Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White (27) celebrates after intercepting a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019, in Orchard Park, N.Y. The Bills won 21-17. (AP Photo/John Munson)

After Sunday’s narrow 21-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Buffalo Bills improved to 3-0 on the young season. While the unbeaten start puts the Bills in a tie with next week’s opponent, the New England Patriots, atop the division and the conference, it’s fair to wonder what to think about the Bills so far.

What we do know through three weeks is the defense is very good. In all three games, Buffalo held its opponent under 20 points. Sunday was another example of that. In the first half of Sunday’s contest, the Bengals were held to just one first down in the first half, which came at the two-minute warning.

A positive from Sunday’s game for the Bills was the dominant first half. Buffalo held a 14-0 lead at the break.

To that point, Buffalo had 18 first downs compared to just one from Cincinnati, as well as more than tripling the Bengals in both time of possession — 22:57 to 7:03 — and in total yards — 257 to 76.

Though the record couldn’t be any better through three games, something alarming so far is how the Bills are not pulling away from bad teams. Buffalo dug itself into a big hole against the Jets in Week 1 and had to scratch and claw to earn the win. Then in Week 2, the Bills let the Giants hang around way too long before finally putting the game away. Now in Week 3, after Buffalo had a dominant first half, the Bengals came back and even took the lead in the fourth quarter. The spark that lit the Bengals’ fire in the second half was an awful decision by Josh Allen on third down, as he threw the ball up in the air for grabs that led to an interception and a short field for Cincinnati. The Bengals scored their first touchdown on the ensuing drive, then again on the next drive to tie the score at 14-all.

But once again, it was the defense that bailed the Bills out again. In addition to limiting points from the opposition, the Bills have made key plays when they needed to in each game, including Tre’Davious White’s second interception of the game on Sunday to seal the victory.

Another positive for Buffalo was the support from the hometown fans. New Era Field was as loud as I can remember it on Sunday, with the stands packed full with a sellout crowd. While there was plenty of optimism heading into the game, coming across as if Sunday was a foregone conclusion that Buffalo would advance to 3-0, in the end, the Bills didn’t let the fans down.

The Bills have found a way to win each of their first three games, but if the better teams on the Bills’ schedule are awarded the same opportunities, Buffalo might not be so fortunate. Next week against New England will say a lot about this year’s team, win or lose. What is for sure is to come away with a win, Buffalo will need to play its best game of this young season, by far.

Twitter: @bradencarmen