Week 1 of the NFL season started off painfully for me. As part of my annual ritual (and we all have football rituals), I go and get my flu shot the Saturday before the season starts. The shot (hopefully) gives me protection from getting the flu (if anyone has had the flu – the real flu – they know how miserable it can be), and also affords me the sore arm that ensures I am due some measure of rest the next day (no better place than on the couch, watching the Bills). My problem is that I live behind enemy lines in New England, so as the pharmacist came at me with the needle and asked whether I was a Patriots fan it was a bad time to spew out my normal “Hell No!” reaction – she said the stick might hurt a little more then. In hindsight, not the best thing to say to a person coming at you with a needle, but not quite as bad as the time I told a cop I started a chainsaw in my basement and he asked whether my wife was at home (she wasn’t, but that’s a story for another day).

I was torn going into Sunday’s game. I so wanted to believe the Bills could and would win – maybe even in convincing fashion, but after so many years it’s so hard to put myself out there like that. I could also see scenarios where the Colts trampled the Bills, and most people, including the analysts and the oddsmakers, predicted a fairly close game. Luckily for me, the start of the weekend proved to be about the only painful moment for me.

Not since 2003 have I seen such a fantastic open to the season. In 2003 you’ll recall that Drew Bledsoe and company took on the Patriots at home and throttled them 31-0 – it was all Bills, all the time. I was in the stands that day and had a smile on my face so big that even when I got stopped for speeding by a Massachusetts state trooper while wearing full Bills gear only hours after the shocking victory I didn’t complain about the ticket (no way I was getting out of that one). The picture of Sam Adams rumbling into the end zone that graced the cover of Sports Illustrated also graced the wall of my office – it was great.

There is so much to like about Sunday’s game I hardly know where to begin. I would have been thrilled with any sort of Bills win to open the season, but this outcome was one of the sweetest. The Bills have won a handful of shockers over the past 15 years, but usually these wins falls into that category of “wow – that was somewhat of a fluke, but I’ll take it”. Sunday’s game was different. The Colts are a good team, but Buffalo was better. Not just better in some key areas or opportunities, but better all around. If Indianapolis is considered to be one of the best teams in the AFC, Buffalo deserves to be placed in the same category if they can prove week one was not an aberration.

After much excitement in the preseason it was time to see Tyrod Taylor in some real action and he did not disappoint. The fans held out great home that the 6th round draft pick would be the next Russel Wilson, while the national media wrote him off as just another name in a long line of stooges to play signal caller for the Bills. While it’s not exactly time to start carving his bust for Canton, Taylor played extremely well and gives us all hope for the season to come.

Taylor did everything you wanted the quarterback to do. He was quick. He was shifty. He made the throws both short and long. He used his legs, but wasn’t looking to run first, pass second as some projected he would. He was smart. He was poised. He showed leadership. He showed some wheels. He showed leadership.

Taylor’s first Bills touchdown was a thing of beauty – dropping back in the pocket he stepped up and threw a perfect strike to a streaking Percy Harvin some 51 yards down the field – it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Bills quarterback do that. As expected, he also used his feet, but wasn’t impatient. I was quite pleased to see him slide when he left the pocket and gained what he could – you can’t take unnecessary hits when you’re the key to the offense. Taylor’s accuracy was good, even on the run. What impressed me most was the touch he was able to put on his short passes while on the move – so many times you see a quarterback overthrow the short screen to a running back when both players are in motion, but Taylor had a nice touch. He didn’t force the ball into coverage and he didn’t make mistakes – he was exceptionally poised for a guy starting his first NFL game. On a commercial break I saw Taylor huddled up with his offensive teammates and it gave me great hope that the quarterback would step up and become the leader the offense needs now that Fred Jackson has departed.

The Bills tacked on 147 yards on the ground, a 4.1 yard per carry average. Taylor had 41 of those yards, including a brilliant 31 yard scamper. LeSean McCoy looked to be in full health and was a factor in the passing game, and Karlos Williams had a fantastic debut with a 26 yard touchdown run on his first NFL run – that kid is a runaway freight train.

We all knew the Bills were going to have a top defense and we knew they would probably be even more aggressive under Rex Ryan, but I was thrilled with the way this unit dominated the game. Andrew Luck is a dangerous guy, but the Bills defense was able to neutralize him – he threw for less than 5 yards per attempt and was picked off twice. The Colts didn’t even make it onto the scoreboard until the end of the third quarter – I could barely believe that the Bills were up 24-0. With different defensive looks and blitzes Luck often had to get rid of the ball quickly. Luck was able to get rid of the ball and get it into the hands of a receiver, and this is where the Bills defense really looked fantastic – tackling. Time after time a Colts receiver would catch a ball and was instantly tackled by a single defender. Missed tackles could have killed the Bills in many cases, but the unit was stout in limiting yards after the catch.

There were some things I didn’t like about the game, but they ultimately weren’t the factors they usually are. The offensive line did not play as well as I would have liked, particularly in the running game – there simply weren’t very many holes through which to run. If Taylor continues throwing the ball well teams will have to respect his arm and that could open up the running game. I also wasn’t thrilled with the number of penalties the Bills took – 11 for 113 yards. I know the Bills want to play physical and want to be bullies, but holding calls and personal fouls are incredibly damaging and can easily prove fatal against a quality opponent. That Sammy Watkins was only targeted twice and held without a catch was disappointing, but a win is a win and he contributed in other ways. Finally, I was appalled by some of the referees calls – how do you call a chop block on a guy who is clearly not engaged with a blocker? How do you call running into the kicker against the Bills at one end of the field and then let the exact same play go without a call at the other end of the field a few plays later?

And so we approach the all-important showdown with New England. Tom Brady may have been praised by throngs of adoring yahoos in Foxborough, but wait until he sees what fans who are far less delusional think of him in Orchard Park. For the first time in quite some time I believe the Bills could win this game, and not just if they catch a break – they could truly be the better team. Brady is a master of the lightning quick read and release so I’m interested to see how effective Rex’s blitzes will be, I’m also wonder what the Bills are going to do to handle Rob Gronkowski – does Rex have a blueprint to handle this weapon? I truly believe the outcome of the game will tell us whether we are rooting for a division championship or a wild card – when New England plays the Colts in week 6 who will we be cheering for?