The Buffalo Bills are for real, and they want everyone to know.

The Bills rode a strong first quarter to a 44-34 victory over an uncharacteristically feeble Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, making a statement against a powerful team and getting their signature win of the season.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen became the sixth quarterback to pass for over 300 yards against Seattle, and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw two interceptions and fumbled twice.

It’s Week 9 and the Bills are in first place in the AFC East. The last time the Bills were in first place this late in the season: 1996. They’re 7-2 for the first time since 1993.

Bills dominate first half

Buffalo got started immediately. Its first play of the game was a 60-yard return, and it scored just three plays later. The Bills had a 7-0 lead less than two minutes after the game had started.

Seattle went 3-and-out on its first possession, and Buffalo didn’t slow down. It scored again right away, getting some help from the Seahawks when they were called for a horse-collar tackle. That turned a third-and-goal to a first-and-goal and brought Buffalo even closer to the end zone, and the Bills didn’t waste that opportunity.

Then Wilson threw an interception in the waning seconds of the quarter when the Seahawks were just a handful of yards from the end zone. The Bills turned that takeaway into a field goal.

The Seahawks got some positive action with a touchdown and a field goal in the second quarter, but the Bills took the momentum right back. They scored another touchdown and even tried a 61-yard field goal at the end of the half. The Bills didn’t punt once in the first half and Allen finished the half 24-for-28 with 282 yards and three touchdowns.

Standing firm

The second half started with Wilson getting strip sacked for a turnover just 10 seconds into the third quarter, which the Bills turned into a field goal. The Seahawks showed life when Wilson led a 75-yard drive that took more than five minutes off the clock and concluded with a touchdown that brought them within 10 points. The lead narrowed to just seven with a field goal, and the Seahawks finally forced the Bills to punt.

That lead didn’t last long. The Bills scored a hard-fought touchdown on an 81-yard drive that saw the Seattle defense show a little life, but that was wiped away on the very next possession. Wilson threw his second interception of the day and the Bills quickly turned that takeaway into another touchdown for a 20-point lead.

Wilson was having one of the roughest games of his career, but finally threw a touchdown pass with nine minutes left in the game. A gorgeous 55-yarder shortened the lead back to 14 points, and it certainly wasn’t over yet.

Then the Bills defense struck again. Wilson got sacked and gave up the ball for the second time in the half. The Bills went up 44-27 on a field goal, and even though the Seahawks scored a late touchdown to make it 44-34, the Bills didn’t break a sweat.

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