5 Observations: DJ Moore's debut, Dalton Kincaid shines, & standouts for the Buffalo Bills defense

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — My theory that the Buffalo Bills only play in crazy football games still stands. On Sunday, they opened their season with a shootout win over the Houston Texans, 36-31. It was an exceptional day for the offense and a really up-and-down day for the defense. So what did we learn?

5 Observations from Sunday’s win:

Allen’s insane day

Josh Allen had a near-perfect day against the Houston Texans. He had 357 total yards, four total touchdowns, and protected the ball.

Sort of.

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and in the final minutes, Texans star cornerback Kamari Lassiter dropped an easy interception on a heave to wide receiver Joshua Palmer. On the very next play, Palmer beat Lassiter on a frozen rope from Allen to give the Bills the lead.

“Hey, it's football, and what can I say?” Allen said after the win. Sometimes the ball bounces your way.”

It was the only true blemish on Allen’s outstanding day. He was in command of the offense, stretched the field, and made one of the best defenses in the league look beatable.

“It feels good. Feels good to start the season off right,” Allen said. “Obviously, Coach Joe getting his first win as an NFL head coach takes a lot of time, a lot of effort to get into a position to be able to do that. I'm really happy for him; it was a heck of a game. Looking down at these stats, man, our guys made some great plays.”

Moore’s debut

DJ Moore’s first game as a Bill was exactly what the doctor ordered. He didn’t have any catches in the first quarter, but in the second quarter he showed why the Bills traded for him in the offseason. His biggest play came on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen, but countless other plays need to be highlighted. On the prior drive, Moore had his first catch and then set up an easy Allen touchdown by drawing a huge pass interference that gave the Bills a first-and-goal from the one-yard-line.

And then on the Palmer touchdown in the final two minutes, the defenders started cheating towards Moore’s side, allowing a window for Allen to attack.

He finished the day with five catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. But his impact can’t be measured with just a box score. And yes, he went into the blue medical tent in the final minutes, but was on the field for the Palmer touchdown, which is, of course, a good sign.

Kincaid’s best game

This doesn’t need much explaining. Dalton Kincaid’s game on Sunday was the most impressive performance he’s had in his NFL career. He was a constant mismatch and moved in a way we haven’t seen since his rookie season. His biggest play came on the Bills' final drive, hauling in a 40-yard catch on a critical third down. He also had a ridiculous catch in the first half that flipped the field for the Bills and led to a touchdown. He led the way with 130 yards.

Sneaky huge play

The entire game is different if right guard O’Cyrus Torrence doesn’t recover a James Cook fumble late in the fourth quarter. It was an effort play and one that quite literally saved the day for the Bills. If Torrence doesn’t recover that fumble, the Bills lose.

Props to the entire offensive line for a much cleaner day today than they had last season. They allowed just two Texans sacks, which is six fewer than the Texans had against the Bills last season.

Diamonds in the rough

The Bills defense wasn’t very good. They got torched all day. But two players are exceptions.

Greg Rousseau sealed the win with his second sack and forced fumble of the day. He also made a play in coverage that was really impressive, and yes, you read that right. The Bills needed someone to step up and Rousseau did.

So did Deone Walker. He put the Bills in a favorable position two plays prior to Rousseau’s clinching sack, with a sack of his own. It led to the Texans burning their final timeout and pushing them to second and goal from the 19. Walker had six total tackles on the day and was a force for the Bills in the middle of the defensive line.

I also thought Terrel Bernard had a pretty good day, but overall the defensive performance definitely left a lot to be desired for new Defensive Coordinator Jim Leonhard.