The Bills traded for wide receiver D.J. Moore this offseason because they felt they needed more firepower at wide receiver. It didn’t take long for him to make an impact.
Moore finished with 5 receptions for 100 yards and a 43-yard touchdown catch in the Bills’ season-opening win against a great Texans defense. But perhaps his biggest contribution was on a play where he didn’t even touch the ball.
With the Bills trailing 31-30 and just 1:41 remaining, they faced a 3rd-and-11 at the Texans’ 34-yard line.
First, notice the formation and personnel. The Bills were in a 3x1 set with D.J. Moore to the back side, and the Texans appeared to be matched up in man coverage with just a single safety in the middle of the field (cover-1):
You can see the route concept illustrated below:
According to Josh Allen, the post route to Josh Palmer that he ultimately threw really was never supposed to be an option.
“You want the absolute truth? We call this a horseshoe. This is not where the ball is supposed to go. We have never once repped the ball going there.”
But post-snap, the deep-middle safety started drifting to D.J. Moore’s side: