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Week 14: Not Enough Firepower To Pull Off Upset
Defense keeps the Bills in it but Offense wakes up way too late.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:
Kyle Orton made a boneheaded play on a 3rd and 1 early in the 2nd quarter when he slid down for a one yard sack when he had a chance to dive forward for a first down. The Bills were forced to settle for a field goal. He kept checking down to the short passes before throwing downfield a lot in the fourth quarter in garbage time.
Grade D: Stats are meaningless as he threw 57 passes for 355 yards almost all in garbage time.
Running Backs:
Fred Jackson was the workhorse he had only eight runs but 10 catches for a combined 72 yards from scrimmage.
Bryce Brown had 11 yards on the ground and 14 yards receiving.
Boobie Dixon had a nice 11 yard run for a first down but only had four yards the rest of the way.
Grade D: Didn't help the offense when the game mattered.
Receivers:
Sammy Watkins had a nice catch and run for a first down but lost the football on the opening series that setup the Broncos with a short field for their first possession. He made a lot of plays in garbage time getting his fourth 100 yard receiving game of the season gaining 127 yards on seven catches.
Robert Woods was quiet with just three catches for 36 yards.
Chris Hogan had a nice catch and run for a Buffalo touchdown in the fourth quarter. He finished with seven catches for 54 yards.
Scott Chandler converted a 3rd and 1 on the first set of downs in the game. Was called for pushing off when he caught a touchdown pass that was called back. He did have 8 catches, mostly in garbage time, for 81 yards.
MarQuies Gray was called for a false start penalty on the Bills first drive. Played some fullback as well but didn't catch any passes.
Grade C: When the game was in doubt couldn't get much separation against the Broncos secondary.
Offensive Line:
Kraig Urbik was called for a holding penalty that brought back a 23 yard gain by Jackson.
Cordy Glenn was called for two false start penalties.
Erik Pears was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Grade D: Gave up four sacks did average 4.6 yards on the ground but didn't make a difference.
Defensive Line:
Mario Williams was called for an offsides penalty. He did make a tackle for a loss a few plays later.
Jerry Hughes was upset over another questionable penalty and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. He was promptly benched for the rest of the half and part of the opening drive of the second half. He had two tackles, one for a loss.
Marcell Dareus made a nice tackle for a two yard gain among his three tackles.
Kyle Williams was called for a holding penalty on Graham's return of a Manning interception. Had a quiet three tackles.
Grade D: No pressure, no sacks, gave up holes in the running game. Worst game of the year for this unit.
Linebackers:
Brandon Spikes had three tackles.
Nigel Bradham had six tackles to lead the way.
Preston Brown also had six tackles but five were assists.
Grade C: Quiet day for this unit.
Secondary:
Stephon Gilmore was called for a pass interference penalty when he hit the player just a hair early. It seemed like a real nice and perfectly timed hit by Gilmore. He later picked of a Manning pass in the third quarter.
Corey Graham had a nice interception of Manning on a second quarter bomb and recovered a fumble to thwart a scoring drive just before halftime. He was called for a very questionable unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Nickell Robey was called for a questionable illegal contact penalty that negated his beautiful pass breakup in the end zone giving the Broncos a first down on their second series. It led to a touchdown. He was beaten on a 37 yard bomb to Emmanuel Sanders. He was beaten horribly by Welker for a 21 yard gain to the three yard line on the opening scoring drive of the third quarter.
Aaron Williams missed a tackle on a long run that helped the Broncos to a touchdown on the opening drive of the 2nd half.
Duke Williams played for the ailing Searcy and caused a fumble that kept the Broncos off the scoreboard just before halftime.
Da'Norris Searcy was beaten by Wes Welker for a 38 yard gain on the first play after the Bills turned it over on downs in the first quarter. It led to the first touchdown of the game.
Grade A-: They kept Manning from scoring through the air, that is quite a feat.
Special Teams:
Colton Schmidt had his first punt deflected and it only went for 14 yards. The snap was off line. He punted three times in all for a 31.7 yard net and a paltry 34 gross average.
Dan Carpenter hit a 44 yard field goal.
Marcus Thigpen had a 27 yard kickoff return.
Coverage Units allowed 50 yards on two kickoff returns and a seven yard punt return.
Grade D: Down day for this unit.
Coaching:
Doug Marrone tried to show toughness by benching Hughes after his penalty but the team played without discipline in this game. He punted late in the fourth quarter down by two touchdowns.
Nathaniel Hackett used a lot of motion in the backfield and had a short passing attack that worked some early but it was quickly figured out by the Broncos defense. He had no adjustments.
Jim Schwartz his defense kept them in it.
Grade C-: Gets credit for the club not giving up as they battled to the end.
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