Archives for November 2016

'Taylor has two big advantages over Bortles. No. 1: He doesn’t make turnovers. Taylor has 10 interceptions the past two years. Bortles has 31 the past two years and 48 the past three years. No. 2: Taylor is a better deep thrower then Bortles. Taylor’s 62-yard completion to Sammy Watkins was perfect, dropped directly over the receiver’s outside shoulder. Bortles has a big height edge over Taylor. But he also has a bigger windup, dropping the ball down before he delivers the ball.'

'On the Jags’ final drive, Robey-Coleman raced from the far side of the field to break up what would have been a 26-yard pass to Jags tight end Neal Sterling at the Buffalo 40. A lot happened before the snap. The Bills were in a three-deep zone, but then the Jags changed the formation with pre-snap motion. Robey-Coleman switched to a combination coverage with a safety. Then he saw the tight end go deep, and he had to react fast and take off. There was some contact on the sideline.'

'For the second straight game, Tyrod Taylor threw for 166 yards. It’s clear at this point the Bills are in “game manager” mode with him. They’re asking him not to turn the ball over, which he accomplished Sunday, and make one or two big plays with his arm. He did that, too, with a 62-yard completion to Sammy Watkins and a 16-yard touchdown pass to Justin Hunter in the fourth quarter. The Bills have to hope Watkins came through the game healthy, because another receiver (Walt Powell) went down with an injury.'

'The lead changed five times in the second half, but the Bills landed several haymakers to keep their postseason hopes legit.'

'Play of the game: McCoy's 75-yard touchdown run, which was the longest run of his career. It also was his second touchdown of the game, making him the first Bills player with three multi-touchdown games in a season since Willis McGahee in 2004.'

'They got their wish Sunday. Watkins and Dareus were on the field for the first time all season and both contributed to an urgently needed victory. Dareus was terrific for the second week in a row, though the defense allowed Jacksonville to stay in the game in the second half. Watkins was limited, but caught a 62-yard bomb from Tyrod Taylor to set up a go-ahead TD in the third quarter, and drew a pass interference call that led to the winning score early in the fourth.'

'Tyrod Taylor got the job done. He only threw for 166 yards. But he made an excellent throw to Justin Hunter for the winning touchdown pass. (Good leaping grab, too.) Taylor made a perfect throw on the 62-yard bomb to Sammy Watkins that set up the Bills third touchdown. That’s the second biggest difference between Taylor and Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles. Taylor throws a good deep ball; Bortles doesn’t. Taylor also rushed for 38 yards. (The biggest difference between Taylor and Bortles is Bortles is a turnover machine. Tyrod is not.)'

'The Bills rarely make things easy, and that was particularly true Sunday at New Era Field in a 28-21 win. Right down to the curious decision to waste a timeout before punting with the lead in the fourth quarter, there was plenty not to like. The defense, which lost cornerback Ronald Darby to a concussion, looked lost at times. The Bills gave up three scoring drives of at least 65 yards.'

'It was yet another befuddling performance from the Bills, but their struggles were quickly dismissed in victory. No matter how they won, they won for the second straight week and improved to 6-5 this season. They’re headed to Oakland for another big game next week. That much we know.'

'The go-ahead touchdown was set up by a Prince Amukamara pass interference penalty on long pass to Sammy Watkins. Hunter went up and over his man to haul in a nice pass from Taylor for a 16-yard touchdown at the front corner of the end zone. It was his seventh reception with the Bills; four of them have gone for touchdowns.'

'The Bills took the lead late in the quarter on Tyrod Taylor’s 7-yard scramble, which gave him his fifth rushing touchdown of the season. The drive was set up by a beautiful 62-yard pass from Taylor to Sammy Watkins, who beat first-round pick Jalen Ramsey clean off the line and took off down the right sideline. Taylor initially hesitated on the throw but dropped the ball right into Watkins’ hands.'

'Rex Ryan gambled on fourth-and-1 play from the Jaguars’ 13-yard line in the final minute of the second quarter, and the end results was a LeSean McCoy touchdown that got the Bills on the board.'

'Allen Hurns dropped a long pass on the Jaguars' next drive that could've gone for a touchdown. They totaled 107 yards in the quarter.'

'Also inactive for the Bills are quarterback Cardale Jones, linebacker Brandon Spikes, offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson, running back Mike Gillislee (hamstring), defensive tackle Corbin Bryant (shoulder) and wide receiver Robert Woods (foot).'

'With two victories in a row, the Bills are now 6-5, and while they remain buried in the AFC chase, at least they still have life as they head to Oakland next week for yet another must-win game.'