2016 Bills Season Defining Moments

[corta765]

 

2016 Bills Defining Moments

 

Last one before things get fun and good.

 

After the frenzied hyped 2015 offseason, 2016 was decidedly more tame, had more pressure, and uneasy as expectations sat unfulfilled. Rex Ryan was target number 1 after taking over the NFLs 4th ranked defense and seeing it plummet to 19th overall. Rex in his words went “full pregnant” and hired his brother Rob Ryan as an assistant coach. Additionally after being buyers in free agency from 2012 on the Bills suddenly felt a cap crunch. This forced them to either cut or lose in free agency starters Pro Bowl DE Mario Williams, Leodis McKelvin, former lacrosse star Chris Hogan, Ron Brooks, and solid LB Nigel Bradham. There was one free agent signing which long term proved important to the Bills future in LB Lorenzo Alexander. The draft saw the Bills try to get younger upfront with DE Shaw Lawson, LB Reggie Ragland, and DT Adolphus Washington all get selected in the first three rounds. Unfortunately Rex Ryan ended up losing Shaq for basically half the season and Ragland never played a down tearing his knee in preseason. Still despite the losses and step backs expectations for the team were breaking the drought and the defense bouncing back.

 

Week 1: at Baltimore Ravens, 13-7 loss: Both teams came in with big expectations but the game was expected to be a defensive battle. Well for my money it was the boringest opening game of probably the last two decades. Honestly there was literally one note worthy play which was Mike Wallace 66 yd TD from Joe Flacco to give the Ravens a 10-0 lead early in the second. So there is your defining moment because something actually happened. There were 10 punts, 2 FGs, a missed FG, a turnover on downs, and an 8 play drive at the end to literally run the clock. This game sucked and when opening week is suppose to be exciting, watching the grass get painted for the game had more action. Anyway Bills 0-1 and Rexs hot seat get warm.

 

Week 2: New York Jets Thursday Night Football, 37-31 loss: The Bills only home primetime game and 1st at home since 2012 was a rematch with the Jets who the Bills ended their playoff hopes a year earlier. Each team was 0-1 and the game had a hightened importance as teams staring 0-2 only make the playoffs 20% of the time. This game was a barn burner as Fitzpatrick had one of his great games torching the Bills defense for 374 yds and a TD but more importantly converting any big play when needed. The Bills offense held in with deep TDs to Marquise Goodwin had a 84 yd TD and Greg Salas had a 71 yd TD. The game felt like it swung to the Bills when the defense scored on a fumble recovery by Nickel Robey Coleman for 36 yds to go up 24-20. The Jets took the lead back 3 plays later on a Matt Forte TD to go up 27-24. The defining play came at the start of the 4th quarter when Tyrod Taylor got INT on an under thrown deep ball to Sammy Watkins on 3rd and 1. Being at the stadium you had a feeling like they just blew it as the Jets offense was virtually unchecked all night. Buffalo failed to respond and fell 37-31. Additionally Sammy Watkins was lost for the first half of the season due to a foot injury.

 

Week 3: Arizona Cardinals, 33-18 win: After the loss it felt like the season was over. Media and fans were ready fire Rex, he dumped offensive coordinator Greg Roman after just two games, and the NFC finalist Cardinals came to town a team many picked for the SB. Yet the Bills throttled the Cards running for nearly 200 yds and 3 TDs. The defense got some timely turnovers none bigger then Aaron Williams 53 yd TD fumble recovery with the Cards on the Bills 12 on 4th and 6. Up 30-7 Buffalo never really looked back. Quick note Patrick Peterson had the best INT I’ve ever seen that day along the sideline on a great deep pass by Tyrod Taylor.

 

Week 4: at New England Patriots, 16-0 win: With Tom Brady suspended the first 4 games and backup Jimmy G out for the year with injury the Patriots were down to Jacoby Brisset and Buffalo had a real shot to get back to 2-2. The Bills offense came out fast going up 13-0 thanks to a Tyrod Taylor to LeSean McCoy TD Pass for 7 yds and two FGs. After that the Bills offense basically just ran the clock as NE never mounted much of a threat. The defining moment of the game was Zach Browns forced fumble on Pats QB Jacoby Brissett as he ran in 3rd and 11 in the Bills red zone down 13-0. Had he scored a TD or even a FG perhaps the game goes different but that was NEs best shot all day. Oh yea pre game some Patriot punk coaches intentionally got in the way of the Bills cbs which caused a scene.

 

Week 5: at Los Angeles Rams, 30-19 win: Buffalo came in feeling good at 2-2 with an Arnold Donaldless Rams team coaches by Jeff Fisher. Buffalo got out to another quick start (13-3) thanks to a TD rec by Justin Hunter and a TD by Mike Gillislee which LeSean McCoy went off on a 53 yd rush a few plays earlier. The Rams rallied and a Todd Gurley TD closed it to 13-13. Tied at 16-16 mid 3rd quarter Nickel Robey-Coleman made the big play when Rams QB Case Keenum stared down WR Pharoh Cooper and his pass was INT for a TD by Coleman. The Rams tried a fake punt with 3:47 left in the game which failed miserably and the Bills got a Mike Gillislee TD to go up 30-19. If you ever watch highlights of this game LeSean McCoy was unreal and in general his 2016 season was sublime.

 

Week 6: San Francisco 49ers, 45-16 win: At 3-2 the Bills played a bad and drama filed 49ers team with Chip Kelly running the ship. Controversy surrounded the game as Colin Kapernick was in the middle of his kneeling protest during the anthem. The defining moment was the anthem and the controversy around it. After a very tense energy during the anthem the Bills absolutely laid waste to the 49ers. Buffalo ran for a team record 312 yds with LeSean McCoy going for 140 yards and 3 TDs. Even Reggie Bush had 6 yds! The big play of the game itself was actually Bills WR Justin Hunters 30 yd TD rec late in the 3rd quarter which broke the game open for good. I’ll say this if ever there was a point you thought hey maybe Rex actually has an idea what he is doing it was after this game. At 4–2 the offense was clicking behind the running game and the defense was doing enough where the Bills being a playoff team didn’t see dumb. Additionally the schedule looked to have some winnable games with two of their toughest games at hone (NE/PIT).

 

Week 7: at Miami Dolphins, 28-25 loss: at 4-2 the Bills came in flying high with a real chance to get to 5-2 against a resurgent 2-4 Dolphins team. The Bills were fine in the first half doing what they had done for success in the previous four games running the ball a lot with some timely passing. The Bills defense suffered a huge loss as Aaron Williams got cheap shotted by Dolphins WR Jarvis Landry. Williams never played again as the hit ended his career. The high watermark for the Rex led Bills happened when mid 3rd quarter Tyrod hit Marquise Goodwin for a 67 yd TD to go up 17-6. Everything by looked like the Bills were on their way to 5-2 and being the team Rex always envisioned. Then it unraveled. Like a dam bursting the defense allowed a 5 plus minute TD drive and the Dolphins we’re back down 17-14. The Bills offense stalled and then Miami scored another TD drive to go up 21-17. Within 12 minutes the Dolphins erased an 11 point deficit to go up by 4. The offense was reeling going 3 and out in 29 seconds. The defining play then hit as Ryan Tannehill threw a deep pass on 3rd and 6 to Kenny Stills for a 66 yd TD effectively ending the game. The Bills needed someone to make a play and it never happened.

 

Week 8: New England Patriots, 41-25 loss: In a rain soaked battle with their rivals the Bills failed to matchup with Brady back. The Bills defense played like a unit whose spirit broke a week prior and the offense could only do so much. The defining moment was now Patriot WR Chris Hogan scoring a deep TD pass right in front Bills CB Stephon Gilmore who famously looked back at his secondary as to say what are you doing. The game was over by mid 3rd quarter. Shout out to Bills FB Jerome Felton for a nice first down conversion on a catch in the 1st quarter.

 

Week 9: at Seattle Seahawks Monday Night Football, 31-25 loss: If ever there was a dark horse for worse/most BS/frustrating losses in Bills history this is the game. The Bills were losers of two straight after getting to 4-2 and didn’t get a lot of supporters that they had a chance. Yet throughout the first half Buffalo mostly had their way with Seattle’s vaunted D as the offense kept up. Special teams came up with a block on the 1st Seahawks punt to give the Bills great field position which they used for a Tyrod Taylor TD run. The issue was the secondary which Russell Wilson throw all over and Ronald Darby who couldn’t stop a beach ball as Jimmy Graham toasted him for deep touchdowns. Still at the end of the half the Bills offense drove into FG range when controversy struck. On Dan Carpenters FG attempt Richard Sherman hit him after a whistle blow injuring him. Buffalo then took an illegal formation penalty as Carpenter made his 30 yd kick. Back five yards Carpenter missed his FG after making the prior two and Buffalo still trailed by two scores at 28-17. The refs 1000% botched this and it would proved crucial later. Both defenses tightened in the second half but the Bills got a Mike Gillislee TD late in the 3rd to get it to 28-25. The Hawks got a FG early in the fourth and Buffalo got the ball back with 2:41 in the game. Taylor had some crazy conversions and moved the Bills to the Seattle 10 yard line. The Bills offensive line failed on the first three plays and it all came down to fourth down. Would Taylor break 300 Yds passing finally as a TD would do it? Could the Bills get a legit big win to help their playoff chance? Nope. On fourth down Sherman “legally” apparently cheap shoted Walter Powell and Taylor’s pass in the end zone to Robert Woods who had a superb game (10 rec 162yds) went incomplete as Seahawks safeties Thomas and Chancellor kept anything from him. The crappy part was Buffalo would've tied the game with a FG if the refs didn't mess everything up at the end of the 1st.

 

I won’t lie I remember this game vividly and when Taylor’s pass went incomplete I fell to the couch broken. I couldn’t see how they would make the playoffs or Rex would survive or how Taylor would ever be the guy. It was a legit gut punch that made you realize the team was closer to rebuild then contention with that group.

 

Week 10: Bye Week: The Sabres probably lost a game or five during this week.

 

Week 11: at Cincinnati Bengals, 16-12 win: Against a descending Bengals team this was a defense struggle as both teams turned the ball over. Stephon Gilmore had a tremendous game with 2 INTs and 3 PDs. LeSean McCoy had to leave early as did AJ Green taking the two biggest offensive stars out early. The defining moments of the game were Bengals Kicker Mike Nugent missing two extra points which forced the Bengals to have to go for a TD on their final drive instead of a game tying or winning FG. Nugent was later released after missing his 6th extra point kick in December.

 

Week 12: Jacksonville Jaguars, 28-21 win: At 6-6 the Bills took on Doug Marrones Jags with a shot to get back in the playoff race. The first half was very defensive as both teams front lines hit Taylor and Bortles a lot. LeSean McCoy got a TD to get the Bills to 7-6, but Carpenter missed the extra point. Out of half McCoy ran a 75 yd TD on the first play of the half to put Buffalo up 13-7. The Jags and Bills would go back and forth as Marquise Lee put the Jags ahead with a TD and Sammy Watkins beat Jalen Ramsey for a 62 yd catch which led to a Taylor TD run and a Bills 20-13 lead. The Jags would respond to take the lead with an Allen Hurns TD as both offenses kept making plays. Taylor put the Bills ahead with a Justin Hunter TD with 10:52 which was the big play as the Jags couldn’t respond and the Bills walked out with a 28-21 win and 6-5 record.

 

Week 13: at Oakland Raiders, 38-24 loss: In the Bills final game in Oakland they fell apart against the upstart Raiders who were 9-2 coming in. Despite that the Bills offense got the team up to a 24-9 lead early in the second half on the legs of a Mike Gillislee TD. Raiders QB Derek Carr quickly went down the field and found Michael Crabtree for a TD making it 24-16. Buffalo never found their footing after that as Oakland kept scoring thanks to Carr and the Raiders defense kept making plays thanks to Khalil Mack. The game ended down 30-24 with ten minutes left Tyrod Taylor went for a deep pass only to have his throw hit by Khalil Mack which caused it to be intercepted by Raiders CB Nate Allen’s as Marquise Goodwin never had a chance. The Raiders iced the game with a TD right after.

 

Week 14: Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-20 loss: At 6-6 with three of their final four games at home the Bills had a look (while difficult) at the playoffs. The Steelers came in at 7-5 and ran all over the Bills in bitter snowy and cold game good for 240 yds as Le’Veon Bell had 236 yds and 3 TDs. The Bills offense never could do much when the game was close outside a Watkins TD midway in the 2nd to make it 14-7 Pittsburgh. The game officially swung on Tyrod Taylor INT to open the 4th quarter as he missed on a deep pass to Marquise Goodwin as Steeler CB Artie Burns picked it off. Next drive Bell set the Steelers single game rushing record and a FG iced the game for PIT now up 24-7. The Bills wilted again in a big moment for the playoffs and after the game calls we’re loud for Ryan to be gone. Probably the most memorable thing of this game was the field delay after half time when the snow machines accidentally popped all of the black pellets up causing a mess that took 20 mins to get fixed.

 

Week 15: Cleveland Browns 33-13: The Browns came in 0-13 and the Bills made sure they didn’t become the team that lost to them. This game has a bunch of TDs for the Bills although none super memorable. Brandon Tate had a cool pitch handoff run for 30 yds and the Bills had a nice 101 yd TD drive capped off by a good diving catch by Charles Clay for a TD. Truthfully the most memorable piece of this game was seeing RGIII playing as a shell of himself just 4 years after taking the league by storm.

 

Week 16: Miami Dolphins, 34-31 OT loss: with some playoff hopes the Bills took on the Dolphins who themselves had their eyes in the final playoff spot. The game was effectively Rexs last stand as it was reported if he lost he was basically out. So here’s the recap of the last true droutastic game which the two teams combined for over 1000 yds of offense and 65 pts:

 

Did the Bills allow Dolphins RB Jay Ajayi to run for over 200 yards? yes, the second time the Bills allowed 200 yds to a running back in three weeks

 

Did the Bills spot the Dolphins a 14 pt lead twice? Yep 14-0 and 28-14.

 

Did the Bills rally despite these deficits? Yes. In fact the Bills play of the day was a flea flecked with 2 mins to go that resulted in a 34 yd catch by Robert Woods down at the Dolphins 7 yd line.

 

Did Tyrod Taylor finally throw over 300 yds? Yep Taylor had a marvelous day for 329 and 3 TDs showing great composure leading the team back.

 

Did the Dolphins kicker Andrew Franks make a 55 yard kick to tie the game with seconds left? Yep. The Bills defense allowed Matt freaking Moore to pick them apart past mid field in just 1:14 at the very end.

 

Did Dan Carpenter miss his second FG of the day which would’ve won the game in OT? Oh yea. Despite the offense moving down field in OT to the Phins 27, Carpenter again shanked his 45 yd kick left.

 

Did the Bills defense only have 10 men on the field during Ajayi's backbreaking 57 run into Bills territory in OT? Yep. Two years into his coaching Rex still couldn’t even get the proper number of players on the field.

 

Week 17: at New York Jets 30-10 loss: Rex was dismissed early into week 17 and his reign as coach came to end. Video of his bills painted truck leaving exists as his final exit from the team. As for the Bills they went to NYC in a game before the season many thought could decide a playoff spot. Instead the Jets also crashed and were playing for nothing. Intern head coach Anthony Lynn took the bullets as the team benched Tyrod for salary cap reasons so he didn’t get injured in case they cut him that off season. EJ Manuel started the game and he was generally ineffective which allowed rookie QB Cardale Jones to play. Buffalo got beat 30-10 in a pretty lifeless game which included an all time great special teams blunder by the Bills.  Jets kicker Nick Folk boomed the ball to bounce in the end zone and the Bills returners never recovered the ball. The Jets easily went over and recovered it for a TD thanks to the Bills special teams literally doing nothing and just watching. Jets RB Bilal Powell had a nice day against the Bills with 1 TD and 137 yds. The one true Bills highlight was Lorenzo Alexander getting his 12 sack of the season a new career high. He had a superb year and went to the Pro Bowl.

 

Edited August 10, 2021 by corta765

[Dablitzkrieg]

I can't believe you took the time to write all that.  About 2016...wow

[corta765]

7 minutes ago, Dablitzkrieg said:

I can't believe you took the time to write all that.  About 2016...wow

 

2010 to 2016 was exhausting but we are finally getting to the fun

[Sugar High JA17]

2016 WR group was nasty, Mrbrocode would keep Woods outta them today

 Marquise Goodwin

 Justin Hunter

 Dezmin Lewis

 Brandon Tate

 Sammy Watkins

 Robert Woods

[mushypeaches]

I'm glad that in hindsight I can identify the last season of the drought in 2016 with the bitter end of a long marriage (20 years)

 

It's much more enjoyable to be single, and free to enjoy the Bills every single Sunday, and with the comfort of lots of other crazy friends

 

The growth and success of the last 4 seasons have an extra personal meaning for me

 

But holy crap, those years were a raging tire fire that can't help bring out a little PTSD in even the most well-adjusted fans!

 

Here's to our Super Bowl finally arriving this year!

 

[corta765]

23 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

That dolphins game was brutal… After all they did to come back to take the lead. They actually would’ve made the playoffs had they won that game and the finale against the Jets I believe….. Rex was a disaster. 

 

They would've moved up to 8th if they won the last two, but I am a believer that in the butterfly effect. If Buffalo wins maybe Denver who wouldve take 6th and maybe Houston plays to beat the Titans more who were 7th.

 

Its widely insane that they went 1-5 that season in division with their one win over NE of all teams and the fact they couldn't close vs Miami. 

[corta765]

33 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

That dolphins game was brutal… After all they did to come back to take the lead. They actually would’ve made the playoffs had they won that game and the finale against the Jets I believe….. Rex was a disaster. 

 

It was peak drought Bills and fitting conclusion to the last drought year. Being Xmas Eve we all got to the party early to watch the end and everyone was really excited we might have a shot the next week. Then the team blew it and the party took a noticeably bummer vibe the rest of the night. Carpenter was a really weird kicker, 48 yards + out he never missed, but up close he really was shaky.

[patzen]

I bought two tickets for the last Jets game that year before the season started and they cost a couple hundred each and by the time that game started you could get tickets for 15 bucks a pop. And then we got blasted and had that super embarrassing kickoff gaffe. What a nightmare. It was a very nice day for the time of year though.

[DBilz2500]

52 minutes ago, corta765 said:

 

It was peak drought Bills and fitting conclusion to the last drought year. Being Xmas Eve we all got to the party early to watch the end and everyone was really excited we might have a shot the next week. Then the team blew it and the party took a noticeably bummer vibe the rest of the night. Carpenter was a really weird kicker, 48 yards + out he never missed, but up close he really was shaky.

Even with that win and a win over the jets their playoff hopes were incredibly slim at best. Less than 1% even with win over the dolphins and Jets. Game really in terms of standings and the playoffs didn’t matter

[4_kidd_4]

1 hour ago, ScottLaw said:

 Rex was a disaster. 

 

I appreciate the effort OP, but you could have saved so much time and just posted the above sentence

[corta765]

3 minutes ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

 

I appreciate the effort OP, but you could have saved so much time and just posted the above sentence

lol won't lie 2015 and 2016 all felt like one long season together with Rex 

1 minute ago, ScottLaw said:

This… I still can’t believe there were some here suggesting he wasn’t the problem.

 

I understand people saying guys quit on him or the egos were too big etc.. But imo part of being a good coach is having guys buy in and adjusting to fit their strengths. McD has been a great example of this and the 2017 was case in point to maximizing a roster to its strengths regardless of how limited it is/was

[Patrick Duffy]

Best was moving on from Rex. Wonder who ended up buying that truck with Bills detail he was selling back then? I will say that was a pretty cool damn truck

Edited August 10, 2021 by Sheneneh Jenkins

[Bills fan since 87]

That Cleveland game ended my four your stint as a season ticket holder (29 straight games, the Miami game on x mas eve i couldnt make, went to folks in ADKs).  I remeber it being a wet and miserable day and having a somber feeling on the way back to Rochester.  I've been to many games since but never as a STH.  It was a great run.  I remeber all these games and the days that surrounded them so well.  

 

I cant remeber where I put my keys anymore but a 3rd down play in a Bills game 5 years ago?  No problem!

Edited August 10, 2021 by Bills fan since 87

[Kwai San]

1 hour ago, Sheneneh Jenkins said:

Best was moving on from Rex. Wonder who ended up buying that truck with Bills detail he was selling back then? I will say that was a pretty cool damn truck

 

I always wondered that myself!!!  It WAS an awesome truck!!!

[TheyCallMeAndy]

2016 was my first “burn out” year because of Wrex. The fact he alienated so many key players (Mario Williams) and ruined an elite defense, it’s amazing his replacement dug the team out of that hole relatively quickly.

[Patrick Duffy]

3 minutes ago, Kwai San said:

 

I always wondered that myself!!!  It WAS an awesome truck!!!

Agree. Didn't like Rex, but liked his truck. I remember he was selling it and I would assume the chances are very good that a Bills fan bought it lol

[4_kidd_4]

I think I was mostly mad at myself re: Rex…because I bought it.

 

I bought his schtick and his bluster.  I was actually excited about the hire after so many uninspiring coaches and players had come through here.

 

It didn’t take long to realize that we’d been had.  

 

[JESSEFEFFER]

Imo, the two best Tyrod Taylor games of the season were both losses.  The Seahawks and the Dolphins II.  The critical plays, at least the ones that convinced me that Rex had to go were these:

 

On Dan Carpenters FG attempt Richard Sherman hit him after a whistle blow injuring him. Buffalo then took an illegal formation penalty as Carpenter made his 30 yd kick. Back five yards Carpenter missed his FG after making the prior two and Buffalo still trailed by two scores at 28-17.

 

 

1st & 10 at SEA 35

(0:03 - 2nd) D.Carpenter 53 yard field goal is No Good, Short, Center-G.Sanborn, Holder-C.Schmidt. PENALTY on SEA-R.Sherman, Defensive Offside, 5 yards, enforced at SEA 35 - No Play. Unabated to the kicker. (But the late whistle allowed Sherman to hit Carpenter--legally)

(0:03 - 2nd) Timeout #4 by BUF at 00:03. Trainer came on to the field to attend to #2. Charged 4th? timeout to #2. He has to leave for next play

1st & 5 at SEA 30

(0:03 - 2nd) J.Williams spiked the ball to stop the clock.

2nd & 5 at SEA 30

(0:01 - 2nd) (Field Goal formation) PENALTY on BUF-D.Carpenter, Delay of Game, 5 yards, enforced at SEA 30 - No Play.

2nd & 10 at SEA 35

(0:01 - 2nd) (Field Goal formation) D.Carpenter 54 yard field goal is No Good, Wide Right, Center-G.Sanborn, Holder-C.Schmidt.

 

In the confusion of the Sherman hit on Carpenter (late whistle for unabated) his removal from the game for one play, the need to spike followed by the officials trying to sort out the situation.  They started the play clock and it got down to 8 seconds before the ball was finally marked.  It hit zero for a noticeable period of time before anyone involved with the game noticed, including the refs one of which finally threw the flag.  No one got the play clock reset.  No one on the Bills side noticed this error.  Neither player on the field nor Rex nor someone on his bloated 27 member coaching staff.  A small detail ti which no one paid attention.

 

Did the Bills defense only have 10 men on the field during Ajayi's backbreaking 57 run into Bills territory in OT? Yep. Two years into his coaching Rex still couldn’t even get the proper number of players on the field.  

 

The worst about this sequence was that after the punt, controversial as it was, there was a TV timeout.  So there was an extended amount of time for someone to count to 10.  Another detail that slipped by Rex and staff.

 

 

What was the silver lining in these two events?  I think it made it clear in Terry and Kim's mind that their big splash, "send a message to the league" hire was a mistake.  That he neither paid attention to details, delegated responsibility nor held the right people accountable, thus creating the mindset about the qualities they wanted in their new coach hire:  A leader of men who was obsessed with details, be they important or seemingly trivial. That whole "for want of a nail the kingdom was lost" mentality.   Because of Rex, they had a new appreciation for a HC candidate like Sean.

 

 

Edited August 10, 2021 by JESSEFEFFER

[machine gun kelly]

Corta, 2017.  Anytime bud.  I know I’m a broken record.

 

novel idea.  We talk about good times. Bye- I know you mean we’ll.

[Bills fan since 87]

2 hours ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

I think I was mostly mad at myself re: Rex…because I bought it.

 

I bought his schtick and his bluster.  I was actually excited about the hire after so many uninspiring coaches and players had come through here.

 

It didn’t take long to realize that we’d been had.  

 

 

Ditto.  You weren't alone brother.