As the NFL season has begun, some teams have started off very well, others not so much. The Buffalo Bills opened up their season with Week 1 in Baltimore. It is always tough opening up the season on the road, and it did not go well for the Bills. They suffered a 47-3 loss to open their season, which no one really wants to see as a member of the team or fan of the team.
Hoping to put Week 1 behind them, the Bills headed back to New York, hoping to not repeat their Week 1 performance. Playing at home, they welcomed in Philip Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers to Buffalo. To help change the way their team would play, Buffalo announced that their first round pick, Josh Allen, would be making the start for them instead of Nathan Peterman, who started Week 1. That announcement gave Bills fans a new perspective on how the game might go.
The game was scoreless through its first 5 minutes until Chargers cornerback Korey Toomer returned an interception 59 yards for the first score of the game. Buffalo responded on their next drive with a 27-yard touchdown run by LeSean McCoy. Then, to close out the quarter, Nick Novak kicked a 33-yard field goal to end the first quarter. Unlike Week 1, Buffalo still was in the game and had a chance. But those chances quickly got squashed in the second quarter because in the second quarter alone the Chargers outscored the Bills 27-0, giving them a 37-7 lead at half.
Each team entered the locker room at halftime as usual, but what was interesting and unusual was Bills defensive starter Vontae Davis’ decision not to come out of the locker room for the second half. Most people figured he was hurt or something, but later news breaks that apparently he retired during halftime. The first thought was that he retired due to his team being bad, but he later said he just physically couldn’t take it anymore, and he felt he couldn’t play to his full potential. So thinking about it now, perhaps he was doing this to stop hurting his team due to not being fully committed to the team and their efforts to win. Some people might respect the choice; others may not like his decision. Meanwhile the Chargers went on to win 54-24 over the Bills.
In Week 3, Buffalo had to travel to Minnesota to play the Vikings. They entered the game as 17-point underdogs. It was the first week officially not having Davis on the team. It was a tough game facing the Vikings and their tough defense. But, based on the results of the game and the way the Bills’ defense played, the Bills seemed to be playing like a new team. Maybe Davis was holding their defense back. The Vikings were shut out until the fourth quarter, and the Bills won 27-6.