ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – The “Cooooop” chants that echoed around Highmark Stadium last Sunday during the Buffalo Bills’ first home game since Week 3 highlighted the excitement surrounding the team’s splash move, made days earlier.

Trading for wide receiver Amari Cooper improves Bills roster. Cooper brings optimism about what this team’s receiving group can be.

The Bills are 5-2 with a commanding lead over the rest of the AFC East. Still, their journey to the 4-3 Seattle Seahawks (4:05 PM ET, FOX) — quarterback Josh Allen’s first career start in Seattle — raises lingering questions for all three phases.

Buffalo has shown improvement toward the end of the season in recent years — the Bills were an NFL-best 14-2 in the regular season in December and January from 2021 to 2023 — which is a positive sign. However, the team has also shown some discouraging trends this season – reasons for concern about the tough games still to come.

Let’s take a look at: the good, the bad and how to improve for the Bills to stay atop the AFC East.

Offence

Positive: The Bills lead in turnover margin (plus-10), and that’s in large part because Allen has yet to throw an interception.

From 2018 through 2023, no one threw more interceptions than Allen (78), partly because of his playing style. Although there have been a few questionable plays this year could have changed in choices, Allen has shown improvement in this aspect of his game.

“I’m just going to be a great decision maker,” coach Sean McDermott said. “(Allen) has been very conscious about it and it’s important to him. He knows the value of playing clean football that way and protecting the house.”

Allen’s seven straight games without an interception is tied for the fourth-longest streak without a pick (minimum 15 attempts per game) to start a season since 1970.

Since last season, Allen has completed 217 consecutive passes without an interception, the longest streak by an active quarterback with a start this season.

Improvement in that area has been a focus for Allen in recent years.

“Making better decisions,” Allen said. “Understanding the game plan. Knowing where my answers are and using my legs when I need to. But again, just better decision-making — I think that’s because of the coaching and (offensive coordinator Joe Brady) and (quarterback coach Ronald Curry) and the quarterback room… going there with the mentality of playing smart, healthy football and taking opportunities and shots when they come.”

Seattle’s defense has only four interceptions. If he continues his streak (with 11 more pass attempts), Allen would become the twelfth quarterback since 1978 to start a season with at least 200 passes and no interceptions.

“I would say it really shows his growth in the offseason, like that maturity,” center Connor McGovern said. “Don’t just always try to force the ball where it shouldn’t always go, but just control it or throw the ball out of bounds. People say, ‘Oh, what’s he doing there?’ But he just lets us fight another day.”

To work on: Over the past four weeks, slow starts have become a theme for the offense. It was also a problem for the defense, with the team averaging its worst yards margin per game in the first half since Week 4 (113.3). No team has a lower completion percentage in the first half of games during that stretch (50.9%). The Bills trailed at halftime four times this season and won two (Cardinals, Titans).

“Sometimes it’s one side of the ball. Sometimes it’s both sides of the ball. If I had the exact answer, I would have changed it by now,” McDermott said. “…I don’t have much hair left on my head and I’d like to keep what I have. So let’s try to get off to a better start.”

The Bills could get some help from Cooper in that area. The majority of his snaps against the Titans came in the second half. The offense came alive, scoring 27 unanswered points on five straight scoring drives.

“Definitely ready for a bigger role, definitely ready for more opportunities,” Cooper said. “And I’m ready to jump on it.”

Cooper has already shown how he can open things up for other players, with rookie Keon Coleman having the best game of his career and Dalton Kincaid showing off several big plays. It would help to keep them from hurting themselves on penalties: the Bills are tied for the league lead in first-half false starts (nine) and rank 27th in first-half false starts (six) .

“I think overall, other than maybe one or two games, we didn’t really click early on and it took us a few drives to get a feel for what the defense is doing and get into a rhythm,” Allen said. “… It’s a lot of things you did to yourself. It’s misread. It’s punishments that were imposed in advance.”

Defense

Positive: Surviving the injuries. The Bills have shown they can play well despite missing several starters due to injury. While the unit has similar first- and second-half struggles as the offense, the numbers aren’t flying off the page. This unit has been able to make the crucial stops lately and make plays when needed.

Nickel cornerback Taron Johnson’s return to the defense is significant. The defense will face a new challenge this week with both linebacker Terrel Bernard (ankle) – who was also excused this week due to a personal matter – and rookie defensive tackle DeWayne Carter (wrist) out. Carter’s injury will lead to surgery. Limiting this Seahawks offense, especially without Bernard, will once again test the schemes and depth of this defense, especially on the road where the team has suffered both losses this season.

Greg Rousseau continues to have a solid start to the season and is also a major boost for this unit. He ranks fourth in the league in first pressures (26).

To work on: Stopping the flight. Limiting Seattle’s Kenneth Walker III – who is tied for the third-most touchdowns this season – will be crucial for the Bills against the Seahawks. The Bills have given up the fourth-most yards before contact per rush this season (3.40) and given up eight rushing plays of 20 yards or more (tied for sixth-most).

“We’ve had a lot of guys, so you really have to focus on each individual player and determine where he or she needs his or her individual improvements and growth,” defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said. “And credit to our guys. We knew (the Titans) were going to come here and try to make a run-in for the most part, except for a few there, we did a pretty good job.”

Special teams

Positive: The trade with the New York Jets for returner Brandon Codrington has been successful so far. There were some bad decisions made, but he also helped put the Bills offense in some good positions. Codrington has the sixth-highest yards per kick return (10.5), and Buffalo as a team has the fourth-highest yards per kick return (31.2).

The Bills also have the highest average starting field position after a kickoff return or touchback (opponent’s 31.3 yard line).

To work on: Kicker Tyler Bass is on thin ice after making two of five field goal attempts from 40-49 yards this season, while making all of his other field goal attempts. He missed two PATs.

Last week, the team signed Lucas Havrisik to the practice squad to provide competition for Bass, and he went on to make field goals of 28 and 30 yards against the Titans. There are real tests ahead of Bass, but his place seems safe for now.

“We want nothing more than Tyler as our guy,” general manager Brandon Beane said last week. “But it’s a production company, and he knows he has to make those kicks. … And so at the same time, he hasn’t done as well as he or we had hoped.”