(WIVB) – Sean McDermott’s 100^th game as the Bills head coach was a 37-3 road win against Washington. The defense led the way, pressuring Commanders quarterback Sam Howell into mistakes. Here are my 4 Observations from the win. 

Defense exposes Howell’s inexperience

Sean McDermott has dominated young and inexperienced quarterbacks since taking over as the Bills head coach in 2017. His record against QBs with five or fewer career starts: 8-0. In those eight games, the Bills defense has 20 interceptions and just three touchdown passes. Sam Howell, making his fourth career start, threw four interceptions and his inexperience showed.  Washington had the ball in the redzone twice and was unable to score thanks to an interception and turnover on downs. 

Secondary limits offensive playmakers

The Bills were able to limit Washington’s weapons. Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, and Curtis Samuel are a very talented trio but they were barely a blimp on the radar. The three receivers combined for 116 yards on 10 receptions and a decent chunk of that game in garbage time. It was a very good performance by Tre’Davious White, Chistian Benford and the secondary. 

Bills dominate the lines

The Bills offensive line held up well against a very talented defensive front. Washington came into the game with 10 sacks in two games but Josh Allen was kept clean and the line did not allow a sack. On the other sideline, the Bills defensive line was dominant. Six Bills players combined for nine sacks. 

Bernard has coming out party, Diggs leads offense

Terrel Bernard had a huge game in the middle of the Bills defense. Bernard had 7 tackles, 2 sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery. He is the first NFL player to record 2+ sacks, an INT & a fumble recovery in a single game since Bears HOF LB Brian Urlacher in 2007. Stefon Diggs led the way on offense with 8 catches for 111 yards. For his career, Diggs surpassed 9,000 career receiving yards. He is one of six active players with 9,000+ receiving yards.