Game Preview, Week 3: Washington at Buffalo
September 24, 2021
by Steve Thomas
Washington came away with an exciting, last second win last week to improve their record to 1 – 1 and avoid going 0 – 2 at home to start the season, which would’ve been a tough hole to climb out of. It only gets more difficult from here, though, as the Redskins WFT Washington travels to Buffalo to face the Bills, who are coming off of a 35 – 0 destruction of the Miami Dolphins. This game will be Washington’s toughest test of the young season, as the Bills – who were two touchdowns away from the Super Bowl last season – have a young quarterback who has improved tremendously from his collegiate days (maybe) and a successful defense. There’s no doubt that this is a tough matchup for Washington, but as the saying goes . . . on any given Sunday. Our game preview is below.
Game time & location: Sunday, September 26, 2021, 1:00 p.m. ET, New Era Field, Orchard Park NY; Gates open 11:30 a.m. ET; parking lots open 9:00 a.m.
Television: Fox
Television announcers: Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston, Jen Hale
TV broadcast map: click here
DC-area radio: The Team 980
Washington radio network: click here
Bills radio network: click here
Satellite radio: SirusXM: 225 (Washington broad.); internet: 831 (Washington broad.)
Redskins roster: click here
Redskins depth chart: click here
Bills roster: click here
Bills depth chart: click here
All-time head-to-head record vs Bills: 6 – 9 (last 5: 1 – 4; streak: 0 – 1)
Last meeting: L, November 3, 2019, 9 – 24
Early odds: Buffalo, -7.5
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Keep Josh Allen down
As good as Allen was last year, he hasn’t actually played very well so far this season. His completion percentage is just 56%, which is more in line with his numbers from college and from his first two years in the NFL rather than his 2020 season. Much of Allen’s problem has been accuracy in the deep ball. Washington needs to put consistent pressure on Allen in order to keep him from getting his game together against them. Allen is the one who drives Buffalo’s offense, so it will be critical for Washington to keep him from completing 70% of his pass attempts and getting significant passing yardage. The big fear is that Allen uses this game to get himself together and back to his 2020 level of performance. This will be the most important factor in the game.
Taylor Heinicke needs to continue to play well
The corollary to keeping Allen from putting up big numbers is for Heinicke to continue to play like a legitimate starting quarterback. If Taylor can continue to play like he did against the Giants, then Washington will always have a shot to stay in any game. Buffalo’s defense is coming off of a destruction of the Miami Dolphins and has posted numbers along the lines of what Washington’s defense was expected to produce, with outstanding rankings by nearly every measure. The key is for Heinicke is to keep producing and to get better at seeing the field and progressing through his reads.
Tight zone coverage
Buffalo has a stable of talented receivers, including Stefon Diggs, Emmanuel Sanders, and Cole Beasley, so Washington’s secondary will have their hands full to keep these players from running free and giving Allen easy targets downfield.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
William Jackson III vs Stefon Diggs
This is the premier one on one matchup in the game. Diggs is one of the top receivers in the entire NFL, and Jackson was brought to Washington specifically to operate in press-man coverage against players of Diggs’ caliber. Jackson has been playing man at times this season, so there’s no reason to suspect that Jack Del Rio will change the gameplan now. Keep a close eye out on this battle, because it’s probably going to be a good one.
Jonathan Bostic vs Devin Singletary
At first glance, this may seem like an odd choice, but Bostic is the one who’s more often than not calling the plays and is the one who remains on the field in nickel coverages. I highlight this matchup because it is going to be important for Washington to hold Singletary – who’s averaged 6.4 yards per carry so far this season – to a reasonable output, and Washington’s #1 linebacker is going to be more responsible for this than any other player.
Chase Young vs Darryl Williams
Look, we all love Chase. Go Chase. The fact of the matter is, though, that he hasn’t made a very big impact yet this year. This week, he’s going to primarily face up with Buffalo’s starting right tackle, Williams, who is a solid starting tackle but not known as a elite-level NFL performer. The team is going to rely on the entire front four, but Young in particular, to get pressure on Josh Allen without the benefit of a ton of blitzes. Keep an eye out on Young versus Williams and see if Young can take advantage of this matchup to get to Allen.
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (active roster only) (starters in bold)
LP – limited practice FP – full practice DNP – did not practice
NIR – not injury related Q – questionable O – out
D – doubtful NL – not listed
| Washington | Bills |
| DT M. Ioannidis, knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: no practice; game: O | WR C. Beasley, NIR (rest); Wed: DNP; Thurs: NL; Fri: NL |
| RB A. Gibson, shoulder; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: no practice | DE J. Hughes, NIR (rest); Wed: DNP; Thurs: NL; Fri: NL |
| DT S. Lotulelei, groin; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP; game: Q | |
| WR G. Davis, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | |
| S M. Hyde, neck; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | |
| CB D. Jackson, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP; game: Q | |
| LB T. Edmunds, heat illness; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| DE E. Obada, calf; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| CB L. Wallace, knee; Wed: knee; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP; game: Q | |
| DE M. Addison, NIR (rest); Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: NL | |
| WR E. Sanders, NIR (rest); Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: NL | |
| CB S. Neal, personal; Wed: NL; Thurs: NL; Fri: DNP | |
| WR S. Diggs, NIR (rest); Wed: NL; Thurs: NL; Fri: DNP |
TEAM STATISTICS
Washington:
Washington’s offense made big strides last week against the Giants’ substandard defense, putting up 30 points, and a total of 407 yards, with 320 net passing yards and 87 rushing yards. Taylor Heinicke’s total of 458 passing yards is ranked 24th in the NFL after two games. Whether or not the offense can turn in another performance similar to week 2 is another story, as the Bills’ defense is vastly superior to that of the Giants.
Defensively, Washington has surrendered a total of 49 points, which is ranked 17th in the NFL, 815 total yards (ranked 25th), 562 passing yards (ranked 24th), and 4.4 rushing yards per attempt (ranked 19th).
Record (2020): 7 – 9 (1st) (Home: 3 – 5; NFC: 5 – 7; NFC East: 4 – 2); 2021: 1 – 1
All-time franchise record: 611 – 613 – 28
Offense (2020)
| Offensive rankings | 25 (points) / 30 (total yards) / 30 (yards per game) / 31 (yards per play) / 25 (passing yards) / 30 (passing yards per att.) / 26 (rushing yards) / 28 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points for | 335 |
| Yards per game | 317.2 |
| Passing
|
601 att (9th); 389 comp; 64.7% comp per. (21st); 6.3 Y/A; 3465 net yds; 16 TD; 16 Int |
| Passing leader | Smith (252 att (34th), 1582 yds (35th), 66.7% comp perc (114th), 6 TDs / 8 Int, 78.5 QB rating (31st) |
| Receiving leader | McLaurin (1118 yds (13th), 134 tgts (12th), 87 rec (18th), 4 TDs, 12.9 YPC(49th)) |
| Rushing | 400 att (25th); 1611 yds; 4.0 Y/A; 100.7 Y/G (26th); 18 TDs |
| Rushing leader | Gibson (170 att (18th), 795 yds (20th), 11 TDs (9th), 4.7 Y/A (19th), long 40) |
| Sacks surrendered / rank | 50 / 31 |
| Ave time of possession / rank | 29:54 / 18 |
| 3rd down conversion rate / rank | 39.11% / 23 |
| TD percentage in red zone / rank | 57.45% / 20 |
Defense (2020)
| Defensive rankings | 4 (points) / 2 (total yards) / 2 (yards per game surrendered) / 3 (yards per play) / 2 (passing yards) / 3 (passing yards per att.) / 14 (rushing yards) / 11 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points against | 329 |
| Yards per game surrendered | 304.6 |
| Opponent’s passing | 529 att (4th); 330 comp; 62.4% comp perc. (3rd); 6.4 Y/A; 3068 net yds; 21 TDs; QB Rating 81.4 (3rd) |
| Opponent’s rushing | 428 att (16th); 1805 yds; 4.2 Y/A; 14 TDs; 112.8 Y/G (14th) |
| Sacks / rank / Sack leader | 47 / 6 / Sweat (9.0) |
| Tackles leader | Bostic (118) |
| Int / rank / Int leader | 16 / 6 / Fuller (4) |
| Opponent 3rd down conv rate / rank | 37.5% / 6 |
| Opponent TD percentage in red zone / rank | 53.49% / 4 |
Special Teams (2020)
| Kick returns | 20.8 Y/R (21st), 31 returns, long 46 yards (19th), 0 TDs |
| Punt returns | 5.7 Y/R (27th), 31 returns, long 22 yards (21st), 0 TDs |
| Kick return defense | 26.1 Y/R (27th), 9 returns (2nd), 0 TDs |
| Punt return defense | 5.8 Y/R (5th), 36 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punting | 48.0 Y/P (5th) |
Turnovers (lost by O / recv’d by D / net / rank) (2020): 27 / 23 / -4 / 24
Penalties (total accepted # / rank): 82 / 16 (2020): 87 / 17
Bills:
After two games, Buffalo’s offense has scored 51 points (ranked 12th), and earned 685 total yards (ranked 21st), including 425 passing yards and 260 rushing yards. Quarterback Josh Allen has completed 47 of 84 pass attempts for a 56% completion percentage, 449 yards (ranked 27th), 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Devin Singletary is the team’s leading rusher, with 154 yards and an average of 6.4 yards per attempt.
Buffalo’s defense has surrendered 23 points (ranked 4th), 468 total yards (ranked 2nd), 322 passing yards (ranked 2nd), 146 rushing yards (ranked 7th), and 3.6 yards per carry (ranked 9th).
Record (2020): 13 – 3 (1st); Home: 7 – 1; NFC: 3 – 1; 2021: 1 – 1
All-time franchise record: 439 – 487 – 8
Offense (2020)
| Offensive rankings
|
2 (points) / 2 (total yards) / 4 (yards per game) / 5 (yards per play) / 3 (passing yards) / 5 (passing yards per att.) / 20 (rushing yards) / 23 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points for | 501 |
| Yards per game | 385.4 |
| Passing | 596 att (11th); 410 comp; 68.8% comp per. (5th); 8.0 Y/A; 4620 net yds; 40 TDs (5th); 11 Int |
| Passing leader | Allen (572 att (6th), 4544 yds (5th), 69.2% comp per. (4th), 37 TDs / 10 Int, 107.2 QB rating (4th)) |
| Reception leader | Diggs (1535 yds (1st), 166 targets (1st), 127 rec (1st), 8 TDs (21st), 12.1 Y/C (65th) |
| Rushing | 411 att (19th); 1723 yds; 4.2 Y/A; 107.7 Y/G (20th); 16 TDs |
| Rushing leader | Singletary (156 att (24th), 687 yds (25th), 2 TDs (101st), 4.4 Y/A (28th), long 51 yds (24th)) |
| Sacks surrendered / rank | 27 / 9 |
| Ave time of possession / rank | 30:54 / 11 |
| 3rd down conversion rate / rank | 46.64% / 4 |
| TD percentage in red zone / rank | 61.04% / 12 |
Defense (2020)
| Defensive rankings | 16 (points) / 14 (total yards) / 17 (yards per game surrendered) / 17 (yards per play) / 13 (passing yards) / 10 (passing yards per att.) / 17 (rushing yards) / 26 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points against | 375 |
| Yards per game surrendered | 362.7 |
| Opponent’s passing | 573 att (22nd); 369 comp; 64.4% comp per. (16th); 6.9 Y/A; 3726 net yds; 23 TDs; QB rating 86.9 (5th) |
| Opponent’s rushing | 414 att (13th); 1914 yds; 4.6 Y/A; 21 TDs |
| Sacks / rank / Sack leader | 38 / 16 / Klein, Addison (5.0) |
| Tackles leader | Poyer (124) |
| Int / rank / Int leader | 15 / 11 / White (3) |
| Opponent 3rd down conv rate / rank | 41.70% / 29 |
| Opponent TD percentage in red zone / rank | 62.50% / 20 |
Special Teams (2020)
| Kick returns | 27.6 Y/R (1st), 36 returns, long 60 yards (12th), 0 TDs |
| Punt returns | 11.9 Y/R (4th), 31 returns, long 84 yards (3rd), 1 TDs |
| Kick return defense | 17.9 Y/R (3rd), 24 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punt return defense | 8.6 Y/R (17th), 16 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punting | 50.8 Y/P (1st) |
Turnovers (lost by O / recv’d by D / net / rank) (2020): 22 / 26 / +4 / 12
Penalties (total accepted # / rank) (2020): 110 / 29
* Statistics courtesy of www.pro-football-reference.com, www.nflpenalties.com, www.nfl.com, www.teamrankings.com, www.espn.com, www.sportingcharts.com