Crushing End to the Bills' Season Proves QB Is Priority No. 1

It's been a long time since the Buffalo Bills have played a meaningful game in December, but if they want to play meaningful games in January anytime soon, they will need a dramatic upgrade at quarterback.

That's been clear for a while now, but never clearer than it was on Sunday in the Bills' 26-24 loss to the Oakland Raiders. Quarterback Kyle Orton was 32-of-49 passing (65.3 percent) for 329 yards (6.7 yards per pass attempt) with three touchdowns, two interceptions and an 87.9 passer rating.

All three of his touchdown passes went for 29 yards or more, yet he finished with a meager 6.7 YPA, which is exactly his average on the season and ranks 29th out of 32 quarterbacks. Sure, he can deliver the goods in ideal situations when the pocket forms perfectly at his feet, but when it doesn't, he turns into the second coming of Captain Checkdown Trent Edwards.

Weeks	Games	Comp %	YPA	TD	INT	Rate
5-10	5	65.6%	7.3	10	3	98.4
11-16	6	62.6%	6.2	7	7	77.5

Certainly not the brick and mortar for the foundation of a successful franchise.

But as usual with Orton, the numbers don't tell the whole story. 

For the most part, it seemed 21 other players were doing their jobs. The Bills defense continually held the Raiders to field goals, but punt after punt and pick after pick proved to be too much for them to handle en route to yielding 26 points, the most they've allowed in a game since yielding 37 points to the Patriots way back on October 12.

It looked like Orton would be part of the solution and not the problem, for once. The Bills marched downfield on their first possession of the game, going 60 yards in 4:20 to score the game's first touchdown on a 42-yard dart from Orton to rookie sensation Sammy Watkins.

Then the ugly started. Orton was intercepted by Raiders defensive back Charles Woodson, and then the Bills went three-and-out on their next five possessions before finally scoring a field goal on the last drive of the first half. 

The Bills even had the ball to start the second half, with a chance for a double-score that could have put them in the driver's seat, but they went three-and-out again after Orton hit C.J. Spiller for five yards, Robert Woods for minus-one yard and then was sacked on third down.

But even despite the limitations Orton presents to the offense, Bills head coach Doug Marrone isn't ready to move back to second-year signal-caller EJ Manuel just yet.

"I'm just going to try to win every game I play," Marrone said after the game, per Matthew Fairburn of Syracuse.com. "I'll look at the film, see what we have to do and play who gives us the best chance to win next week."

The longer Orton is the answer to the question "who gives us the best chance to win next week," the longer the Bills can expect to be on the outside looking in come playoff time. 

NFL Game Rewind

The offense cannot be expected to reach its full potential if Orton continues making throws like his first-quarter interception to Woodson (circled in red). The problem is, Orton has been making throws like this the entirety of his 10-year career.

He was looking for Scott Chandler (circled in yellow) on the seam route against the Raiders' Cover 2 zone defense. There were about three other places he could have fit this pass that would have prevented it from being intercepted. A throw to Chandler's back shoulder would have been a tough catch for him (black arrow), but doable nonetheless, and there would have been virtually no chance of an interception.

He even may have had an opportunity to throw it to wide receiver Chris Hogan (circled in black), who had just come open on the corner route down the right sideline.

Instead, he put it in just about the only spot where Woodson could make a play on it. 

There are only 10 or so quarterbacks in the NFL who can elevate the players around him, but Orton is certainly not one of them. 

Even when he makes plays for his team, it's often because everything went right.

NFL Game Rewind

Orton had time to throw on each of his three touchdown passes. On the third (third frame), he scrambled out of the pocket only after reading the defense for more than four seconds.

NFL Game Rewind

His receivers also made great plays on each of the touchdown passes (left to right): Watkins adjusting to the ball in-flight, Chandler breaking tackles and Woods extending a play while Orton scrambled.

A quarterback won't get a pocket this clean every time he drops back in the NFL. He must be able to bring calm to the chaos, and there will be lots of chaos behind a Bills offensive line that is also in need of some upgrades.

The Bills have top-notch skill position talent, but those players will come on and off the field; the offensive linemen and the quarterback will be on the field every snap. Those are the positions that need to be the strongest in the offense, and they are the weakest perhaps on the entire roster.

General manager Doug Whaley and his staff may have to get creative in order for the Bills to address the quarterback position this offseason. They do not have a first-round pick this year after trading it away to grab Watkins No. 4 overall.

There are also slim pickings on the free-agent market. Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker, Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer, Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett, New York Jets quarterback Michael Vick and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez are the only soon-to-be free agents with starting experience. Whether any of those players would be an upgrade over Orton is up for debate.

Player	Gms	Comp	Att	Comp%	Yds	YPA	TD	INT	Rate	Deep Acc %
Kyle Orton	11	271	424	63.9%	2842	6.7	17	10	86.8	33.3%
Jay Cutler	14	347	525	66.1%	3640	6.9	28	18	89.5	33.9%

Who knows if any quarterbacks will be available via trade, but that's another avenue they could explore. Perhaps the Chicago Bears will be in the market to trade Jay Cutler, though he may not be a dramatic improvement over Orton.

But the Bills have already given up a huge piece in their 2015 first-round pick. They don't have a lot else to give right now in the way of draft picks, so they may have to dig into their talent pool if they are to move forward with a trade. 

And if the Bills are going to further mortgage the draft for a quarterback, he should hopefully be better than Cutler. 

Either way, the Bills have to make an improvement at quarterback this offseason. There's simply too much talent on both sides of the ball going to waste while the Bills search for their quarterback.