Despite draft capital spent on receivers, tight ends, and running back, the Bills’ offensive success remains heavily tied to two people. The first is obvious: Josh Allen. He is one of the rarest players at the quarterback position - a rocket-armed gunslinger who can also double as a battering ram. If you saw Sunday night’s game against the Giants, Allen also jumped to a teammate’s defense in the middle of an end zone fracas. They feed off him, and he feeds off them. It must be nice.
The other player this group can’t live without is Stefon Diggs. Yes, there was all kinds of weird drama surrounding the wideout at the end of last season and again this spring and summer, but I can tell from my experience covering that team that Diggs is genuinely one of the best and most well-respected teammates in that room. He was the first player to show up at the Cincinnati hospital after Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field. Through my reporting, he was one of the players against going back on the field and one that gave the Bills the energy needed to go out and play a game six days later. That dude is real. The rest of the Bills showed you how much, voting the 29-year-old as a team captain for the third straight year. Now, I’m not saying those things can’t be rigged, but I am telling you it most certainly was not in this case.
On the field, Diggs isn’t the most physically imposing receiver the Patriots have come across, but his route running is second to none, not just on the schedule but in the league (Justin Jefferson is the other that jumps out). He employs various releases that make jamming him difficult, is quick enough, and has plenty of play strength to get off not just initial contact but what he encounters during and at the top of the route. Diggs uses his speed to create space and a surprising willingness to invite some contact and play through it to his advantage. Those traits have vaulted the Bills pass catcher into a top-5 receiver for several years (My current list: Jefferson, Tyreek Hill, Ja’Marr Chase, Diggs, and CeeDee Lamb).
The Bills have been feeding Diggs at an incredibly high rate to start the season. He’s averaging 11 targets per game (66 total), tied for third-best in the league with Keenan Allen and trailing only Chase and Puka Nacua (and his share will go down now that Cooper Kupp is fully operational). The next closest Bills? Gabe Davis (30) and tight end Dawson Knox (25). You might say this is just a team trying to keep their temperamental star happy, but I’m here to tell you Diggs is open a lot. He has 49 catches (tied for 3rd) for 620 yards (T-3) and 5 TDs (T-2).
He’s coming off a game in which Wink Martindale, the Giants defensive coordinator, made him physically and mentally work. New York threw a slew of looks and coverages at the Bills, Allen, and Diggs and slowed down a typically high-powered attack, limiting Buffalo to just a couple of scores. I would bet a lot of money the Pats take a similar approach - man, press, zone, off-coverage, doubles, and even the occasional three sets of eyes on him. Here’s a more detailed look at how the Bills use Diggs and how the Giants tried to deal with him. Film breakdown below: