Buffalo Bills vs. Chicago Bears: Full Report Card Grades for Buffalo
For the first time since 2011, the Buffalo Bills were able to win a season opener on the road with a 23-20 victory over the Chicago Bears in overtime.
It certainly wasn't easy, as the Bills jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead before allowing Chicago to score 10 unanswered points to tie it at 17-17. Both teams kicked a field goal in the final five minutes in the game to send it to overtime.
The overtime was a team effort, as the Bills defense locked down the Bears offense on the first drive and forced it to punt.
Once the offense got the ball, it didn't look back, as the run game took over by picking up 57 yards on the final drive.
While it is only one game, there were a number of positives that can be taken from it. The biggest is the resilience of this team, particularly after the Bears were able to tie it up in the third quarter. The Bills were able to keep it together and grind out a win.
The fact that they were able to do this on the road, which is something they've struggled with recently, makes it that much better.
The win was a great way for the Bills to start their season and is something they should be able to build on going forward. The following slides contain grades for each position group and how they performed against Chicago on Sunday.
Quarterback
1 of 10
EJ Manuel entered this game after a week of answering questions concerning why he wasn't named captain and what he thought about newly acquired quarterback Kyle Orton.
ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted before the game that Manuel was already on the hot seat and the Bills won't hesitate to turn to Orton.
This is not exactly a recipe for success for a young quarterback.
Manuel responded extremely well despite all the reports and actually played well. He finished the game completing 16 of 22 passes for 179 yards, two touchdowns (one passing and one rushing) and one interception. More important was the fact that he took chances down the field, completing passes of 30, 25 and 20 yards.
This is what the Bills will need from Manuel going forward for this team to be successful. He needs to pose some kind of threat in the passing game to allow the running game to thrive.
At the very least, Manuel quieted the Orton talk for at least one week.
Grade: B+
Running Back
2 of 10
The Bills offense had a balanced rushing attack, with all three running backs (C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson and Anthony Dixon) running for 50 or more yards.
Looking at the rushing attempts, Spiller is the featured back, receiving 15 carries compared to the 12 split between Jackson and Dixon. Spiller also caught the lone touchdown pass from Manuel that put the Bills up 17-7 in the second quarter.
At the end of the day, Jackson had the most memorable run of the day, which came in overtime and can be seen here. The 38-yard run was exactly what the Bills needed to set up the game-winning field goal.
The surprise of the game, though, may have been the play of Dixon.
When the Bills signed him, the thought was he had been brought in due to his special teams play and ability as a short-yardage or goal-line back. However, Dixon has looked explosive with the ball in Week 1, with his 47-yard scamper being Buffalo's longest run of the day.
He could factor more into this offense than first thought.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Manuel spread the ball around pretty effectively against the Bears, completing passes to six different wide receivers.
The one wide receiver that stood out most was second-year pro Robert Woods, who finished the day with four receptions for 78 yards. There were a couple of times when Manuel would have a throw that was off target, making Woods susceptible to a big hit, but he still went up and brought those catches down.
The player most fans were excited to see, though, was Sammy Watkins. The rookie didn't have any memorable plays, but finished the day with three receptions for 31 yards on four targets.
As the weeks go by in this season, the hope is that he will become more involved in the game plan.
Now that Manuel has all these added weapons at wide receiver, Scott Chandler may not be involved in the passing game as much anymore, with no catches and only one target on Sunday.
Last year, Chandler led the Bills in receptions and yards and had at least three or more targets per game. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues over the next few weeks as the offense transitions to relying on the wide receivers and not so much the tight end position.
Grade: B+
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Entering this game, I was certainly concerned with how the offensive line was going to play. Due to all the injuries and moving players around, this was the first time this group of five had played together in a game.
To make matters worse, it was going up against a group of solid pass-rushers that included Jared Allen, Willie Young and Lamarr Houston.
At the end of the day, though, this group did a pretty good job in pass protection—more so than run protection. It was able to keep EJ Manuel upright and protected in the pocket for the majority of the game.
Manuel was only sacked once, when Willie Young beat Seantrel Henderson off the right side, and took two QB hits.
The run protection was very hit-or-miss for the Bills' offensive line. While it opened huge holes at times, like on the Dixon run at the end of the first half, there were other times when it struggled against the Bears' defensive line.
As the players get more time together and gain some familiarity with each other, I would expect that this will improve. This was a good first start for this group.
Grade: B-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The defensive line had an underwhelming day against the Bears, but defensive tackle Kyle Williams had arguably the play of the day.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Bears were driving and had reached the Bills' 34-yard line. It was 3rd-and-1 when Williams stepped in front of a pass intended for Martellus Bennett and picked off Jay Cutler for the Bills defense's third turnover of the day.
The Bills offense was able to get three points off this turnover, which was a key turning point in the game.
Aside from this play and a sack by Mario Williams early in the game, the defensive line was kept in check. For a majority of the game, Jay Cutler had plenty of time in the pocket to find the open receiver.
It wasn't a terrible game, but this group didn't stand out either.
Grade: C+
Linebacker
6 of 10
The Bills defense had the bend-but-don't-break mentality for the majority of the game, and the linebacker group was very much a factor in this.
Matt Forte had a field day against this unit, racking up 169 yards from scrimmage. Meanwhile, tight end Martellus Bennett finished the day with eight receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown.
This was due to Buffalo's group of linebackers mightily struggling in pass coverage almost right from the start, when Bennett scored the opening touchdown thanks to rookie Preston Brown tripping in coverage. However, when the team needed a play, the linebackers found a way to step up.
The rookie linebacker, filling in for Nigel Bradham who was out due to a suspension, recovered the fumble caused by Leodis McKelvin early in the second quarter. Brown finished the day as the team's second-leading tackler with seven.
The big name in this group, Brandon Spikes, struggled in pass coverage too, but also made plays when needed. He finished the day with six tackles and a sack on Cutler.
Grade: C-
Secondary
7 of 10
The Bills' secondary is probably the hardest grade to give because it was extremely inconsistent for most of the game. It seemed like Cutler could move the ball through the air almost at will, throwing for 349 yards and two touchdowns.
However, this group made stops when it needed to and forced two turnovers, with a forced fumble by Leodis McKelvin and an interception by Corey Graham.
If there was a defensive MVP, I would pick Graham, who had an impressive game filling in for an injured Stephon Gilmore.
He finished the game with an interception and three passes defended. Two of those passes came on the Bears' final two plays on their last drive of regulation, forcing them to kick a field goal that tied the game at 20.
If I looked strictly at Cutler's stat line, the secondary would finish with an "F." The turnovers and late-game play of Graham had a big impact on this game, so they will finish with a slightly higher grade.
Grade: C-
Special Teams
8 of 10
The special teams unit played much better than a season ago, thanks in large part to new punter Colton Schmidt. He was cut by the 49ers after the preseason and the Bills wasted no time picking him up.
In his first game as a Bill, he had five punts, with four of them landing inside the Chicago 20-yard line. He finished the day averaging 43 yards per punt. This was a huge improvement over Brian Moorman, who struggled in preseason to put any distance on his punts.
Dan Carpenter was also a key in the Bills' victory, connecting on all three of his field-goal attempts and even kicking a 50-yarder in the second quarter.
The only hiccup with this group was a fumbled punt by Fred Jackson, although he was able to recover it.
Grade: A
Coaching
9 of 10
In the week leading up to this game, many wondered if the pressure of being a head coach was getting to Doug Marrone. CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora reported on Friday that he had engaged in a "shouting match" with front office executives.
Having to answer these types of questions could have caused a distraction leading up to the Bears game.
In the end, he handled it well and had a solid game plan that eventually was able to get the team its first win of the season. The one concern, and this had become a concern last year, was that the Bills seem to struggle making halftime adjustments.
In the first half, they were able to score 17 points. In the second half and overtime, they were only able to muster six points. Buffalo's first three drives to start the second half ended in an interception and two punts.
If the Bills hope to win on a consistent basis, the coaching staff will need to get better at making halftime adjustments.
Grade: B-
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Position | Grade |
|---|---|
| Quarterback | B+ |
| Running Back | B |
| Wide Receiver and Tight End | B+ |
| Offensive Line | B- |
| Defensive Line | C+ |
| Linebackers | C- |
| Secondary | C- |
| Special Teams | A |
| Coaching | B- |
| Final Grade | B- |
This game wasn't pretty, and the Bills still have a lot of work to do before their next game. The defense looked shaky, and if it hadn't been for three turnovers, this game could have had a much different outcome.
The team should get two of its starters (Nigel Bradham and Stephon Gilmore) back next week, which should be a boost for this unit.
Offensively, the Bills looked much better than they did at any point during the preseason, and this game should give them confidence that they can score points and be effective.
At the end of the day, the Bills did exactly what they had to do to get a win on the road against a quality team. They showed resiliency when they saw their lead disappear and played well when the game was on the line.
These are all positives that they can build on for their home opener against Miami next week.
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