The Bills righted the ship last weekend against the Raiders.

They did so with a methodical offensive approach paired with a defense once again led by a disruptive front four.

Now they head into the nation’s capital to face a Washington team that’s 2-0, led by a young quarterback and their own extremely talented defensive line.

Can Josh Allen and Co. keep the patient approach against that fantastic front?

Can the Bills DL be the true disruptors that make a difference?

That and more to look for come Sunday afternoon.

Let’s dive into things!

Allen’s Easy Approach

Josh Allen won AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the 11^th time for his performance against Las Vegas, but the stat line even was a bit underwhelming to the Bills QB.

While 274 passing yards and 3 touchdowns aren’t your typical award-winning Allen numbers, tying a career-high with a completion percentage of 83.8% is what really pops.

Allen took what the defense gave him, which more times than not were throws shorter than 10 yards down the field.

It was quite a pivot from how the QB played in the opener against the Jets, seemingly forcing the ball deep and leading to interceptions.

The question moving forward, beginning Sunday against Washington, is can Allen continue to have this patient approach?

Sean McDermott said this week that he felt this last game was one Allen could put on a shelf and look back on down the line, showing that he can be smart and efficient while also sprinkling in the spectacular throws that only Allen can make.

By no means is McDermott or anyone trying to reel in what makes Allen so special, simply allow his playmakers to do most of the work by taking the easy path right in front of him.

Commanding All the Attention

The Bills faced one of the best defensive lines in the NFL right out the gate, with the Jets sacking Allen 5 times in the opener.

As talented as that group is, Washington’s might be even better.

From 2017-2020, the Commanders used 1^st round picks on DE Jonathan Allen (17^th overall 2017), DT Daron Payne (13^th overall 2018), DE Montez Sweat (26^th overall 2019), and DE Chase Young (1^st overall 2020).

Those four have produced 104 sacks combined throughout their career, living up to where they were selected.

So far this season, Sweat leads the way with three sacks.

Young, whose dealt with injuries the last two seasons, limiting him to just 12 games in 2021 and 2022, returned for his first action of 2023 and promptly had 1.5 sacks against Denver.

Payne and Allen each have one sack through two games.

The Bills offensive line bounced back quite well last week, especially Spencer Brown, who was tasked with going against Maxx Crosby.

How they handle this ferocious front very well could dictate who wins this game.

Table Set for Bills Front to Keep Eating

The Bills might only have three sacks on the season, but I think their defensive line has been the biggest shining star through two weeks.

Both games they have been disruptive, with great push from Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, and the interior DL paired with Leonard Floyd, Greg Rousseau, and others flying off the edge.

As solid as Commanders QB Sam Howell has been with the first two starts of his 2^nd season, the one area that’s been problematic has been staying upright.

Howell’s been sacks 10 times through two games, getting brought down on 14.3% of his drop backs.

As talented as Washington’s wide receivers are – led by Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson – making the 2022 5^th round pick speed things up could force the action and potentially lead to turnovers.

History suggests McDermott (coaching in his 100^th as the Bills head man) can really makes things tough for young QBs, going 7-0 against those with five starts or less, holding those QBs to a rating of 49.4.

Mother Nature Might Join the Party

Weather might once again play a role in a Bills game.

There is a tropical storm working its way up the east coast this weekend, bringing potentially 2-4 inches of rain with it to the Washington D.C. area.

Right now, it’s unknown if the storm will have passed by Sunday’s 1 p.m. kick-off.

FedEx Field has natural grass, so any sort of precipitation could make footing tricky.

We’ve seen Allen navigate inclement weather without a whole lot of issue, but Howell might not have same ability to do so.

Just something to keep an eye on as we inch closer to game time.

On the Line

BUF (-6.5)

O/U: 43.5

Josh Allen O/U Passing Yards: 251.5

James Cook O/U Rushing Yards: 52.5

Brian Robinson Jr. O/U Rushing Yards: 56.5

Stefon Diggs O/U Receiving Yards: 68.5

Terry McLaurin O/U Receiving Yards: 50.5

**DraftKings Sportsbook**

Injury Report

BUF

NO ONE LISTED

WAS

OUT: TE Logan Thomas (concussion)

QUESITONABLE: WR Curtis Samuel (hip)

Bills and Commanders kick things off from FedEx Field Sunday at 1 p.m.