Two Bills Drive

'The 129.5 passer rating White allowed was the highest rating he's given up in a single game all season.'

'Carlos Hyde is in the final year of his rookie contract ($1.17 million cap hit) with the 49ers. The back was rumored to be on the trade block this offseason and the winless 49ers would probably be willing to move the back for an early day three pick. San Francisco is thinking towards the future and that doesn't involve Hyde.'

'The Buffalo Bills sit at 3-2 at the bye week. The team has pulled off two upsets early in the season, so it's time to ask: Are the Bills a playoff contender or pretender? Fans on Facebook, Twitter and TwoBillsDrive.com were asked to share their thoughts on the Bills. Tomorrow, we'll look at the pretender argument, but here are why some fans believe the Bills are contenders this season.'

'Defenses don't respect the pass, so they load up to key on running back LeSean McCoy, and the offensive line has failed to find solutions. It's partly because left tackle Cordy Glenn has barely played, and partly because the right side of the line — guard John Miller and tackle Jordan Mills — has underperformed. Miller was benched Sunday, replaced by Vlad Ducasse who was in no way an upgrade.'

'Basically, what you’d be asking for is a short passing offense with almost no threat to beat defenses vertically and more eight and nine-man boxes. Peterman doesn’t have the ability in the five-step, seven-step or rollout game that Taylor possesses. Peterman would also be thrust into a position where the teams’ top two pass-catchers were absent from the lineup and significant troubles in pass protection.'

'In fairness, Dareus did suffer an injury against the Panthers and missed the better part of the first half — but he did return to the game. Some will argue that he’s bouncing back from an injury against Atlanta and Cincinnati, but he was removed from the injury report on the Friday before the game both weeks, which means he should be ready to play at least 50-percent of the snaps.'

'McDermott is correct, but the Bills offense has been zero dimensional because they haven’t been able to run the ball either. Opposing defenses have been able to bottle up McCoy. After two seasons in which the Bills led the league in rushing, they are ranked in the middle of the pack.'

'Dion Dawkins, who made his third straight start at left tackle against the Bengals, continues to be a guy McDermott can rely on to anchor the left side of the offensive line.'

'The bottom line: Buffalo is better than many expected. And nothing is clinched, locked down or guaranteed one-third of the way into the season.'

'“I want to put the numbers up, I really do. But something that I’ve been working on is being more team-based. That’s something Sean [McDermott] and I have been talking about,” McCoy said. “It’s tough because you want to do well, and if you’re not doing as well but your team is winning. Ultimately, that’s the main goal.”'

'"The great part about it is, if there’s a silver lining if you will, is that we had five rookies on the field (Sunday) getting significant experience," McDermott said. "Whether they started or played, that’s important for our future, and as we continue to build, there’s a silver lining in some of this."'

'The results were not inspiring. The Bills punted before reaching midfield on their first possession. The offense was gifted a drive start on the Bengals' 12-yard on the second possession but only gained 2 yards and had to settle for a short field goal. Tyrod Taylor airmailed Zay Jones and the final drive and was intercepted.'

'The Bills quarterback had a yards-per-attempt average of just 4.45, the lowest YPA he's had in a single game during his time in Buffalo. Before the sloppy effort in the rain, Taylor had a YPA under 5.0 in two of 33 starts for the Bills.'

'The Buffalo Bills were called for six accepted penalties against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week Five, and half of them were very impactful.'

'Frightening as it may be for Buffalo fans to see their beloved Bills sitting on that same 3-2 record that they began each season since 2014—seasons all ending in futility—their defense ranks first with 14.8 points-per-game allowed, Buffalo ranks second with a +8 turnover differential, they have the fifth best pass blocking offensive line according to The Pro Football Focus “Pass Blocking Efficiency” rating, which measures pressure allowed on a per-snap basis, weighting toward sacks allowed at 82.2—up from 21st last season at 76.2—Tyrod Taylor progression, and the hope that McCoy will find his perennial Pro Bowl stride, there remains hope that this year will be different.'