How Buffalo Bills Can Salvage Season, Make Most of Remaining Games

After a week spent under snow that might have buried Yao Ming, the Buffalo Bills made it to Detroit and played perhaps their best game of the season. The Bills, for the second time this season, thoroughly dominated the New York Jets and caused Rex Ryan to bench his starting quarterback.

The win moves Buffalo to 6-5 on the season, and while they aren't totally out of the playoff hunt just yet, they need a lot of help to get back into contention. They already lost tiebreakers with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers, so the Bills might need to win four out of their last five to even have a shot at a playoff berth.

Even though the playoffs may be out of reach, there is still much to play for over the last five games. After all, Doug Marrone could very well be coaching for his job. Let's take a look at a few things the Bills can do to keep the season from turning into a complete disaster.

Just Win, Baby

As we mentioned, the Bills are clinging to only a sliver of playoff hope. But just like Lloyd Christmas, they aren't completely out of it.

The Bills can keep their head above water with a win Sunday against the 7-4 Cleveland Browns. Amazingly, Ralph Wilson Stadium will be ready, as Buffalo Bills president Russ Brandon noted in Tuesday's press conference, so the Bills will be able to return home to face the Browns (kudos to the Bills' staff on getting the stadium game-ready so quickly).

Should the Bills beat the Cleveland Browns, both teams will move to 7-5, and the Bills would naturally own a tiebreaker over Cleveland. But despite how dominant the Bills looked Monday against the Jets, beating the Browns won't be easy. Mike Pettine, Browns head coach and former Bills defensive coordinator, knows the Bills' personnel well. It's likely Pettine will have his new team plenty prepared to face his old squad.

After the Browns, the December schedule for the Bills (at DEN, vs. GB, at OAK, at NE) looks daunting. But the Denver Broncos have looked vulnerable the past couple weeks, and if the Bills defensive line attacks Peyton Manning as it has every other quarterback this year, anything could happen.

Aaron Rodgers is having an Aaron Rodgers-in-Madden season (30 TDs, three picks), so he could be too much for the Bills to handle. But the 1-10 Oakland Raiders are certainly beatable.

And that leaves Week 17. The Bills are at New England, the cruel older brother of the AFC East who never gives the younger brothers a chance. The Patriots have looked like the best team in the NFL since everyone left them for dead after their loss to the Chiefs. 

But by Week 17, the Patriots could very well have home field locked up throughout the AFC playoffs. The only reason they would have to play their starters in the last game is to spite the Bills. Should the Patriots rest their stars, an expected loss could turn into a win for Buffalo.

And if the Bills, with a chance to get into the playoffs, can't beat Jimmy Garoppolo, then they don't deserve a postseason berth.

Of course, a loss to the Browns extinguishes any of that one-in-a-million talk Lloyd was clinging to in Dumb and Dumber. There's no way the Bills would be able to battle back from 6-6 and pass three teams ahead of them that own tiebreakers. But if they can piece together a few wins down the stretch, the Bills can make things interesting.

Figure out Offensive Line

Even though this is the most talented team the Bills have fielded in quite some time, they still have one major weakness: the offensive line. While it has held up better lately (four sacks allowed over the last three games, per ESPN.com), it's still a liability in the run game.

Some of the issues, however, could be scheme-related instead of a talent deficiency. Chris Trapasso of NFL.com broke it down after Monday's win over the Jets.

A perfect example of this came on Boobie Dixon's 30-yard touchdown run against the Jets. 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

This is a textbook power run, and the entire left side of the Bills offensive line pushed the Jets four yards off the ball. Considering all of the humanity the Bills have up front, a switch to a predominantly power-based run game may be more effective for them.

This kind of rushing attack is also beneficial considering the Bills' current running back personnel. Dixon is definitely more of a power back, and Fred Jackson can also get it done between the tackles. Bryce Brown is a nice change-of-pace back, but Jackson and Dixon are likely to get most of the snaps the rest of the way.

When (if) C.J. Spiller returns for the Bills, maybe then they can work in some more zone runs or runs to the outside. But until then the Bills coaches need to figure out how to best use the talent they have up front.

Give EJ Manuel Some Time

That is not to say the Bills need to immediately bench Kyle Orton. As long as they are in the mix for a playoff spot, Orton should be the starter.

But if the Bills are out of contention down the stretch, it couldn't hurt to give EJ Manuel some more playing time. 

Yes, Manuel's performance at the beginning of the season was anything but stellar. He deserved to get benched, and Orton's promotion is the main reason the Bills are still alive in the playoff race. 

But the 32-year-old Orton is not the quarterback of the future for the Bills. Manuel still could be. Manuel's main struggle early on was his accuracy. That's something that can be fixed with experience and an increased familiarity with his receivers.

And Manuel was never intended to start right away in the first place. When the Bills drafted him, Kevin Kolb was on the roster to start and give Manuel some veteran guidance. Then Kolb suffered a career-ending concussion, and Manuel was thrust into the starting role. 

Why the Bills didn't look for another veteran Band-Aid until they signed Orton is a reasonable question. But Manuel was given a pretty short leash for someone who wasn't as bad as the rookie starters this season (Trapasso did a great job of breaking down the Manuel situation here).

Again, Manuel has only started 14 games in his career. That doesn't seem like enough time to know for sure the Bills need to explore other options under center. 

If the Bills find themselves playing games late in the season that won't get them to the playoffs, it may not be the worst thing to give the ball back to Manuel and get him some more live-game experience.