Archives for November 28, 2016

'Helllooo. The Bills entered the game with a .500 record, the very definition of average. With that kind of baggage, they weren’t about to overlook Orchard Park High School.'

'The Bills finished with just 304 yards of offense and 45 percent of their offense came via two plays — McCoy’s 75-yard TD run, and Sammy Watkins’ 62-yard pass reception.'

'The boos emanating from New Era Field were loud and clear throughout the first half, and the Bills richly deserved the rude serenade. The defense started terribly, and the offense was comatose most of the first two quarters, but everything changed in the second half. And so, in yet another game that they simply could not lose, the Bills survived, just like they did in Cincinnati. Give them credit for showing some grit; two straight ugly wins is still two wins, and now at 6-5, the Bills live again to play another meaningful, must-win game this week in Oakland.'

'Oh, that was big. Anytime you have an explosive play like that it's big for the offense. Just a momentum booster and we were able to build off of that play coming out at half time and turn things around in the second half. It was an ugly first half, but like I said, that was a great way to start the second half and for us to build momentum.'

'This spread actually indicates a fair amount of respect from the Vegas oddsmakers. The Bills have won two straight ugly games against the 3-7-1 Bengals and the now 2-9 Jaguars. With three spread points usually given to the home team, Vegas is saying the Raiders are only 1.5 points better than the Bills on a neutral field.'

'That may have held some weight through seven weeks of the season when the Bills were ranked first in the league in red-zone defense. Since then, however, the Bills are the worst red-zone team in the NFL. In a 28-21 win over the Jaguars on Sunday, the Bills allowed the Jaguars to score touchdowns on both of their trips to the red zone.'

'The good news is the Bills are just one game out of a wild-card spot in the AFC playoffs. They need to win at least four of their next five games to have a shot at making the postseason after a slow start in conference play. The Bills' biggest remaining games are against the Steelers in Week 14 and the Dolphins in Week 16. Both games are at home. A loss in either game could be enough to bury the Bills.'

'"On (Neal) Sterling? Yeah," Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles said after the game. "The one on A-Rob (Allen Robinson) was brutal. I don't know how that wasn't called. Yeah, that was bad. Do get fined for saying that? Might as well just keep talking then. Yeah, that was horrible. Jesus, I don't know how that … OK, I'm done."'

'Well I thought we stepped up. I loved the way Darby was playing by the way but I thought our guys took the challenge. It's a good group of receivers, especially the vertical passing and Bortles does a good job of throwing the fade and the back-shoulder. They kept trying to hit us on the drive route, we played a little more cover-two, we were doing some different types of coverages on them but I thought our guys did a good job.'

'"I have a lot of confidence just going out there and playing how many plays I played," Watkins said. "I probably played more than I was supposed to play and I felt good about it. Just being out there on the field, I didn't really care about catching the ball. I just wanted to feel good, go out there and block a couple plays and just get the feeling again. At first, it's my first game back going against these good cornerbacks, but after a while, I just calmed down and let the game come to me."'

'No, the Bills aren't winning impressively, and yes, they will need to be better on both sides of the ball to come away with wins against the Raiders and Steelers in the next two games. However, the Bills managed to stay alive and improve to 6-5. They will enter December in the playoff hunt, even if it's by the skin of their teeth.'

'For Jax fans complaining about that PI call, see 2015 game…'

'The biggest play of Jacksonville's opening drive involved quarterback Blake Bortles scrambling for 27 yards on third and six. It appeared that the Bills had forced a third down stop late in the drive, but Corey White was called for defensive holding in the end zone prior to Bortles' incomplete batted pass.'

'Although the Bills will be without Woods and Harvin, it's not all bad news for the wide receiver position. Buffalo will have Sammy Watkins on the field for the first time since Week 2. Marquise Goodwin, Justin Hunter, Walter Powell and Brandon Tate will also see playing time at receiver against the Jaguars.'

'No humans dressed as turkeys were harmed during the filming.'