5 takeaways from the Bills’ 35-0 win over the Dolphins

A bit of improvement from the Buffalo Bills in Week 2.

Here are five takeaways from the Bills’ 35-0 shutout win over the Miami Dolphins:

Faster start

Quarterback Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

The notable problem the Bills have had against the Pittsburgh Steelers was some slow starts. That dates back the past few seasons, not just in Week 1. Against Miami, Buffalo did not let that such a thing happen. On both sides of the ball, the Bills thrived early. On defense, Buffalo had two sacks on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on their opening drive. There was also a fourth-down stop. Despite eventually cooling off, the Bills offense also started hot. Running back Devin Singletary had a 46-yard run for a score and on the second drive, Josh Allen had the strong play. The quarterback connected on a 35-yard throw to Emmanuel Sanders, which setup a Stefon Diggs touchdown in the red zone.

Zack Moss comeback szn

Bills running back Zack Moss (20). (AP Photo/Hans Deryk)

Zack Moss was a healthy scratch for the Bills in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Upon making his debut against Miami this season, the running back quickly went back to the bench. Early in the game, Moss had three carries. Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker forced a fumble on one of those and then Moss was sat down for awhile. That's not the step Moss wanted to take in his first game... plus he was stuffed on a third-and-short. After potentially not seeing the field one time in the second quarter, Moss did get a second shot at... his second shot. Moss took advantage of that and proved why he's valuable. His two touchdown runs and another carry on third-and-short later in the game where he converted were clutch.

Won fourth down

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) is sacked by Bills defensive end A.J. Epenesa. (David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP)

If there was one specific down that the Bills won over the Dolphins, it was fourth down. On defense, the Bills stopped the Dolphins four times. The first, AJ Epenesa laid a clean hit on Tagovailoa. However, the edge defender did hurt him unfortunately. On the other two, cornerbacks stepped up. Dane Jackson made an open-field tackle on one, which could've even saved a touchdown as well. On the third, Taron Johnson forced an incompletion with a hit. The final one was in the dying seconds when the game was over. Offensively, Buffalo then added some salt in the wound. Up 21-0, Allen pushed forward on fourth-and-short to extend a drive. The Bills ended up going down and scoring on the drive, the back breaker.

Defense gets their takeaways, too

Bills teammates celebrate outside linebacker Matt Milano. (AP Photo/Hans Deryk)

The Bills defense had a solid start to the year. Perhaps late in Week 1, one could wish they made another spot or two... but for the most part, it was a good showing. To the Dolphins' misfortune, the Bills brought the takeaways to Week 2. Corrnerback Levi Wallace notched Buffalo's first interception of the year thanks to some good zone coverage. He jumped off covering one wide receiver, only to jump in front of a Jacoby Brissett pass. The Bills also recovered two fumbles. One came on defense as Johnson knocked one loose which was picked up by linebacker Matt Milano. The second fumble recovery came on special teams as a muffed punt was scooped up by Taiwan Jones. The Bills offense wasn't without their faults as Allen did have an interception with Moss's fumble... but the turnover battle was won.

Defensive front was swarming

Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau (50) Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

And that last takeaway is going to combine here. After the Steelers offense moved the ball too quickly for the Bills to get any sacks last week, Buffalo more than made up for it. The Bills had six total sacks as a team with 11 total QB hits. Brissett had little-to-no time to work in this one as Buffalo's defense was all over him. Among the biggest standouts were a few young players in Epenesa and Greg Rousseau. Epenesa had a sack and two QB hits. Rousseau had two sacks and two QB hits.

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