‘The Bills have shot themselves in the foot enough times during their 17-year playoff drought. They don’t need the referees shooting down their feet inbounds too.’
Archives for December 2017
Here is how the Buffalo Bills can still make the playoffs in Week 17
‘…Buffalo win AND Baltimore loss…Buffalo win AND Tennessee loss AND Los Angeles Chargers loss.’
Bills report card: Buffalo run defense was awful against the Patriots
‘In both games against the Patriots, the Bills were awful against the run. They yielded 191 in the game at Buffalo, and 193 Sunday as Dion Lewis piled up 129 yards. Lewis, the guy whose name Rex Ryan didn’t know in 2015, has become a new Bills killer, adding to a long list. He had one rushing TD and also caught a screen pass for a TD. Naturally, with Mike Gillislee active for the first time in six weeks, the ex-Bill got his chance to stick it to the Bills and he scored on a 1-yard run. LB Preston Brown played very well with 14 tackles, and CB Shareece Wright was next with nine. The Patriots achieved 13 first downs via the rush, an unusually high total for them.’
Pollock: Bills still alive but now some help’s needed
‘This trip, Buffalo has to win and needs help, but it still has a reasonable shot, though the Ravens and Chargers figure to be favored with the Jaguars a likely toss-up.’
Bills vs. Patriots: Missed opportunities cost Buffalo in loss (11 observations)
‘The bad breaks and tough calls didn’t help the Bills, but Buffalo didn’t do much to help itself either. Now it faces a do-or-die game against the Dolphins in Week 17 and will need some help in order to end the playoff drought.’
What the referee said about overturning Kelvin Benjamin touchdown in Bills’ loss to Patriots
‘Q: On replay, did you feel that was clear and obvious? Wrolstad: It was clear and obvious that he did not have control of the ball until he brought it all the way down into his chest.’
National media reacts to officials overturning Kelvin Benjamin’s TD vs. Patriots
‘Benjamin TD stands against any team other than the Pats.’
What Bills’ Sean McDermott said about Kelvin Benjamin’s overturned touchdown
‘”Yeah, I’m at a loss,” McDermott said. “A loss as to, I saw it as a touchdown. And other than that, all I can say right now is, I am at a loss for how a play like that can get overturned.”‘
LeSean McCoy, other Bills sound off on officiating after loss to Patriots
‘”Officials up here, they always find a way to get it right for the Patriots. That’s not the reason why we lost, but is sure would have helped out in the game. It’s just crazy man, because you put so much into it, and then you get robbed like that. C’mon. That’s a touchdown.”‘
Report card: Buffalo Bills fall in Week 16 to New England Patriots
‘There were a few pass plays where it appeared Tom Brady could hold onto the ball until Christmas day. Buffalo’s inability to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks has been an issue all season. Kyle Williams and Jerry Hughes both recorded sacks on Sunday, but Brady had too much time to throw most of the game. Adding a pass-rusher needs to be a priority for the Bills in the offseason. The Bills’ run defense wasn’t much better on Sunday. New England rushed for 193 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries (5.1 YPC).’
AFC playoff picture 2017: Where do Buffalo Bills stand after Week 16?
‘As it stands, the Titans have the edge in a three-way tie because of their conference record. The Chargers have the edge over the Bills because of the head-to-head matchup. At this point, the playoff scenarios for the Bills are somewhat simple. They will make the playoffs with…’
Patriots: “We obviously put a big emphasis when we play Tyrod on trying to keep him in the pocket”
‘“I think all week, with Taylor being in our division and seeing him, we obviously put a big emphasis when we play him on trying to keep him in the pocket,” safety Devin McCourty said. “We know the hardest thing is going to be actually executing and getting him on the ground. I thought that’s what we did a great job with today. If one guy missed, we had another guy coming, just surrounding him as much as possible when he did try to escape the pocket. So, that was just great because it was a total team effort. It wasn’t like we had one guy to spy on him or something all game to stop him. It was just a group of guys just making sure.”’
5 takeaways from the Bills loss to the Patriots
‘4th down questions: The Bills were both aggressive and wimpy on fourth down against the Patriots.’
Locker room reaction: McCoy, Hughes lead displeasure for Bills; Pats’ Gilmore says Buffalo’s lucky it wasn’t worse
‘“It is what it is. We had our opportunities to score in that position. Obviously, any time you leave it up to the officials and New York it could go either way. You never know what they’re looking at. It could look different to somebody completely else. We have to make it black and white, fine, where it’s, ‘Okay, it’s a touchdown’ or ‘We stopped them on fourth down.’ We have to do our job to where it’s for sure in our favor.”’
Report card: Bills lose 37-16 to Patriots
‘Kyle Williams had a sack which, due to his circumstances pondering retirement, was nice to see, and Jerry Hughes added another. However, those were the only two times Tom Brady was hit on the day; he had plenty of time to pass most of the day. Dion Lewis had 129 yards, a career-high, while as a team, the Pats had 5.1 yards-per-carry.’