After two straight games with unsatisfactory results, Packers fans would feel much better about life with a simple, drama-free victory on Sunday. Initially, welcoming the Bills to Lambeau Field appeared to be the perfect remedy for three consecutive rocky performances, but Buffalo handled the Vikings with ease last week, causing some to take notice.

It may be significant that, after a draining 70-minute struggle against each other, both the Packers and the Vikings struggled, and it’s possible that the Bills were merely beneficiaries of the schedule, preying on an exhausted team. But it’s also possible the Bills, including their oft-mocked rookie quarterback, aren’t as bad as advertised.

Buffalo was a playoff team last year, after all. And while the change at quarterback is significant, the departed Tyrod Taylor has shown in Cleveland that he wasn’t exactly the reason the Bills broke their 17-season playoff drought.

75-9

The Bills opened the season about as poorly as possible for a professional team, falling behind by a combined score of 75-9 in their first six quarters. Some of this can be attributed to the Nathan Peterman Experience, but his 18 problematic pass attempts aren’t the only reason the Bills were considered possibly the NFL’s worst team out of the gate. Buffalo lost to Baltimore in its opener by a whopping 44 points, and a 28-6 halftime deficit against the Chargers didn’t help matters.

41-9

That’s the combined score for Bills’ six most recent quarters, a night-and-day contrast to how they opened the season. Granted, the sample size is incredibly small here, but the whole team has played much better since halftime in Week 2. The NFL season is a long, winding road, and it’s unlikely that halftime in a loss against the Chargers will be some grand turning point for Buffalo, but the bottom line is that the Bills are a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team. See what I did there? For what it’s worth, Micah Hyde is battling a toe injury and is listed as questionable this week.

22

Bills rookie quarterback Josh Allen has looked better than opening-day starter Nathan Peterman did, but Allen is making his biggest contributions on the ground. The seventh overall pick in April’s draft, Allen has 22 rush attempts so far this season, the second most among quarterbacks (Cam Newton).

Allen’s passing statistics have been modest thus far. His numbers through the air have improved game-by-game but he still features just a 55.7 percent completion rate, two touchdowns and two interceptions on the year. Allen has also taken 11 sacks in two and a half games.

But the athletic 22-year-old notched two rushing touchdowns against the Vikings, en route to a 27-6 victory last week. The rushing is both an asset and a crutch for Allen. He’s displayed tremendous athleticism, and—at 6-foot-5 and 237 pounds—is drawing a few Cam Newton comparisons. But he’s also looked very uncomfortable in the pocket so far, bolting at the first sign of pressure and fumbling three times last week.

Can a struggling Green Bay pass rush bother Allen enough to get Allen off-script? What a matchup: it’s the stoppable force against the moveable object! Maybe the more important question is if a team sick of being penalized for being unfriendly to opposing quarterbacks can corral Allen and bring him down cleanly both in the pocket and downfield if Allen takes off.

Josh Allen (yes, Josh Allen) with the hurdle!

(Via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/wlFW3Bf759

— USA TODAY NFL (@usatodaynfl) September 23, 2018

289

This is more miscellany than anything else, but Buffalo linebacker Lorenzo Alexander weighed in at 289 pounds at the 2007 scouting combine. Then a defensive tackle prospect out of Cal who ran a 5.12 second 40-yard dash, Alexander has since transformed his body and his game, recording 12.5 sacks in 2016 and earning second-team AP All-Pro recognition.

These days Alexander is a bit more of a Swiss Army knife than a pure pass rusher, but the 35-year-old is still a solid contributor defending the run, in coverage or while rushing the passer.

44.3

That’s the coverage rating, according to Pro Football Focus, of first-round pick Tremaine Edmunds, the worst on the team. The rookie linebacker is the Bills’ leading tackler and their only defender to play all 202 snaps this season, but he’s given up 23 catches on 27 targets for 242 yards, including 133 yards after the catch.

It’s reasonable to anticipate linebackers yielding a relatively high completion percentage when guarding only running backs and tight ends, but the yards after catch could be a key factor as McCarthy and Co. look to find the ideal balance in utilizing all three running backs.