Bills at Dolphins: Buffalo Grades, Notes & Quotes

Tyrod Taylor threw for 277 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions; Karlos Williams ran for 112 yards; and the Buffalo Bills got exactly what they needed on Sunday afternoon, demolishing Ryan Tannehill and the Miami Dolphins 41-14 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. 

One week removed from a dispiriting home loss against division leader New England, Buffalo (2-1) responded with its biggest margin of victory since last November. The Bills improved on last week’s performance in virtually every respect, and—helped by the New York Jets’ loss against Philadelphia—treaded water in the AFC East. 

In his first road start, Taylor posted a sparkling 136.7 passer rating. He repeatedly and methodically marched Buffalo down the field, picking apart a depleted Miami defense and displaying the sort of consistency head coach Rex Ryan hoped for when he placed Taylor atop the team’s depth chart. 

Running back Williams, meanwhile, rode a dominant offensive line on his way to more than nine yards per carry and a touchdown, offering a welcome burst of energy as fellow back LeSean McCoy labored his way to 16 yards on 11 carries. Meanwhile tight end Charles Clay posted a season-high 82 yards on five catches, helping his team overcome a first-quarter injury to wideout Sammy Watkins.

Buffalo’s defense, led by middle linebacker Preston Brown, suffocated Miami quarterback Tannehill, sacking him twice and forcing three picks. Brown finished with two interceptions, one of which he returned for a score, and the Bills managed to keep Miami off the scoreboard despite allowing some 400 yards of offense. 

Buffalo hosts the 1-2 New York Giants next week before games against Tennessee and Cincinnati. Given the Titans’ and Bengals’ performance this week, and given New England’s thus far unstoppable offense, the next two weeks will prove critical to the Bills’ playoff hopes. But this week, Bills fans can breathe easy, having held steady at second place in the competitive AFC East. 

Positional Grades

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Buffalo TE Charles Clay

Position	Grade:
QB	A
RB	A-
WR	B
TE	A-
OL	A
DL	B+
LB	A-
S/CB	A-
Coaching	B+

Two particular notes of interest here. 

First, Buffalo can use all the Charles Clay they can get. Clay was instrumental in the Bills’ opening drive, which began with consecutive completions to Clay (nine and 24 yards, respectively) and ended with a touchdown. After Clay added a 12-yard reception on Buffalo’s second possession, he repeatedly drew Miami’s defensive attention, opening downfield gaps for wideout Percy Harvin and helping create holes for Williams.

It helped that Miami appeared off-guard at Clay’s emergence. Evidently, after posting just 62 yards in his first two games, Clay wasn’t high on the Dolphins’ priority list; he was noticeably open several times during the first quarter, and Miami’s D appeared far more focused on bottling up McCoy and Watkins. 

Second, the Bills secondary came out with a vengeance. Bacarri Rambo, a safety starting in place of the concussed Aaron Williams, finished with seven tackles and one hit on Tannehill; fellow safety Corey Graham led the team with 12 tackles, and cornerback Ronald Darby added five tackles and an interception on four passes defended. Given Buffalo’s somewhat lackadaisical performance in the secondary last week, and given Aaron Williams’ absence, it was an entirely encouraging performance.

Incidentally, linebacker Brown accounted for two of Buffalo’s three picks. Not only did Brown fill up the stat sheet—he finished with seven tackles—but, from a watching-the-game-live perspective, he appeared to be everywhere at once. The Bills defense has been highly touted for the past two years; if Brown can continue to involve himself in every play, as he seemed to do on Sunday, it will offer a huge boost to his teammates on the defensive line. 

Game Note 1: Penalties

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Buffalo MLB Preston Brown

Penalties! I wrote several times in the past week about Buffalo’s struggle for consistent legality, and they improved dramatically on Sunday. 

In Week 1, against the Colts, Buffalo surrendered 113 yards on penalties. The Bills won that game, but in general, handing 113 yards to the other team—especially a team led by Andrew Luck—is not a good strategy. Things worsened last week, when the Bills were penalized 14 times for 140 yards.

This week, the Bills finished with four penalties for a combined 34 yards. One call negated a Jerry Hughes strip sack, and a declined holding call on tackle Cordy Glenn would have cost a further 10 yards. But the game was never especially close, and no major offensive gains were brought back by penalty calls.

It’s fair to argue Miami is substantially less talented than New England and Indianapolis. Perhaps Buffalo’s affinity for yellow flags only manifests itself against top-tier competition. And Hughes’ sack, in other circumstances, could have been a vital play in the game. But this was a division foe, in a near-must-win game, and the Bills gave up essentially no meaningful yards for free. It was a good sign. 

Game Note 2: Injuries

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Buffalo WR Sammy Watkins

Buffalo has already experienced its share of injuries. McCoy, Harvin, wideout Robert Woods, Aaron Williams and running back Boobie Dixon, along with a handful of other Bills players, have all battled health issues since the preseason. Those issues reared their head again Sunday, when Watkins left the game after suffering a calf injury in the first quarter.

At the time, Watkins had one catch for 39 yards. Those 39 yards represent more than 50% of Watkins’ total yardage this season, as he had hauled in just six passes for 60 yards on the season entering Sunday’s game. 

It’s a worrisome incident for the Bills. Harvin has been quite good in 2015, Taylor has looked more and more comfortable, and Karlos Williams appears near a breakthrough. But Watkins was a popular choice to break out this season, and, in terms of physical tools alone, he may be the team’s most versatile wideout. While his statistical performance in Weeks 1 and 2 may have left a fair amount to be desired, he also routinely draws the opposing team’s top cornerback, and his value in that respect should not be misunderstood. It’s not unfair to say the attention paid to Watkins has freed things up for Harvin, Clay & Co. 

One final note: McCoy’s health bears watching. He has not yet showed the flashes of brilliance that made him one of the league’s top backs last year, appearing at times tentative and unfamiliar with his offensive scheme. His raw talent is undoubtable, but Williams is quickly making a case to be the team’s top back, and McCoy—who sat out of practice on Wednesday—has struggled to stay healthy this year. 

It’s unlikely McCoy will ever not be a part of Buffalo’s offense: he’s too talented and too versatile, even in the passing game, to keep him out of the loop. But if he can’t stay healthy, Buffalo fans better hope Karlos Williams can keep up his quick start. 

Quote of the Day: Rex Ryan

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Buffalo QB Tyrod Taylor

Buffalo’s preseason was highlighted by a feisty competition for the starting quarterback job, as Taylor beat out E.J. Manuel and the now-traded Matt Cassel for the No. 1 gig. That move appears to be paying off. And, as ESPN’s Mike Rodak reported on Twitter, Bills coach Rex Ryan knows it. 

“The kid is legit,” Ryan said, speaking to reporters after the game. “We know he is legit. When the protection holds up, he can burn you.”

Taylor finished 21-for-29 on Sunday, with the aforementioned 277 yards and three touchdowns. For the third straight week in his still-nascent Buffalo career, Taylor posted a completion percentage over 70% (he finished at 72.4% this week), as Ryan and offensive coordinator Greg Roman returned to Taylor’s Week 1 strategy of shorter, low-risk darts for most of the game. 

Taylor threw three interceptions last week against New England. Given the Patriots’ 51-point outburst in Jacksonville on Sunday, the AFC East is still New England’s division to lose, so it’s reasonable to say Taylor needs to improve if Buffalo hopes to make the playoffs. But in general, Taylor has played last year’s two best AFC teams in three games, and he has three picks in three games. It’s not great, but it’s pretty darn good. 

Factor in Taylor’s running ability—32 yards per game thus far in 2015—and high completion percentage, and Buffalo fans should frankly be psyched at his potential.