Archives for December 2017

‘On Sunday, Taylor was healthy again and back for Miami. Even if hobbled, you figured he would show up for the Dolphins. If Tyrod could play against the Dolphins every week, he’d be an established franchise quarterback making $25 million a year.’

‘”We play and live in a place that celebrates grit as much as they celebrate talent,” Williams told his teammates. “It’s not the case everywhere. I’ve been here a long time. You get guys that, oh, they may not want to come here in free agency or they may not want to get drafted here. The same people, when they leave in free agency or are released, they don’t want to leave.”‘

‘McCoy abused Alonso a couple of times in a personal milestone game and a 24-16 victory over the Miami Dolphins, the team Alonso plays for now.’

‘Of course, a ton of credit has to go to quarterback Tyrod Taylor for that, too. He was at his best in the first half, scrambling away from trouble, sensing pressure, making plays with his feet and being deadly accurate when throwing. Taylor’s touchdown pass to McCoy and 29-yard completion to tight end Charles Clay on his next throw were two of his best this season. He expertly directed an eight-play, 80-yard drive that ended with his 9-yard scoring run right before halftime in what was one of the best drives of the season. You almost felt bad for the Dolphins’ defenders, watching them try to chase down Taylor.’

‘If anything, the Bills’ offensive line had the upper hand for most of the game.’

‘Most meniscus tears don’t require surgery, NBC’s sports medicine analyst told The Buffalo News earlier this month. Only the outer rim of the meniscus receives enough blood flow to heal itself. So if the tear is located anywhere else, generally all a surgeon can do is trim the torn portion to make sure it doesn’t get in the way.’

‘If we stopped grading after the first half, it would have been an A+. Taylor was magnificent in the first half, going 12 of 18 for 165 yards, one rushing touchdown and one passing touchdown. His ability to escape the pocket when the rush closed in was brilliant. Tight end Charles Clay had a big game against his former team with 68 yards on five catches. Taylor’s back-to-back throws in the second quarter that produced a 16-yard touchdown by McCoy and a 29-yard gain by Clay were two of his best all season.’

‘The Bills scored more than 14 points in the first half for the first time. They held a lead of more than 10 points at halftime for the first time.’

‘Miami had allowed opponents to convert just 1 of 24 third-down situations the past two weeks. Miami ranked sixth overall on third-down defense, allowing only 34 percent conversions. The Bills snapped the Dolphin hot streak. Buffalo converted 7 of 15 plays, 47 percent.’

‘The Bills had enough points win despite gaining only 28 yards of offense in the fourth quarter. They improved to 8-6, keeping pace with the Ravens for the final wild-card spot and winning eight of their first 14 games for only the third time over the drought. They also did it in 2014 when they finished 9-7 but were out of wild-card contention, and in 2004, when they lost the finale to Steelers’ backups to miss the playoffs.’

‘The Bills couldn’t find the end zone in the third quarter but added a field goal to push their lead to 18 points at 24-6. They had fourth and goal from the 1-yard line after Wright’s interception and kept the offense on the field to go for it, but a false start penalty backed the team into a field goal. The penalty didn’t hurt tremendously, though, as either score would’ve pushed the lead to three possessions.’

‘The Buffalo Bills pulled away from the Miami Dolphins with two touchdown drives in the second quarter while running back LeSean McCoy reached a major career milestone.’

‘Entering Sunday, their opening drives had netted six points for Buffalo and seven for opponents. The Bills logged two field goals, seven punts, three interceptions and a turnover on downs on their first 13 opening drives, with one interception being returned for a touchdown.’

‘In most other scenarios, the Bills have a decent chance of making the playoffs. Here’s a look at what the Bills would need to qualify if they lost to the Patriots in Week 16 but beat the Dolphins in the finale to finish 9-7…’.

‘Yeah, I thought we were dynamic in terms of the mix of run-pass and opened it up down the field a couple of times, which kept them a little bit off balance at times. We were running the ball effectively and then the play-action was working. Tyrod [Taylor] did a good job of really getting a lot of people involved in the passing game as well so I thought Rick [Dennison] called a really good game and it was good to see. In particular, [it was good] to score three times in that first half, I think it was, so that was big.’