Bills at Jaguars: Buffalo Grades, Notes and Quotes
It may be panic time for Buffalo.
Quarterback EJ Manuel, starting in place of the injured Tyrod Taylor, was sacked four times, threw two interceptions and fumbled twice, and the Buffalo Bills fell 34-31 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
The Jaguars (2-5) took advantage of numerous Buffalo miscues, jumping out to a 27-3 first-half lead and riding T.J. Yeldon for most of the game. He finished with 115 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, while Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles finished just 13-of-29 for 182 yards and a late touchdown that put the clamps on a last-ditch Buffalo rally.
The Bills, to their credit, did not quit. Manuel finally found something of a rhythm, and Buffalo’s spirited comeback effort eventually erased the 24-point deficit, as a fourth-quarter pick-six from safety Corey Graham handed Buffalo a 31-27 lead with 5:21 remaining in the game.
But Bortles found Allen Hurns for a 31-yard score with 2:16 remaining, and Buffalo was unable to muster a last-chance field goal.
Buffalo enters its bye week on the heels of consecutive losses, and this week’s performance is especially discouraging. Jacksonville was one of the league’s worst teams last year and had struggled to a 1-5 record before this game. But the Jaguars capitalized on poor coaching and poor decision-making on Buffalo’s side, and the Bills now enter a three-game stretch against AFC East rivals Miami, the New York Jets and New England.
The Bills’ playoff hopes are quickly fading. Of course, victories over the Dolphins and Jets would put them right back in the wild-card mix. But a toxic combination of turnovers, mental mistakes, injuries and penalties continues to dog Buffalo, and while the team's no-quit attitude on Sunday deserves admiration, it was a disappointing way to enter a bye week.
Positional Grades
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| Position | Grade |
| QB | C+ |
| RB | B- |
| WR | B+ |
| TE | C |
| OL | C |
| DL | C+ |
| Linebackers | B- |
| Secondary | B+ |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | C |
Two groups to highlight here:
First, wideouts Robert Woods and Chris Hogan combined for 140 of the team’s 260 passing yards. It was easily the best game of the year for both players.
Woods, especially, ought to become a greater part of Buffalo’s offense as the team moves forward. He appeared at times to be the only player on the field in sync with Manuel, and his 16-yard touchdown reception with 2:46 left in the first half was a critical boost.
Woods is a broadly respected player whose targets have declined in favor of wideouts Sammy Watkins and Percy Harvin, neither of whom played Sunday. It is unclear when and if that pair will return—both Harvin and Watkins have battled injuries since the preseason—but either way, the Bills should incorporate Woods much, much more.
He entered Sunday’s game averaging fewer than four targets per game; that number should be more like six per game.
Second, Buffalo’s defensive line is becoming an issue. The highly paid, highly regarded group managed just three hits on Jacksonville’s Bortles this week, after managing just one hit on Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton last week. In fact, in Buffalo’s losses this year, the defensive line has averaged fewer than three quarterback hits per game.
Buffalo’s defensive line is arguably the most disappointing unit. Not only are they failing to sack, hit and pressure opposing quarterbacks, but Marcell Dareus and Co. are struggling to wrap up even lesser running attacks. Jacksonville’s Yeldon averaged nearly six yards per carry and repeatedly gashed Buffalo for big first- and second-down gains.
Game Note 1: Penalties, Yet Again
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At this point, it may be beating a dead horse to criticize the Bills for penalties. But the problem continues to cost them games.
Last week, Buffalo was flagged eight times for 93 yards in a 34-21 loss to Cincinnati. This week, the Bills were penalized 10 times for 87 yards. And as with last week, the violations against Jacksonville had direct, tangible effects on the game, especially in the fourth quarter.
With 12:25 left in the game, a false start on Buffalo’s Kraig Urbik negated Manuel’s sneak attempt. That penalty was ultimately erased by a subsequent flag on the Jaguars, but it turned a 1st-and-10 into a 3rd-and-seven. Then, after LeSean McCoy fumbled inside the Jacksonville 5-yard line, a blocking violation on Robert Woods gave Bortles 15 yards of breathing room.
Perhaps most critically, a pass-interference call on cornerback Nickell Robey turned what would have been a 4th-and-long for the Jaguars into a first down. Bortles and Co. capitalized on the second chance, eventually scoring the game-winning touchdown.
This was just the fourth quarter! Buffalo’s biggest problem was turnovers—more on that in a minute—but the yellow flags just keep coming back to hurt Buffalo.
Game Note 2: Turnovers and Slow Starts
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Buffalo’s opening drive last week resulted in a touchdown, and the Bills managed a respectable 14 first-half points against the Bengals. But this week, Buffalo reverted to its early-season form, when it consistently struggled to put first-half points on the scoreboard.
Slow starts are killing the Bills. The plethora of injuries to key players doesn’t help, but the Bills didn’t make things any easier on themselves against the Jaguars. Consider this: In its first six possessions, Buffalo managed just 26 plays, 45 yards, three points and an astonishing three turnovers, two of which Jacksonville returned for touchdowns.
It was by far Buffalo’s worst performance of the year, turnovers-wise. The Bills finished with four turnovers, after entering the game with seven.
At this point, themes have begun to emerge for Buffalo. It’s difficult to overstate the importance of injuries, which diminish productivity while causing general uncertainty in regard to week-to-week game plans. But these slow starts, turnovers and penalties are repeated, self-inflicted wounds, and they bear the brunt of the burden for Buffalo’s so-so start.
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Quote of the Day: Rex Ryan
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“This is an extremely painful loss. To have the courage to battle back, devastating loss to say the least.”
That was Buffalo head coach Rex Ryan after the game, per WKBW Bills beat writer Joe Buscaglia. And that about sums it up.
On the positive side, Buffalo’s first-half turnovers were anomalous. That won’t continue. The team is missing boatloads of key, injured players. And the Bills came back to take a 31-27 lead after trailing 27-3. All of these are good things.
The Bills did show “courage.”
But this team entered 2015 with legitimate playoff hopes. Pyrrhic victories aren’t going to cut it. Buffalo lost to Jacksonville and now plays three division rivals in a row, two of whom are among the league’s top teams and one of whom (New England) has already dismantled Buffalo this year.
It’s premature to count Buffalo out of the playoff hunt. But we’re nearing that point. Hopefully, a productive bye week will leave more players healthy and give the Bills a much-needed opportunity to clean up their penalty and defensive line issues.
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