Archives for October 12, 2015

'Taylor finished 10 of 17 for 109 yards and also rushed for a game-high 76 yards on eight attempts as the Bills improved to 3-2 and beat Tennessee (1-3) for the first time in seven games, dating back to 2000.'

'QB Tyrod Taylor willed them to a win they probably didn't deserve Sunday.'

'On the very next drive, Taylor kept the drive alive early for the Bills on a third down and 23 by running for 24-yards for the first down, and forcing the Titans to take a personal foul penalty to tack on another 15-yards. Two plays later, Taylor would connect with wide receiver, Chris Hogan on a 46-yard pass to get the Bills inside the Titans' 10-yard line. Three plays later, Taylor and Hogan would hook up again for a two-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 13. Dan Carpenter's extra-point would give the Bills a 14-13 lead.'

'Yes, it was ugly. Yes, they have to play much better to beat Cincinnati. But they got the win which is all that matters since there isn't a style points tiebreaker for a playoff spot.'

'Taylor wasn’t very good in the passing game for most of the contest. He was 5-for-11 for 36 yards in the first half. The offense simply couldn’t do anything in the first 30-minutes. But there was something else that wasn’t happening in the first half: Taylor running the ball. The Bills QB only ran one time for two yards before halftime. It wasn’t until the Bills were down 10-0 when Taylor decided to use his legs to take control, and ultimately change the game. He ran 7 times for 74 yards in the second half, but it was really the big plays that were the difference.'

'The Bills have some clear work to do with how to better come in and have an effective day on offense from the get go, but, they dug deep and found a way to get the job done — and that was with a total of one catch for six yards between starting receivers Percy Harvin and Robert Woods.'

'In the action-packed fourth quarter, the touchdown would return the ball to the Titans, but the Bills would look to their defense to win the day.'

'As mentioned, the jury is still out on him, but you have to love his moxie. And you would think that his play-making opportunities will improve if the Bills can get Sammy Watkins and LeSean McCoy healthy. McCoy may not be back until following the bye week in November. But there’s a chance Watkins and backup running back Karlos Williams could return next Sunday at the Ralph, which would be a big boost because Buffalo is going to need them as they attempt to upset the high-scoring Cincinnati Bengals, who staged a furious second-half comeback to edge Seattle and improve to 5-0.'

'This one was ugly but there was a lot to learn about this team from it. Taylor was having his worst game of the year but showed toughness and gutted it out. He then made plays down the stretch when he had to for his first comeback win of his career. Let's hope he has many more in him. If the Bills are going to be a playoff team they have to win games even when they struggle against inferior opponents. There is a lot not to like in this game but the W is what is most important and they showed some moxy in getting it.'

'Rex Ryan wanted to get the penalties under control and the team jumped offsides on the opening kickoff. They were only slightly better as they were penalized 7 times for 62 yards. The team came out flat and he takes some heat for that.'

'Tyrod Taylor did not have a great game statistically, but emotionally, his ability to come back from a serious hit, miss one play and then nail Chris Hogan on a 46-yard rope to set up the game-winning touchdown. On that drive, he also caught a trick pass in traffic. It's unbelievable how criminally overlooked Taylor was over the years given the absolute lack of quality starters.'

'Stephon Gilmore came off his coverage assignment to come back to a pass down the left sideline intended for Kendall Wright and picked off his second pass in as many games with 1:32 remaining to seal the win.'

'“(Our) quarterback has the biggest heart,” Ryan said. “He’s tough, he’s courageous. Man, it was tough sledding, but he has guts. At the end of the day he’s the reason we won the game.”'

'“We just tried to stay focused and tried to stick with what we wanted to do, and not give them any big plays and things like that,” said Graham. “You’ll have ups and downs out there, obviously, some penalties and things that didn’t go our way. You just got to hold your composure. You can’t lose it. You can’t find a way to give them extra yards and when it’s all said and done, you have to make plays and win the game.”'

'I love it, I loved the fact that we wanted to be on the field at the end of the game on defense. We weren’t afraid. Sometimes the guys get nervous about it and they don’t convert on third down and our guys couldn’t wait to get on that field and that’s the sign of a good team, a good defense, so I was excited about that. I loved the way the offense responded. We had 50 yards at halftime, that was ugly, there’s no question that was ugly. But it ended up being beautiful at the end. We just kept fighting and kept hanging in there. Was a lot of it based on individual effort? It was absolutely was, and we will take it.'