Bills Defining Moments The 2015 Season

[corta765]

2015 Bills Defining Moments

 

If the 2014 season was chaotic to the max the 2015 season literally picked it up from day 1. As a recap the defining moments series recaps look back at each season and go game by game with a small recap and moment which defined the game for one reason or another.

 

The Bills entered 2015 feeling good about their team after their first winning season in 10 years. The good vibes literally lasted three days as on December 31st 2014 Doug Marrone opted out as the Bills head coach. This blindsided pretty much everyone as it was only within the few hours leading up to the actual announcement that it was learned Marrone had an opt out clause built into his contract. A coaching search commenced as candidates like Kyle Shanahan, Hue Jackson, and Bills defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz all interviewed. In the end ex Jets head coach and rival Rex Ryan won the job and was officially brought in on January 12th 2015. Hopes were high that Rexs defensive mind mixed with the Bills talent would be sublime.  Rex famously proclaimed the Bills were going to the playoffs which energized many Bills fans.

 

The big question was how the offense would do and who the QB would be as former incumbent EJ Manuel had been benched the prior season. The first offensive addition added was Richie Incognito in February someone who fit the bully persona Rex wanted.  Free agency was roster altering as the Bills acquired All Pro RB LeSean McCoy from the Eagles for Kiko Alonso, added talented WR/Kick Returner Percy Harvin, traded for QB Matt Cassel, splurged to sign TE Charles Clay out of Miami, and quietly a backup QB out of Baltimore named Tyrod Taylor.

 

The preseason of 2015 was a frenzy with the QB battle raging, record attendance and stupidity at training camp from fans, season tickets sold out, and EJ Manuel successfully completing a pass to the hospitality tent at St John Fisher (it’s only reception to date). Fred Jackson was controversially cut. In the end Tyrod Taylor’s dual threat ability easily won out and the table was set for the most hyped Bills season in over two decades.

 

For the record I will argue the Bills 2015 team was the most talented team they had of the drought and their most talented since the Kelly led teams until last years 2020 squad came and took the cake.  Figure they had Pro Bowlers in McCoy, Kyle Williams, Mario Williams, Eric Wood, Richie Incognito, Harvin as a returner, future All Pro talent Gilmore, and a really talented WR Corp with Sammy Watkins coming off a nearly 1000 yd rookie year. If Taylor could just manage the offense the sky was pretty high you would’ve thought.

 

Week 1: Indianapolis Colts, 27-14 win: In the most hyped up home opener since 2000 the Bills took on a Colts team that had Super Bowl hype as they made the AFC title the year before, had Andrew Luck, and had added all pros RB Frank Gore and WR Andre Johnson. Instead the Bills blew the doors off the hinges and coasted to a win with all facets performing well. Capsulating this game was Tyrod Taylor’s beautiful 51 yd TD to Percy Harvin in the rain who my a great catching laying out for the ball. At the end of the game fans were chanting “We Want Brady” as rival NE came to town the following week.

 

Week 2: New England Patriots, 40-32 loss: ESPN was in town and the energy was bedlam as the Bills fans tried to break the stadium sound record. Unfortunately Tom Brady had an unreal game picking the Bills thought to be vaunted defense to pieces for 466 yds and 3 TDs. The Bills defense looked as disjointed as you’d ever seen to the point you could see players yelling at each other before the snap. The defining moment of this game was Julian Edlemans TD in the 3rd that saw Bills safety Aaron Williams injure his neck and get taken off in ambulance. Williams was never the same player and despite an attempt to comeback the next year, Jarvis Landry reaggrevated the injury on cheap shot effectively ending his career.

 

 

Week 3: at Miami Dolphins, 41-14 win: Looking to reset after a bad loss to the Patriots the Bills absolutely throttled the Dolphins in their home opener. Pretty much anyone who touched the ball made a play including Bills LB Preston Williams who got a 41 yd INT return for a TD. But the defining moment was Bills rookie RB Karlos Williams busting out a 41 yard TD late in the fourth quarter. With LeSean McCoy coming back from a groin injury there was questions on how the Bills depth could handle his limited action early on and Williams answered it.

 

Week 4: New York Giants, 24-10 loss: The Bills came in with hopes to jump out to a 3-1 start to gain early footing in the playoff race. In this loss a common theme emerged as whatever facet of the Bills team had been doing well faltered when they loss. After scoring over 30 ppg in the previous three games the Bills offense had a penalty and turnover driven game that gave them just 10 pts. Kyle Williams had an illegal formation penalty on a Giants FG that led to a TD thanks to a fresh set of downs, Charles Clay bobbled an INT to Giants LB Devon Kennard that set up another TD for the Giants, and in general the Bills took 17 penalties on the day. Non was more damaging though then a holding penalty on Keith Irbik which nullified a gorgeous TD run by Tyrod Taylor that would’ve got the Bills back to a 16-10 deficit late in the third quarter. Instead the Bills FG attempt was a miss and the Bills couldn’t close late on offense or defense falling to the Giants.

 

Week 5: at Tennessee Titans, 14-13 win: If ever there was a game that defined Bills fans love hate relationship with Tyrod Taylor it was this game. Against a rebuilding Titans team starting Marcus Mariota the Bills offense was nonexistent to the point they didn’t even look enthused. But down 10-0 late in the 3rd Taylor rallied the Bills with play after play scoring on a 22 yard TD run. The Titans scored a FG and Taylor again went to work. The defining moment was on 3rd and 18 from the Bills 31 when Taylor ran for 24 yds and the 1st. He would’ve gone farther but he was caught and horse-collared by Titans LB Zach Brown. The Bills scored on a Tyrod TD to Chris Hogan, but the injury would take Tyrod out of the next two games. Buffalo won 14-13 thanks to a Stephon Gilmore INT and Buffalo was back above .500 .

 

Week 6: Cincinnati Bengals, 34-21 loss: The Bills ran into an AFC leading Bengals team that was having their best season in decades. The Bills hung around with EJ Manuel at QB for the 1st half including a late touchdown to Sammy Watkins at the end of the half to make it 17-14. But Watkins was injured on the play aggregating a calf injury that was plaguing him. The defining moment though was a 42 yard pass to Marvin Jones despite the Bills double coverage and top CB Stephon Gilmore being there. It was clear at this point the defense was not the same and has issues with just 9 sacks through the first 5 games and none in this game.

 

Week 7:  at Jacksonville Jaguars but in London, 34-31 loss: Ah yes one the great drought losses which added another unique way to lose. The Jaguars weren’t very good and at 3-3 this has an early season must win type feel to the Bills if they wanted a decent playoff shot. Instead EJ Manuel’s London Bridge/Career fell at once as he spotted the Jags with three straight turnovers including a pick 6 AND a fumble 6 to put the Jags up 27-3 with 8:34 left in the 2nd quarter. To the Bills credit and EJs they rallied and got the score to 27-13 by half. The Bills defense helped in the second to give the Bills offense numerous chances as they got it to 27-25 Jacksonville with 6:41 left in the game on a Marcus Easily 58 yard TD. 4 plays later Bills DB Corey Graham intercepted Blake Bortles for a touchdown and the Bills actually had a 31-27 lead. Would this be an all time great comeback for the Bills? NOOO. Instead defining this game was one of the worst pass interference calls you ever saw. On 3rd and 17 the Jags were at their 47 and Bortles heaved desperation pass mid left to Jags WR Bryan Walters who tripped with Bills CB Nickel Roby Coleman and fell down. The officials threw a flag claiming Coleman interfered despite it clearly being Walters own fault. The Jags scored two plays later and the Bills couldn’t tie or win the game. Despite playoff type expectations heading into the season, the Bills entered their bye 3-4.

 

Week 8 Bye Week. October 27th on social media Sammy Watkins decided to mouth off about the fans critical of him not playing injured and his lack of offensive targets. He later said it was just frustration and not directed at Bills fans but all fans. Didn’t matter relationship wasn’t the same with the fans and Watkins.

 

Week 9: Miami Dolphins, 33-17 win: The bye week allowed the Bills big three of Tyrod, Sammy, and McCoy to heal as they all started in this game. In a more spirited contest then the first game the Bills offense still ran over the Dolphins for 266 yards (McCoy and Williams each had over 100yds) and three TDs. The defining moment though was the defensive line finally making as big play as Jerry Hughes strip sacked Ryan Tannehill at the Dolphins 42 yard line. The Bills scored a 44 yd TD from Tyrod to Watkins right after to go up 26-14 breaking the game open. Back at .500 the Bills had a showdown with Rexs old team the Jets on Thursday night for rights to the last playoff spot in the AFC.

 

Week 10: at New York Jets Thursday Night Football, 22-17 win: In the first year of the NFL color rush experiment the NFL brilliantly had the Bills play in red unis and the Jets in Kelly green unis making colorblind people have a very difficult time watching the game. At the kickoff Rex famously had ex Jet and Geno Smith knockout artist IK Enemkpali go out for the coin toss. As for the game the Jets were a surprising 5-3 and in the last playoff spot, but a Bills win would put them in the final spot.  Buffalo came out strong thanks to some key plays including a Duke Williams TD on a fumble recovery on a kickoff and Karlos Williams 26 yd TD catch and run early in the 3rd. Old friend Ryan Fitzpatrick brought the Jets back and closed it to 22-17 thanks to a 31 yd TD to Eric Decker. The key moment though while not flashy was Sammy Watkins first down on 3rd and two with 2:47 left. He burned Darrell Revis on a quick out pass on the catch which allowed the Bills to run out the clock.

 

Week 11: at New England Patriots Monday Night Football, 20-13 loss: Concluding the Bills primetime schedule was a rematch with New England. Rex and Bills D had a much better night keeping Brady under 300 yds with just a TD and actually getting an INT. The problem was the offense kept misfiring. The game swung late in the 1st half with Buffalo driving with the game tied 3-3. In 3rd down at the Patriots 30 Tyrod Taylor threw a perfect deep pass left in the Patriots end zone that hit McCoy in his hands that he dropped. Instead of being up 10-3 Buffalo had to settle for a FG which Dan Carpenter missed. The Patriots roared down the field with 50 seconds left for TD and the Bills played catch up the rest of the game. 

 

Week 12: at Kansas City Chiefs, 30-22 loss: At 5-5 the Bills needed a win to stay firmly in the playoff race against a Chiefs team also in the playoff race. Instead the Bills blew an early 10-0 lead and the defense couldn’t stop a beach ball as they allowed the Chiefs to rush for over 6 yards a carry. If there was ever a time Bills fans and media bought into Sammy is being an elite WR  it was around this time. Sammy had 6 rec for 158 yds and 2 TDs with his second TD putting the Bills up 16-7. In the prior two games he has been over 100 yds against the Phins and made a crucial catch against the Jets. The second problem in this game came in the second half when the Bills stopped targeting Watkins in the passing game because he was doubled covered. The Bills offense stalled as KC took the lead. The game swung for good when Alex Smith on 3rd and 6 hit Jeremy Maclin for 11 yds with 6:57 left. It allowed KC a much easier FG as it poured all game and the Chiefs to run the clock limiting the Bills to one final possession. Buffalo couldn’t tie the game and fell 30-22.

 

Week 13: Houston Texans, 30-21 win: At 5-6 any playoff hopes needed a win. This game honestly was pretty non-discript as the Texans stayed in it thanks to Brian Hoyer and DeAndre Hopkins having a good game and the Bills kicking game having issues (Carpenter missed a FG and XP). The big moment came tied 21-21 late in the fourth when Tyrod Taylor found Charles Clay for a 40 yd TD in the middle of the Texans secondary for the game winning score.

 

Week 14: at Philadelphia Eagles, 23-20 loss: At 6-6 the Bills had a look at the playoffs with 3 games against an NFC East division that was struggling bad. LeSean McCoy came home with revenge on his mind and the game was back and forth as Sam Bradford kept the Eagles ahead throughout. Robert Woods had a big game going over 100 yds in the game and Watkins had 81 yds and a TD. The problem for the Bills was finishing drives to get points. In the fourth quarter Leodis McKelvin had a great INT as the Eagles were in the Bills red zone. The Bills offense didn’t do anything with the ball and the Eagles broke through with the big play of the day on 3rd and 3 at midfield with Zach Ertz going for 41 yds on a short pick pass. The Eagles scored a FG by Caleb Sturgis to go up 23-20 and Tyrod threw a bad interception as the Bills tried to tie the game ending the Bills hopes.

 

Week 15: at Washington Redskins, 35-25 loss:  Basically out of the playoff picture the Bills looked like a team that had no interest in playing as Kirk Cousins threw for 4 TDs /319 yds including two TDs to Jordan Reed and one to DeSean Jackson who went off for 153 yds. The Bills defense struggled in pass coverage all over. The defining moment of the game was the Redskins drive after the Bills got it to 28-17 mid 3rd quarter to make a game for it. Washington drove right through the Bills defense on a 13 play 7:32 minute drive capped by a Pierre Garçon TD from Cousins. That TD was directly after two straight penalties by the Bills defense on LB Preston Brown and DT Stefan Charles. A year earlier the defense had delivered one of the best wins in a decade and a year later it was a trainwreck.

 

Week 16: Dallas Cowboys, 16-6 win: Out of the playoffs and with LeSean McCoy out after a leg injury ended his season the prior week, Buffalo wasn’t playing for much as Dallas was also having an awful year. The highlight of the game was the fact the Bills ran for 236 yds and 2 TDs despite McCoy being out. Mike Gillislees 50 yd TD to ice the game late in 4th was really nice.

 

Week 17: New York Jets, 22-17 win: If ever there was a true revenge game this was it. The Jets came in 10-5 and a win clinched the playoffs something Rex took pleasure in trying to stop. For a game that was meaningless for Buffalo, the team and stadium had a true energy throughout. The Bills got an early lead thanks to a Taylor TD run but the Jets paced the Bills throughout and heading into the 4th quarter a Fitzpatrick TD to Eric Decker for 21 yds closed it to 19-17 Buffalo. But then Fitz we’ll Fitz’d for the Jets. I wouldn’t say the defining moment was a singular INT, it was all three as Fitzpatrick couldn’t stop turning the ball over. Leodis McKelvins INT which was the first of the 4th quarter was the most timely as the Jets were at the Bills 14 and near the end zone. AJ Tarpley clinched the game with the last INT with 17 seconds left at midfield.

[dorquemada]

Ugh, this was the first season my son was old enough to really pay attention.  So much hype!  'Building a bully' indeed

 

I'm enjoying your season overviews, kind of in the same way i enjoy picking at a scab

[RoyBatty is alive]

The first Patriot game was the day after Chip kelly had his miracle win over Alabama, after deflategate and the city was so incredibly optimistic the Bills could beat them.  Alas Brady was great and Tyrod throw three interceptions.  Prior to that game was the highlight of the Rex Ryan Era.

[BillsFanSD]

I was there for the Colts game -- wild atmosphere, great game, felt like the start of something very good.  

 

Whoops.

[Rico]

 

 

 

 

[machine gun kelly]

Looking forward to 2017.

 

Id rather forget the others after 1999.

Edited July 30, 2021 by machine gun kelly

[BritBill]

5 minutes ago, Rico said:

 

 

 

 

 

You don't see many pick 6 throws as bad as that. I'd waited over 20 years to see the Bills play. 

[YoloinOhio]

If tyrod hadn’t gotten hurt vs the Titans, EJ doesn’t play in London and that season doesn’t have the same type of nightmare memory to it. There were some good times that year, especially the last game. But what a cast of characters including the clown coach 

Edited July 30, 2021 by YoloinOhio

[Kwai San]

17 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said:

Looking forward to 2017.

 

Id rather forget the others after 1999.

 

Agree 110%  Really anything to do with Tierod and Wrex makes me want to puke.  Wrex was a stain on the Bills that can never be erased.

[RoyBatty is alive]

19 minutes ago, BritBill said:

 

You don't see many pick 6 throws as bad as that. I'd waited over 20 years to see the Bills play. 

This was the same game were we didnt have anyone covering one of their receivers and they got an easy TD.  All that year Rex couldnt get the defensive players on the field in time, it was comical.

[JohnNord]

2 hours ago, corta765 said:

2015 Bills Defining Moments

 

If the 2014 season was chaotic to the max the 2015 season literally picked it up from day 1. As a recap the defining moments series recaps look back at each season and go game by game with a small recap and moment which defined the game for one reason or another.

 

The Bills entered 2015 feeling good about their team after their first winning season in 10 years. The good vibes literally lasted three days as on December 31st 2014 Doug Marrone opted out as the Bills head coach. This blindsided pretty much everyone as it was only within the few hours leading up to the actual announcement that it was learned Marrone had an opt out clause built into his contract. A coaching search commenced as candidates like Kyle Shanahan, Hue Jackson, and Bills defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz all interviewed. In the end ex Jets head coach and rival Rex Ryan won the job and was officially brought in on January 12th 2015. Hopes were high that Rexs defensive mind mixed with the Bills talent would be sublime.  Rex famously proclaimed the Bills were going to the playoffs which energized many Bills fans.

 

The big question was how the offense would do and who the QB would be as former incumbent EJ Manuel had been benched the prior season. The first offensive addition added was Richie Incognito in February someone who fit the bully persona Rex wanted.  Free agency was roster altering as the Bills acquired All Pro RB LeSean McCoy from the Eagles for Kiko Alonso, added talented WR/Kick Returner Percy Harvin, traded for QB Matt Cassel, splurged to sign TE Charles Clay out of Miami, and quietly a backup QB out of Baltimore named Tyrod Taylor.

 

The preseason of 2015 was a frenzy with the QB battle raging, record attendance and stupidity at training camp from fans, season tickets sold out, and EJ Manuel successfully completing a pass to the hospitality tent at St John Fisher (it’s only reception to date). Fred Jackson was controversially cut. In the end Tyrod Taylor’s dual threat ability easily won out and the table was set for the most hyped Bills season in over two decades.

 

For the record I will argue the Bills 2015 team was the most talented team they had of the drought and their most talented since the Kelly led teams until last years 2020 squad came and took the cake.  Figure they had Pro Bowlers in McCoy, Kyle Williams, Mario Williams, Eric Wood, Richie Incognito, Harvin as a returner, future All Pro talent Gilmore, and a really talented WR Corp with Sammy Watkins coming off a nearly 1000 yd rookie year. If Taylor could just manage the offense the sky was pretty high you would’ve thought.

 

Week 1: Indianapolis Colts, 27-14 win: In the most hyped up home opener since 2000 the Bills took on a Colts team that had Super Bowl hype as they made the AFC title the year before, had Andrew Luck, and had added all pros RB Frank Gore and WR Andre Johnson. Instead the Bills blew the doors off the hinges and coasted to a win with all facets performing well. Capsulating this game was Tyrod Taylor’s beautiful 51 yd TD to Percy Harvin in the rain who my a great catching laying out for the ball. At the end of the game fans were chanting “We Want Brady” as rival NE came to town the following week.

 

Week 2: New England Patriots, 40-32 loss: ESPN was in town and the energy was bedlam as the Bills fans tried to break the stadium sound record. Unfortunately Tom Brady had an unreal game picking the Bills thought to be vaunted defense to pieces for 466 yds and 3 TDs. The Bills defense looked as disjointed as you’d ever seen to the point you could see players yelling at each other before the snap. The defining moment of this game was Julian Edlemans TD in the 3rd that saw Bills safety Aaron Williams injure his neck and get taken off in ambulance. Williams was never the same player and despite an attempt to comeback the next year, Jarvis Landry reaggrevated the injury on cheap shot effectively ending his career.

 

 

Week 3: at Miami Dolphins, 41-14 win: Looking to reset after a bad loss to the Patriots the Bills absolutely throttled the Dolphins in their home opener. Pretty much anyone who touched the ball made a play including Bills LB Preston Williams who got a 41 yd INT return for a TD. But the defining moment was Bills rookie RB Karlos Williams busting out a 41 yard TD late in the fourth quarter. With LeSean McCoy coming back from a groin injury there was questions on how the Bills depth could handle his limited action early on and Williams answered it.

 

Week 4: New York Giants, 24-10 loss: The Bills came in with hopes to jump out to a 3-1 start to gain early footing in the playoff race. In this loss a common theme emerged as whatever facet of the Bills team had been doing well faltered when they loss. After scoring over 30 ppg in the previous three games the Bills offense had a penalty and turnover driven game that gave them just 10 pts. Kyle Williams had an illegal formation penalty on a Giants FG that led to a TD thanks to a fresh set of downs, Charles Clay bobbled an INT to Giants LB Devon Kennard that set up another TD for the Giants, and in general the Bills took 17 penalties on the day. Non was more damaging though then a holding penalty on Keith Irbik which nullified a gorgeous TD run by Tyrod Taylor that would’ve got the Bills back to a 16-10 deficit late in the third quarter. Instead the Bills FG attempt was a miss and the Bills couldn’t close late on offense or defense falling to the Giants.

 

Week 5: at Tennessee Titans, 14-13 win: If ever there was a game that defined Bills fans love hate relationship with Tyrod Taylor it was this game. Against a rebuilding Titans team starting Marcus Mariota the Bills offense was nonexistent to the point they didn’t even look enthused. But down 10-0 late in the 3rd Taylor rallied the Bills with play after play scoring on a 22 yard TD run. The Titans scored a FG and Taylor again went to work. The defining moment was on 3rd and 18 from the Bills 31 when Taylor ran for 24 yds and the 1st. He would’ve gone farther but he was caught and horse-collared by Titans LB Zach Brown. The Bills scored on a Tyrod TD to Chris Hogan, but the injury would take Tyrod out of the next two games. Buffalo won 14-13 thanks to a Stephon Gilmore INT and Buffalo was back above .500 .

 

Week 6: Cincinnati Bengals, 34-21 loss: The Bills ran into an AFC leading Bengals team that was having their best season in decades. The Bills hung around with EJ Manuel at QB for the 1st half including a late touchdown to Sammy Watkins at the end of the half to make it 17-14. But Watkins was injured on the play aggregating a calf injury that was plaguing him. The defining moment though was a 42 yard pass to Marvin Jones despite the Bills double coverage and top CB Stephon Gilmore being there. It was clear at this point the defense was not the same and has issues with just 9 sacks through the first 5 games and none in this game.

 

Week 7:  at Jacksonville Jaguars but in London, 34-31 loss: Ah yes one the great drought losses which added another unique way to lose. The Jaguars weren’t very good and at 3-3 this has an early season must win type feel to the Bills if they wanted a decent playoff shot. Instead EJ Manuel’s London Bridge/Career fell at once as he spotted the Jags with three straight turnovers including a pick 6 AND a fumble 6 to put the Jags up 27-3 with 8:34 left in the 2nd quarter. To the Bills credit and EJs they rallied and got the score to 27-13 by half. The Bills defense helped in the second to give the Bills offense numerous chances as they got it to 27-25 Jacksonville with 6:41 left in the game on a Marcus Easily 58 yard TD. 4 plays later Bills DB Corey Graham intercepted Blake Bortles for a touchdown and the Bills actually had a 31-27 lead. Would this be an all time great comeback for the Bills? NOOO. Instead defining this game was one of the worst pass interference calls you ever saw. On 3rd and 17 the Jags were at their 47 and Bortles heaved desperation pass mid left to Jags WR Bryan Walters who tripped with Bills CB Nickel Roby Coleman and fell down. The officials threw a flag claiming Coleman interfered despite it clearly being Walters own fault. The Jags scored two plays later and the Bills couldn’t tie or win the game. Despite playoff type expectations heading into the season, the Bills entered their bye 3-4.

 

Week 8 Bye Week. October 27th on social media Sammy Watkins decided to mouth off about the fans critical of him not playing injured and his lack of offensive targets. He later said it was just frustration and not directed at Bills fans but all fans. Didn’t matter relationship wasn’t the same with the fans and Watkins.

 

Week 9: Miami Dolphins, 33-17 win: The bye week allowed the Bills big three of Tyrod, Sammy, and McCoy to heal as they all started in this game. In a more spirited contest then the first game the Bills offense still ran over the Dolphins for 266 yards (McCoy and Williams each had over 100yds) and three TDs. The defining moment though was the defensive line finally making as big play as Jerry Hughes strip sacked Ryan Tannehill at the Dolphins 42 yard line. The Bills scored a 44 yd TD from Tyrod to Watkins right after to go up 26-14 breaking the game open. Back at .500 the Bills had a showdown with Rexs old team the Jets on Thursday night for rights to the last playoff spot in the AFC.

 

Week 10: at New York Jets Thursday Night Football, 22-17 win: In the first year of the NFL color rush experiment the NFL brilliantly had the Bills play in red unis and the Jets in Kelly green unis making colorblind people have a very difficult time watching the game. At the kickoff Rex famously had ex Jet and Geno Smith knockout artist IK Enemkpali go out for the coin toss. As for the game the Jets were a surprising 5-3 and in the last playoff spot, but a Bills win would put them in the final spot.  Buffalo came out strong thanks to some key plays including a Duke Williams TD on a fumble recovery on a kickoff and Karlos Williams 26 yd TD catch and run early in the 3rd. Old friend Ryan Fitzpatrick brought the Jets back and closed it to 22-17 thanks to a 31 yd TD to Eric Decker. The key moment though while not flashy was Sammy Watkins first down on 3rd and two with 2:47 left. He burned Darrell Revis on a quick out pass on the catch which allowed the Bills to run out the clock.

 

Week 11: at New England Patriots Monday Night Football, 20-13 loss: Concluding the Bills primetime schedule was a rematch with New England. Rex and Bills D had a much better night keeping Brady under 300 yds with just a TD and actually getting an INT. The problem was the offense kept misfiring. The game swung late in the 1st half with Buffalo driving with the game tied 3-3. In 3rd down at the Patriots 30 Tyrod Taylor threw a perfect deep pass left in the Patriots end zone that hit McCoy in his hands that he dropped. Instead of being up 10-3 Buffalo had to settle for a FG which Dan Carpenter missed. The Patriots roared down the field with 50 seconds left for TD and the Bills played catch up the rest of the game. 

 

Week 12: at Kansas City Chiefs, 30-22 loss: At 5-5 the Bills needed a win to stay firmly in the playoff race against a Chiefs team also in the playoff race. Instead the Bills blew an early 10-0 lead and the defense couldn’t stop a beach ball as they allowed the Chiefs to rush for over 6 yards a carry. If there was ever a time Bills fans and media bought into Sammy is being an elite WR  it was around this time. Sammy had 6 rec for 158 yds and 2 TDs with his second TD putting the Bills up 16-7. In the prior two games he has been over 100 yds against the Phins and made a crucial catch against the Jets. The second problem in this game came in the second half when the Bills stopped targeting Watkins in the passing game because he was doubled covered. The Bills offense stalled as KC took the lead. The game swung for good when Alex Smith on 3rd and 6 hit Jeremy Maclin for 11 yds with 6:57 left. It allowed KC a much easier FG as it poured all game and the Chiefs to run the clock limiting the Bills to one final possession. Buffalo couldn’t tie the game and fell 30-22.

 

Week 13: Houston Texans, 30-21 win: At 5-6 any playoff hopes needed a win. This game honestly was pretty non-discript as the Texans stayed in it thanks to Brian Hoyer and DeAndre Hopkins having a good game and the Bills kicking game having issues (Carpenter missed a FG and XP). The big moment came tied 21-21 late in the fourth when Tyrod Taylor found Charles Clay for a 40 yd TD in the middle of the Texans secondary for the game winning score.

 

Week 14: at Philadelphia Eagles, 23-20 loss: At 6-6 the Bills had a look at the playoffs with 3 games against an NFC East division that was struggling bad. LeSean McCoy came home with revenge on his mind and the game was back and forth as Sam Bradford kept the Eagles ahead throughout. Robert Woods had a big game going over 100 yds in the game and Watkins had 81 yds and a TD. The problem for the Bills was finishing drives to get points. In the fourth quarter Leodis McKelvin had a great INT as the Eagles were in the Bills red zone. The Bills offense didn’t do anything with the ball and the Eagles broke through with the big play of the day on 3rd and 3 at midfield with Zach Ertz going for 41 yds on a short pick pass. The Eagles scored a FG by Caleb Sturgis to go up 23-20 and Tyrod threw a bad interception as the Bills tried to tie the game ending the Bills hopes.

 

Week 15: at Washington Redskins, 35-25 loss:  Basically out of the playoff picture the Bills looked like a team that had no interest in playing as Kirk Cousins threw for 4 TDs /319 yds including two TDs to Jordan Reed and one to DeSean Jackson who went off for 153 yds. The Bills defense struggled in pass coverage all over. The defining moment of the game was the Redskins drive after the Bills got it to 28-17 mid 3rd quarter to make a game for it. Washington drove right through the Bills defense on a 13 play 7:32 minute drive capped by a Pierre Garçon TD from Cousins. That TD was directly after two straight penalties by the Bills defense on LB Preston Brown and DT Stefan Charles. A year earlier the defense had delivered one of the best wins in a decade and a year later it was a trainwreck.

 

Week 16: Dallas Cowboys, 16-6 win: Out of the playoffs and with LeSean McCoy out after a leg injury ended his season the prior week, Buffalo wasn’t playing for much as Dallas was also having an awful year. The highlight of the game was the fact the Bills ran for 236 yds and 2 TDs despite McCoy being out. Mike Gillislees 50 yd TD to ice the game late in 4th was really nice.

 

Week 17: New York Jets, 22-17 win: If ever there was a true revenge game this was it. The Jets came in 10-5 and a win clinched the playoffs something Rex took pleasure in trying to stop. For a game that was meaningless for Buffalo, the team and stadium had a true energy throughout. The Bills got an early lead thanks to a Taylor TD run but the Jets paced the Bills throughout and heading into the 4th quarter a Fitzpatrick TD to Eric Decker for 21 yds closed it to 19-17 Buffalo. But then Fitz we’ll Fitz’d for the Jets. I wouldn’t say the defining moment was a singular INT, it was all three as Fitzpatrick couldn’t stop turning the ball over. Leodis McKelvins INT which was the first of the 4th quarter was the most timely as the Jets were at the Bills 14 and near the end zone. AJ Tarpley clinched the game with the last INT with 17 seconds left at midfield.

The week 2 game against NE was supposed to be the moment Rex changed the fortunes for the Buffalo.  Instead it was the first sign that there were some major flaws with his defense.

 

What I’ll always remember was how confused the secondary was - notably Stephon Gilmore.  There’s a few deep TD throws that Brady completes to Chris Hogan who absolutely burned Gilmore - the CB that some fans were touting as best in the league.  
 

It’s unclear whether he simply got beat or whether his help didn’t arrive but Gilmore physically would gesture and point to his teammates on the field to suggest “you blew that coverage…not me.”  He’d do this multiple times throughout his career.

 

I feel that Gilmore’s struggles in Rex’s defense and his poor reactions led to a lot of resentment from the fan base.  

1 hour ago, BritBill said:

 

You don't see many pick 6 throws as bad as that. I'd waited over 20 years to see the Bills play. 

EJ was staring down the defender….not the reciever!

[machine gun kelly]

1 hour ago, Kwai San said:

 

Agree 110%  Really anything to do with Tierod and Wrex makes me want to puke.  Wrex was a stain on the Bills that can never be erased.

I know Corta has the best of intentions, I really do, but I see no point in rehashing 17 years of misery. There’s no upside for me.  I’ll write the same when he brings up 2016, and then applaud him when he gets to 2017.

 

There was a fish story about I think it was Cat Fish Hunter looking at all the misses when he was in a batting slump.  Yogi comes in and say, what are you doing?  Cat Fish said I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong.  Yogi responded, stop looking at what you’ve done wrong and start looking at when you were batting well.  Study what’s right, and do that more.  That’s a philosophy I agree with completely.  

Edited July 30, 2021 by machine gun kelly

[Utah John]

Agree that this team had the talent to break the drought, but somehow the coach and players couldn't get on the same page.  Wrecks took a top defensive team and absolutely broke it, demanding that players do it his way instead of what worked the year before.  

 

Nevertheless, put someone like Josh Allen onto that team, and the Bills make the playoffs.  Tyrod Taylor is a good player but not good enough to put a team on his back.  

 

That loss in London was one of the most heartbreaking I can remember.  I think the players were contemplating the Curse of Doug Flutie on the plane ride home, and had it in their heads that they just weren't going to escape the quicksand of fate.

[RoyBatty is alive]

Speaking of Tyrod, update from Texans camp, he stunk up the join today.

[corta765]

3 hours ago, JohnNord said:

The week 2 game against NE was supposed to be the moment Rex changed the fortunes for the Buffalo.  Instead it was the first sign that there were some major flaws with his defense.

 

What I’ll always remember was how confused the secondary was - notably Stephon Gilmore.  There’s a few deep TD throws that Brady completes to Chris Hogan who absolutely burned Gilmore - the CB that some fans were touting as best in the league.  
 

It’s unclear whether he simply got beat or whether his help didn’t arrive but Gilmore physically would gesture and point to his teammates on the field to suggest “you blew that coverage…not me.”  He’d do this multiple times throughout his career.

 

I feel that Gilmore’s struggles in Rex’s defense and his poor reactions led to a lot of resentment from the fan base.  

EJ was staring down the defender….not the reciever!

Rex 1000% ruined Gilmore in Buffalo in the sense his defense was a mess and caused that resentment 

[SirAndrew]

The 2015 were a really unlikable team. They didn’t have any real “villians”, but were filled with underachievers, low effort guys, low football IQ guys, Rex Ryan, and EJ Manuel. 

Just now, corta765 said:

Rex 1000% ruined Gilmore in Buffalo in the sense his defense was a mess and caused that resentment 

Rex was a disastrous coach, but he did have some success in NY. I didn’t like his system or believe he was a good coach, but the way that roster immediately quit on the team because they didn’t like Rex’s defense was also pretty sad. There were a lot of bad attitudes in that locker room during those years. 

[Freddie's Dead]

Cutting Fred killed the season before it started.

[corta765]

51 minutes ago, SirAndrew said:

The 2015 were a really unlikable team. They didn’t have any real “villians”, but were filled with underachievers, low effort guys, low football IQ guys, Rex Ryan, and EJ Manuel. 

Rex was a disastrous coach, but he did have some success in NY. I didn’t like his system or believe he was a good coach, but the way that roster immediately quit on the team because they didn’t like Rex’s defense was also pretty sad. There were a lot of bad attitudes in that locker room during those years. 

it goes both ways. Players certainly failed Rex because they didn’t buy in, but his ego also had a tough time putting them in the right spot. But yea def too many egos and bad attitudes. Those teams when they won acted like rockstars and when they lost shelled up and couldn’t hack it

5 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

If tyrod hadn’t gotten hurt vs the Titans, EJ doesn’t play in London and that season doesn’t have the same type of nightmare memory to it. There were some good times that year, especially the last game. But what a cast of characters including the clown coach 

I always thought with Tyrod healthy they would’ve made the playoffs. We don’t know how much the injury hurt his play when he came back.

[JohnNord]

3 hours ago, corta765 said:

Rex 1000% ruined Gilmore in Buffalo in the sense his defense was a mess and caused that resentment 

There’s no doubt about it.  After an excellent 2014 season, the expectations for Gilmore were really high and his play declined in 2015 and 2016 to the point where he was merely average to slightly above-average at best in most games.   Because of his bad play and on-field famous finger pointing fans were ready to move on from him in 2017.  
 

[Another Fan]

Couple things that stand out to me about that year:

 

I remember Week 2 against the Patriots the fans tried to set a Book of World Records for crowd noise.  The day turned to be a fail in more ways than one.  

 

It was great to finally beat the Titans.  The Bills lost like 10 prior games or something like that, often in times in heart breaking fashion

 

I kind of regret it now but it was like really really fun at the time to laugh at giddy Jets fans that last day of the season.  Unfortunately though that helped the Steelers get in the playoffs.  

 

Whenever people talked about the importance in the Wonderlic score in the NFL I will always point out the last game of the year against the Jets.  In arguably the biggest game/drive of his life Ryan Fitzpatrick got outsmarted by Leodis McKelvin.  I still think Ryan had like the highest reported score on it?  It's enough for me to conclude the test is BS.  

 

I still enjoyed beating the Cowboys that year even though the game was meaningless.  Hey it improved the all time standings against them LOL.

 

 

In the end it was a disappointing year over all but it did have some fun moments