No team has gone to Buffalo and won this season. The Raiders were the latest to fall to the Bills in Orchard Park, losing 34-14. Here's what we learned:
- The Bills' formula is remarkably consistent: Win the turnover battle (4-0) and let Tyrod Taylor do the rest. The Bills' defense forced four turnovers, gift-wrapping 13 points in a game that wasn't as one-sided as the final score indicated. Give head coach Sean McDermott and his hard-hitting group credit. Even without two key members of the secondary and recently departed starter Marcell Dareus, who was traded to Jacksonville, the Bills forced turnovers with hard hitting and flying to the ball. Buffalo leads the NFL with a +14 turnover margin and is now 4-0 at home and in great shape for playoff contention at 5-2.
- Buffalo is especially dangerous because their running game has become unlocked after their bye. After re-introducing some of the concepts that worked for the team last year, LeSean McCoy had his best two games of the season. He finished with 151 yards on 27 carries, making a lackluster Raiders linebacker group including recent pickup NaVorro Bowman, often grasping for air.
- Oakland's offensive rhythm displayed against the Kansas City Chiefs was short-lived. Amari Cooper was handled by Bills rookie cornerback Tre'Davious White for much of the day. And don't blame Oakland's struggles to establish the run on the absence of Marshawn Lynch. The Raiders' offensive line has allowed penetration far too often this season.
- The Raiders are built in such a way that the offense needs to be special. It's not. Meanwhile, the defense simply fails to get stops week after week. Oakland's pass rush was absent all day, allowing Tyrod Taylor to buy time and find another surprising cast of pass-catching heroes (Andre Holmes, Zay Jones and Brandon Tate this time) for enough third-down conversions to keep moving the chains.
