Archives for December 28, 2015

'Darren McFadden ripped Buffalo for 99 yards on 19 carries with Robert Turbin adding another 23 on five carries. Injuries don’t help here. When Marcell Dareus left with a neck injury, the Bills were down to practice squad call-up Jerel Worthy — the former second-rounder has been on five teams since 2013 — up front. Inside linebacker Nigel Bradham missed a fourth game with his high ankle sprain. Kyle Williams has been out since October. The Bills gave up runs in chunks but the dam never broke which was enough to win Sunday.'

'The Jets control their own destiny for the postseason thanks to Sunday’s 26-20 overtime victory over the New England Patriots. Since dropping back-to-back games to the Bills on Thursday Night Football in Week 10 and the Texans in Week 11, New York has won five straight. The last of which came in wild fashion, as the Jets beat New England on Sunday after the Patriots elected to kick off in overtime.'

'However, our Vic Carucci later tweeted that, because the Jets' and Steelers' fates are intertwined, those games might be played at the same time. If the Steelers win at Cleveland and the Jets lose, that would put Pittsburgh in.'

'The good news for the Bills, if there is such a thing these days, is that next week when they host the Jets in the season finale, they will have a chance to not only secure a .500 record, but they can derail New York's bid to earn a wild-card playoff berth. We know that will make at least one guy, Rex Ryan, pretty happy.'

'Until that day arrives and Buffalo’s 16-year playoff drought is history, I’ll never say everything is well with every Bill in Billsville. But Sunday was a start after a very big fall.'

'I am no further down the road in evaluating Tyrod Taylor's long-term viability as the Bills quarterback of the future than I was before Sunday's 16-6 victory over the Cowboys. Taylor is a lot of fun to watch when he has the ball in his hands, and there were a few huge plays that he made in this game that perhaps no other quarterback in the NFL could make, especially that Houdini escape on third-and-6 that kept alive the final touchdown drive; that was a thing to behold. However, it concerns me that Taylor's wow plays are too often his dynamic scrambles, and not the typical mid-range passes that all quarterbacks have to make if they hope to last in the NFL.'

'Buffalo’s 40 runs vs. just 18 pass attempts. You can win a lot of football games playing it close to the vest. Of course, that wasn’t Tony Romo at quarterback for the Cowboys.'

'The fact that the Bills were playing against Kellen Moore, perhaps the least physically capable QB in the NFL, and this was a three-point game with less than seven minutes remaining, is not a good look. However, they did put it away at the end with a great drive, and a win, no matter how ugly, is still a win.'

'As he has throughout much of the season, Tyrod Taylor looked ordinary Sunday. He made some plays with his legs but didn't do a whole lot with his arm. While most will point to injuries on the offensive side of the ball, Taylor still had top target Sammy Watkins and a productive running game to lean on. His final stat line will suggest that Taylor was efficient did a decent job taking care of the football. That hasn't done much for the Bills this season.'

'"Well, that's our Super Bowl," Bills running back Boobie Dixon said after the Bills' 16-6 win over the Cowboys. "It's as simple as that. We have something to play for now. We've been having something to play for and that's our respect and our pride. You always want that, but to send them home packing, that would be great."'

'"I don't really feel anything about it," Ryan said. "I know we're going to give them our best shot. We'll see who's healthy and who's not or whatever, but they know they're going to get our best shot without question.'

'"I'm just trying to figure out why he hasn't got more criticism," Smith said. "This is the fifth consecutive year as a head coach that he will have missed the playoffs. This guy is supposed to be a defensive guru. They were ranked fourth last year; they're 16th now. They led the league in penalties. You got a quarterback in the top 10 in QBR for the first time in the last decade. You don't make the playoffs — I'm reiterating that point again. And yet and still, we just talk about the Buffalo Bills in a very blasé fashion, like it's no big deal.'

'"That's good," Ryan said. "You're probably in the minority here, because everybody knows the kind of coach I am. I'll get this thing right. I'll get this defense rolling. That's what we need. The other thing is, too, that the fans know that I'm going to be here. I chose to be here because I think there's some great times ahead of this football team. Did I expect to go this year? Absolutely, absolutely did. It didn't happen, but I know one thing about this team, we'll finish. We'll fight like crazy until the end regardless of who's out there, who's not out there. We will fight to do our very best."'

'"We want to be in the role of we win and we're in and everything else," Ryan said. "That's where we want to be and that's what we expect. That's what we expected going into this season. Obviously (it) didn't happen. But at the same time, we're gonna play. We have an opportunity to play in front of our fans again and that's important to us."'

'Gillislee finished with 93 yards rushing and led a ground attack that combined for 236 yards rushing. Karlos Williams scored on a 1-yard run as the Bills overcame an injury-depleted offense playing without running back LeSean McCoy.'