Rex Ryan, Bills Send Message to AFC: They're Just Getting Started

In just one game, Rex Ryan proved he still knows how to build a great team in his image, and he was right to make Tyrod Taylor his quarterback.

Taylor was efficient, effective and mistake-free in his first game as a starting quarterback. Most impressively, he didn't just rely on the swarming Buffalo Bills defense and lunch-bucket run game to get a lead and keep it; he came out firing and making big plays. Percy Harvin, possibly on his last NFL legs, reminded us all of why teams keep bothering to give him chances.

On the other side of the ball, the Bills defense didn't just pick up where it left off; it took a big step forward—maybe two or three steps forward. Last year's fourth-best scoring defense held the high-powered Colts offense scoreless through the first 44 minutes of action.

As NFL Media's Field Yates pointed out on Twitter, the Bills have gotten the better of the last three top-tier quarterbacks they've faced:

Sure, it's only one game. It's true; there are 15 more to play in the 2015 regular season. No doubt, the volatile Ryan and his band of volatile castoffs have a lot of football to play between now and January—but with this all-phases demolition of the favored Indianapolis Colts, the Bills have cemented their place in the AFC title conversation.

Taylor's first throw was to the first of his new weapons: LeSean McCoy, the high-priced tailback acquired from Philadelphia in the offseason's wildest trade. McCoy, all alone on the back side of the play, zipped for a 20-yard gain. The Bills didn't get points on that drive, but they didn't need to.

Andrew Luck's first three drives resulted in a punt, a three-and-out and a beautiful pick by rookie cornerback Ronald Darby. Taylor mostly dinked and dunked in response, but just before the end of the first quarter, he gripped it and ripped it:

The 51-yard aerial strike was exactly that: a dime dropped in the end zone from the far side of the 50-yard line. Harvin, with two steps on his man, just needed to get underneath it to get on the scoreboard.

Luck struggled to get the vertical game going against the Bills' pass rush and secondary; the Colts filled the box score with penalties and punts as the Bills extended their lead to 10. When Adam Vinatieri missed a 44-yard field late in the second quarter, it felt like absolutely nothing was going to break the Colts' way.

That was underscored on the following drive, when Taylor tucked it and raced through the Colts' back seven for a 31-yard gain. Two plays later, tailback Karlos Williams plunged into the teeth of the Colts defensive front and popped back out the other side, churning for 15 yards and a score.

Down by 17 and in a free fall, Luck and the Colts took a knee to take it into halftime.

In the second half, the Bills offense wasn't prolific, but it didn't need to be. With the defense stopping drives and getting turnovers, Taylor and the Bills were able to set the cruise control and stay ahead of the Colts.

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

In the end, of course, it's just one win. But the Colts are serious Super Bowl contenders—Odds Shark has the Colts tied with the Philadelphia Eagles as the third-most likely team to win it all—and the Bills just punched them in the mouth.

The offensive line was explosive, physical and brutal; per NFL.com's play-by-play, it was flagged for holding or chop blocks five times. When it wasn't getting called for going over the line, it opened up holes in the Colts' defensive line: 36 rushes by the Bills offense netted 147 ground yards, a healthy 4.1 yards-per-carry average.

That's exactly the kind of nasty ground attack Ryan had when he was coaching downstate teams to conference title games.

Taylor more than vindicated the decision to start him, making the kind of explosive plays Matt Cassel can't while avoiding the kind of mistakes you worry about when starting a young, unproven athletic quarterback.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The defense, incredibly, isn't even at its best.

Marcell Dareus, the Bills' first-team All-Pro defensive tackle who just signed an enormous six-year contract extension, was suspended for this game. Top cornerback Leodis McKelvin is on the reserve/non-football injury list; he'll rejoin the team sometime after October 13. That the Bills just dismantled what might be the AFC's best offense without two of their best defenders should flat-out terrify the rest of the conference.

This performance was surprising but not shocking. The result of combining Ryan's defensive mojo with this incredible talent was always going to be awesome. The question is, can they keep it up?

Ryan—who's said he wants to build a bully in Buffalo—has assembled a cast of volatile personalities and unpredictable characters (including the coaches). His New York Jets had a tendency to implode, especially when the offense let the defense down. Taylor won't always make huge plays without making mistakes. The pugnacious offensive line's performance won't always be worth all the penalties.

Next week the New England Patriots come to town. The defense will have to be at its very best to give Taylor and the offense a chance to keep up with Tom Brady and company—and if the Bills can start off with an improbable 2-0 against the AFC's reigning finalists, they'll be in the driver's seat the rest of the way out.

Ryan is not sweating the tough matchup, according to Joe Buscaglia of WKBW in Buffalo:

To win in January, the Bills will have to be physically and mentally tougher than the AFC's best. No matter how big the wins are in September, the doubts about whether Ryan and the Bills can accomplish that will remain, and remain valid, until they do.

What Sunday's performance has made increasingly clear is: They'll at least have a chance to prove their playoff mettle.