Josh Allen and the Bills offense find a spark under interim

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) Josh Allen kept reminding everyone .It took a drastic move by coach Sean McDermott, who , and one dynamic play by Allen on Sunday for the quarterback to prove he wasnt kidding. Lining up with an empty backfield, Allen recognized the New York Jets' defensive formation We call it 66 Buzz, he said and knew immediately what to do. After scanning to his left to see Stefon Diggs covered, then over the middle, where Dalton Kincaid drew a safetys attention, Allen zipped a pa s up the right seam to hit Khalil Shakir in stride at the Buffalo 42 for an 81-yard touchdown.ADVERTISEMENT The reception stands as the NFLs longest-scoring play of the season and . Identifying the 66 Buzz formation brought the buzz back to the Bills' offense.Well, it was a step, McDermott said Monday. I think more than anything, the intangibles of the offense started to show up in the second half the effort, the unselfish play.For one game, the indecisivene s Allen showed on the field and his frustrations off it were gone. So were the stagnation and predictability the offense had displayed as Buffalo dropped four of its previous six games.At 6-5, the challenge has only begun for the three-time defending AFC East champion Bills if they want to climb back into contention. They are about to enter the toughest part of their schedule, and they have just two home games left.This weekend, Buffalo travels to play NFC East-leading Philadelphia. Following a bye week, the Bills play at AFC West-leading Kansas City before hosting Dallas.And with Buffalos defense depleted by injuries, Allen and Blank Jersey interim coordinator Joe Brady will feel pre sure to build on their promising start.Against the Jets, the pair incorporated new or perhaps forgotten dimensions to an attack that was not solely reliant on Allen's top target, Diggs. The Bills won despite Diggs dropping several pa ses and finishing with four catches for 27 yards the third-lowest total of his three-plus seasons in Buffalo.What shined through was Allens ability to find open receivers on each of his three touchdown pa ses, and Bradys ability to consistently incorporate the run, especially in the first half.Buffalo had a season-most 18 rushes in the first half and finished with 38. That's the most since having 40 in a 29-15 win over Atlanta on Jan. 2, 2022, when Brian Daboll was still the Bills' coordinator.Brady made no promises on what hell do next, noting his game plan is opponent specific. But in his first outing, he injected creativity into an offense that was too often static in its formations and approach.Allen bought in, whether it was a result of his competitive drive or feelings of regret after acknowledging he deserved blame for Dorsey's ouster. Ryan O Hearn Jersey The performance was validating.This is huge for us, left tackle Dion Dawkins said. It just gives us the positive mindset of what we can do at any point that we choose to.WHATS WORKINGComplementary football. The offenses ability to build and expand on its lead took the pre sure off a banged-up defense by forcing the Jets to become one dimensional. The defense responded with six sacks and two interceptions, Buffalos first picks in seven games.WHAT NEEDS HELPSpecial teams. Last week, , allowing Denver's Wil Lutz a second chance to hit a game-winning field goal as time expired. Against New York, the Bills were fooled by a fake punt. Punter Thomas Morstead converted a fourth-and-2 from his own 24 by completing an 18-yard pa s to Brandin Echols, and extending a drive that ended with New York scoring a TD to cut Buffalo's lead to 16-6 to close the first half.STOCK UPCB Rasul Douglas. Playing his third game since being acquired in a trade with Green Bay, Douglas had two interceptions and recovered a fumble.STOCK DOWNWR Gabe Davis. The fourth-year player wasnt even targeted.INJURIES despite sustaining a neck injury that required him to be loaded into an ambulance. ... CBs Taron Johnson and Dane Jackson are both in the concu sion protocol. ... Safeties Micah Hyde (stinger) and Cam Lewis (shoulder) are listed day to day.KEY NUMBER0-11 The Jets' performance on third down, marking the first time Buffalo has blanked an opponent since Indianapolis went 0 of 10 on Dec. 13, 1987.NEXT STEPSIts a homecoming for McDermott, who grew up in Philadelphia and broke into the NFL as an Eagles a sistant under Andy Reid. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was a Bills fan growing up in Jamestown, New York, which is a 90-minute drive south of Buffalo.___AP NFL: