Solid running attack as defense keeps Cowboys out of the end zone.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:Tyrod Taylor threw a bad interception to take points off the board in the final seconds of the first half. He used his legs an awful lot running 14 times for 67 yards while completing only 13 passes for 179 yards.
Grade B: He may not be the franchise QB but he is fun to watch.
Karlos Williams had a 27 yard run on his first carry and it led to his one yard scoring run. Made a nice 20 yard catch deep in Cowboys territory but fumbled the ball away. Ran hard gaining 76 yards on 17 carries.
Mike Gillislee gained 14 yards on a screen pass to setup the Bills first touchdown. Had a 15 yard run before rumbling 50 for the game clinching score. He had 93 yards on just 9 carries.
Grade A: The two fill in backs combined for 26 carries for 169 yards.
Sammy Watkins was called for offensive pass interference and a ridiculous delay of game penalty when he rolled the ball after a nice 37 yard reception late in the first half. He finished with five catches for 84 yards.
Chris Hogan got the start for Robert Woods. He dropped a perfectly thrown bomb but did catch two passes for 39 yards including a 20 yard gain on a 3rd and 17 pass.
Nick O'Leary got the start at tight end for Charles Clay. The only pass thrown his way was a goal line pass in the third quarter and he fell down causing an incompletion.
Chris Gragg had two nice catches gaining 19 yards. Would have had more but a penalty on Watkins negated another nice gain.
Grade D: Only 4 receptions from this group combined beside Watkins five catches.
Jordan Mills gave up a sack that helped short circuit a promising drive near the end of the half. He was called for a holding penalty on a third quarter drive. He was called for a late hit as well.
Kraig Urbik replaced an injured John Miller.
Grade B: Taylor didn't have too much time to throw and was only sacked three times because of his escapability. They did pave the way for a solid game on the ground.
Mario Williams not only dropped back several times again but he even lineup wide against a wide receiver once! He had no stats.
Jerry Hughes had his obligatory offsides penalty to give Dallas a first down on their opening drive. He was very quiet with just one tackle.
Marcell Dareus had two tackles before leaving with an injury.
Corbin Bryant made a nice tackle for a 2 yard loss on the Cowboys opening possession. He had four tackles.
Stefan Charles had one tackle.
Grade C-: Gave up decent yards on the ground and had no pressure on the young QB.
Manny Lawson was all over the field again before leaving late with an injury. He had four tackles and good pressure to force an incompletion.
Preston Brown had a quiet seven tackles.
A.J. Tarpley had two tackles and a big interception off of a deflection.
Grade B-: Despite being very banged up they played fairly well.
Mario Butler got the start for the injured Robert Darby and had a nice third down pass breakup.
Leodis McKelvin had a really good game. He had a really nice pass breakup downfield in the 2nd quarter. He also knocked away a third down pass on the opening series of the second half for the Cowboys offense. He helped deflect a pass that was interception by Tarpley.
Nickell Robey blitzed to force incompletion on 3rd down to hold Dallas to a field goal on their opening possession. Was beaten badly by Cole Beasley for a 25 yard catch and run on a 2nd quarter drive.
Corey Graham was beaten for a 27 yard gain to Brice Butler on the first possession. He led the way with 11 tackles including 8 solo.
Bacarri Rambo got beaten badly on one long pass play. He had five tackles.
Ron Brooks had his most extensive playing time of the season and had five tackles and two passes defensed.
Grade A: Solid job from this banged up group against a weak quarterback.
Colton Schmidt had three punts for a 47.7 yard average but two were returnable including a 28 yard return that brought his net down to 37.7. He had one go inside the 20.
Dan Carpenter missed his league leading 5th extra point of the season. He did hit a 38 yard extra point later in the game and a 32 yard field goal.
Walter Powell was used to return kicks and punts in his first game off the practice squad. He had one kickoff return for 25 yards and fair caught his only punt return possibility.
Coverage Units Allowed a 28 yard punt return and 15 yard kickoff return. Tarpley did force a fumble on a kickoff return in the final minutes to put the icing on the cake.
Grade D: This unit has been underwhelming all year long.
Rex Ryan made the right decision to go for it on 4th down on the Bills opening possession. The Bills had to waste a timeout on defense in the 2nd quarter because they didn't get the play in.
Greg Roman decided to go deep on that fourth down play in the first quarter instead of just trying to get the first down to keep the drive alive. Once again showed no urgency on a drive late in the first half wasting way too much time on the drive huddling and moving people along the line.
Dennis Thurman had his defense make enough plays against a weak offense to get the win.
Grade B: A win is a win.
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