffalo with seven sacks in 2021, and he was the only Bills player with more than four.
Miller is that guy, and he's going to open up a lot of opportunities for A.J. Epenesa and Boogie Basham. Stafford was sacked seven times on Thursday, and he tossed three interceptions and rarely appeared comfortable in the pocket.
Aside from Cooper Kupp (13 catches, 128 yards and a touchdown), most of the Rams offense seemed out of sorts.
While the Bills defense was already great, Miller makes it even more dangerous, and that's a problem for the other 15 teams in the AFC. Even when the Buffalo offense makes mistakes, as it did against L.A., the defense is likely to force just as many.
On Thursday, the Bills showed the NFL world that it's going to take a nearly perfect game by a very talented team—and perhaps a little good fortune—to beat them in 2022.
