How Good or Bad was our Defense,Really?

[US Egg]

33 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

Have people forgotten that we won that game?

The amount of post game criticisms and how quickly they came is unreal.

[Pirate Angel]

They had some big stops in the red zone, but give credit where it's due the Colts Offense is one of the best with Probably the best olines in the league.  Very surprised we came away at the half with the lead as we absolutely lost the field position battle.

[DrPJax]

53 minutes ago, Captain_Quint said:

Dont forget that Taylor ran for 250 yds last week and came into the game as the hottest rb in the league. I think the game plan was to slow him down and make Rivers beat you, which is almost what happened. We wont see another RB of his talent again in the playoffs, including Henry. 

Ahhhh, I think Henry won the rushing title and had over 2 k yards this year.  Don’t think there is any comparison between Taylor and Henry. Henry has owned us as well. Just as Josh Norman. I am also pretty sure Henry  put up monster yards in his final two or three regular season games. Taylor may get there but let me know when he wins back to back rushing titles like Henry. 

[thurst44]

Just now, Codyny13 said:

What are you asking?

I was responding to your quote (i.e. have we not come to play and figured out a way to win the next week pretty much every time?). The first part was not addressed to you, but the formatting puts them together so I apologize for that since I knew that would likely happen (but did not intend for it to happen). Yours was less "woe is us" than "whew. we dodged a bullet" and that's fair.

 

I'm just amazed that after the first playoff win, and a gutsy one at that, I come here to revel in it for at least a little bit the morning after and it's almost all about what the Bills did wrong. You'd almost think we lost yesterday. There were many obstacles and the team found a way to win. The defense played worse than the score and better than the yards allowed would indicate. Ultimately, they found a way to win. I'm not worried about the defense, because they have found ways to win 14 of 17 in a hard schedule. It's not that there's no right to analyze or criticize even after a historic and cathartic win, it's just at some point we have to enjoy this time or why be fans (and again, this paragraph is not directed at you or saying you did this--in fact, your comment was perfectly reasonable to me and I tried to answer it with a reasonable answer). 

[whorlnut]

1 hour ago, JoshAllenReceipts said:

The Bills defense was completely bailed out by Philip Rivers being Philip Rivers in big games.

 

Ask Charger fans how Rivers does in the biggest spots. 

 

Perennial choke artist.

That’s not what I saw at all...Rivers was really good. 

[Adam]

Taylor had 55 yards going into the 4th quarter. Our secondary held up surprisingly well with a very limited pass rush. I think DL may be a priority come the offseason, but this was an elite OL we were facing. Pittsburgh's offense is one we match up with better. Next game will still be tough

[Big Turk]

I'd say inconsistent was the best way to describe it. They held the Colts run game to under 3 YPC through 3 quarters. They held the Colts to 10 points through 3 quarters. They had a huge goalline stand that turned the tide and the Bills never trailed again after that ensuing TD to end the first half.

 

Then they allowed 2 quick and easy TDs in the 4th and got gashed 3 times in the run game for big plays. They did very well at getting the Colts into 3rd downs but allowed Rivers to convert them at an alarming rate all day. 

 

Then on the final drive when Indy had 2:30 on the clock and started at their own 25 which is an eternity even with no timeouts in the NFL since they got a free one at the two minute warning, the Bills only allowed 29 yards total, forced what should have been a game sealing fumble and then forced a desperate Hail Mary from the 46.

 

So overall they had some good, more bad and often all within the same set of downs.

[thurst44]

Also, can we give credit to the defense for, after being on the field for so much of the game and faced with terrible field position as they got punched in the nose all day, stopping the Colts on their final drive. The Colts had to convert a 4th & 1 (and we almost stopped them). The only huge play was one that should have by all accounts ended the game if not for a bad call and an awful replay. Even after that, they got up and played to the buzzer and did not allow them to get close to trying a field goal. They had to be exhausted and most defenses would fold, but this has been a hallmark of this defense for the last few years: when they have a bad day or give up a lot of yards, they still play with enormous fire at the game's end. It's not nothing.

 

Look, I was screaming at the defense all day, but they came through when it counted, and all season they have regrouped and found renewed strength the next week.  

[CSBill]

I was "the Good, the Bad, or the Ugly?"

 

Answer: All of the above in one game.

[TheBrownBear]

We were fine until we took the two score lead.  The key is the Colts stayed commited to the run when we went to our nickel and dime packages.  Same thing happened in the Rams game (and first Pats game).  The teams who were willing to take what we were giving were able to gash us in the run game.  Other teams who fell behind tried to toss the ball around like we wanted and we were able to crush them (Phins and Broncos).  

 

Hopefully, this is a learning experience and we are able to come up with a more effective strategy in the future with big leads.

 

 

[Billsfan1972]

47 minutes ago, SageAgainstTheMachine said:

I agree that the defense didn't exactly show clout but in the modern NFL if you hold a team to 24 points you'll usually win.  Since others have already covered the negative, here were some big plays the defense did make...

 

- Poyer made the play of the game waiting for Pascal to get up and then stripping the ball

- Addison got penetration to turn 3rd and 1 into 4th and 4

- Edmunds had a couple nice PDs and generally had good run fills despite a couple missed tackles

- Milano stuffed the 2 point conversion attempt

- Zimmer read a screen perfectly and forced Rivers to spike it

- Hyde with 3 PDs including batting down the Hail Mary and swatting away a potential TD to Hilton early in the game

- Taron Johnson made Blankenship feel self-conscious about his glasses, forcing the missed FG

Not the 2017-19 Bills....😉

 

As for those individual plays, those happen every game....  Nothing worse then seeing a team gashed and then they get a sack on first down and celebrate as if they've been doing it all game long.

 

There was zero pressure all game and they were gashed terribly once up 24-10.   

Edited January 10, 2021 by Billsfan1972

[Scott7975]

Just good enough to get the win.  They made the two key stops they needed to.  The one before the half and the one at the end of the game.  They will need to be better going forward.  Some on offense will need to be better and the coaches will also need to be better.

[Buffalo ill]

The defense would be halfway decent if it did not miss so many tackles.  They give up so many yards after contact 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

I agree with comments about a couple of dropped passes by Indy away from being behind by 10 points or so and potentially losing.

 

However I also feel if Indy had scored more, we just would have also scored more.  I think the Bills were a bit too conservative in the 1st half, trying too hard to establish the run, etc.  maybe was due to very poor field position, but if we had fallen behind the Daboll would have just pressed down harder on the gas pedal and we'd have scored more.

 

With very likely no Moss next week, they should just come out throwing and keep throwing.  You can throw many quick 3 to 5 yard passes to, high completion percentage, but moves the chains just as well as a run.   Other than the first Pats game, we've struggled all season to establish the run, don't bother trying now.

 

Unless Yeldon has some surprising magically powers kept hidden all season on the inactive list, don't bother trying.  Does also bring up the question of Yeldon or Williams.  Williams looked good in the Miami game but was at a point where Miami was warming up the buses.  I also worry can they trust Williams not to fumble at a key time as really has no experience in the NFL.  Couldn't find any stats on him for fumbles during college career.  People worry about Yeldon fumbling, but think it's been pointed out was way overblown.  Didn't Singletary or another Bills RB have more fumbles per rushing attempt than Yeldon?

[RichRiderBills]

• The O-Line was the best we faced all year...
• The lack of pass rush was huge problem, the type of problem we've not seen all year. They nailed our blitzing and made us pay.
• Rivers was in a zone...saw the field great...
• We could not cover the TEs...this has been a problem for us in our losses...and the Bills film crunchers need to take a long hard look at this...
• Defense won the game in the end nonetheless....they won the game by holding the 4th down before half, and holding the doink FG attempt. (and of course the non counted strip)
• Indy's Oline is the real credit here, I think...they played their butts off. Much respect. I don't know if we'll struggle to get pressure this way again.
• Let's also hold solace that this was the best Defense we've played all year...and the team scored and moved the ball to win the game. Our DEFENSE and OFFENSE are tied together...and in the end we were too much to hold back.
• This is playoff football...its not about power rankings or style points...its about getting it done. Bills got it done.
• I think BETTER of this team coming out the back side of a game like this.

Edited January 10, 2021 by RichRiderBills

[Bermuda Triangle]

The defense was really bad, IMO.

 

-Colts racked up a season high in total yards

-Bills forced not a single 3 and out

-Aside from the kneel down at the end of the 1st half, the Colts crossed the 50 on EVERY possession

-Obviously, no pressure from the Bills D

-Complete inability to cover the TEs, no matter if it was Doyle, Alie Cox or Burton.  John Mackey may have hung 40 receiving yards on the Bills yesterday

-Poor tackling, which has been a bugaboo all year

 

Considering all of the above, it's crazy that we won. 

[BillsFan2313]

1 hour ago, Captain_Quint said:

Dont forget that Taylor ran for 250 yds last week and came into the game as the hottest rb in the league. I think the game plan was to slow him down and make Rivers beat you, which is almost what happened. We wont see another RB of his talent again in the playoffs, including Henry. 

 

Yeah, I though they did a great job on Taylor. 21 rushed for 78 yards. Hines is the one we had issues with.

[Shortchaz]

The colts had two long drives that, fortunately, resulted in 0 points. If the colts just kick/make field goals on both of those drives the game might’ve been very different. Bills were fortunate. 

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, JoshAllenReceipts said:

The Bills defense was completely bailed out by Philip Rivers being Philip Rivers in big games.

 

Ask Charger fans how Rivers does in the biggest spots. 

 

Perennial choke artist.

 

I don't think Rivers choked yesterday. I think Reich and his skill players did. The Colts outcoached the Bills scheme wise but Sean outcoached Frank in game management.

16 minutes ago, Bermuda Triangle said:

The defense was really bad, IMO.

 

-Colts racked up a season high in total yards

-Bills forced not a single 3 and out

-Aside from the kneel down at the end of the 1st half, the Colts crossed the 50 on EVERY possession

-Obviously, no pressure from the Bills D

-Complete inability to cover the TEs, no matter if it was Doyle, Alie Cox or Burton.  John Mackey may have hung 40 receiving yards on the Bills yesterday

-Poor tackling, which has been a bugaboo all year

 

Considering all of the above, it's crazy that we won. 

 

The bolded isn't all on the D. Dreadful special teams played into that too.

[Buffalo Junction]

10 - The TOP difference was 10 minutes to favor the Colts. A TOP differential like that will often lead to big plays in the ground game during the 4th quarter. If that strip sack doesn’t happen and we take another 2 minutes off the clock that collapse in run defense may not have occurred. The difference in TOP is in large part due to poor 3rd & 4th down performances by the defense, but when the margins get slim a timely rest for a defense can often dictate how they perform late in the game. 
 

0 - Zero holding calls. The refs didn’t even call the egregious holds in space yesterday. Couple that with possibly the best Oline in football and an experienced QB with a quick release, and we can’t expect them to win many battles. Particularly when we do not have a game changing talent on the Dline.... There’s no Donald, Mack, etc on this Dline to balance out the talent disparity. 
 

We need to keep in mind that the Colts have a very talented & balanced top 10 offense - Reich is one of the best schemers in the NFL. This defense managed to keep them to 24 points with poor field position and without our offense eating up an equal amount of clock. There are certainly areas of concern moving forward, but I’m not going to tag on them too much about this game. We need to remember that this team now has an offensive identity. The defense performs best when the offense is rolling and they can make splash plays against one dimensional opponents. Those splash plays didn’t happen yesterday because our opponent played excellent football.