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Bills Beat Colts 27-14 In Opener
Taylor, Ryan get victories in Bills debut.
by Steve Saslow
The Skinny:
Tyrod Taylor waited four years to start in NFL game and will have to wait one more week to technically start one. Matt Cassel got the start on a gadget play that went for a loss on the first play of the game with Taylor lined up in the slot. Not much else went wrong for the Bills as Taylor took over and went 14 of 19 for 195 yards including a 51 yard touchdown pass to Percy Harvin to lead the Bills to a 27-14 win over the Colts giving Taylor and Rex Ryan victories in their Bills debut. Ryan became the first Bills coach to win his debut on opening day. Rookie Karlos Williams scored on his first NFL carry, a beautiful 26 yard run where he broke a tackle in the backfield just before halftime to give the Bills a 17-0 halftime lead. Boobie Dixon scored from one yard out on the opening possession of the third quarter to extend the lead to 24-0. Dan Carpenter hit both his field goal attempts and the Bills held Andrew Luck in check besides two second half scoring drives. Ronald Darby and Aaron Williams each picked off Luck once.
The Turning Point:
Karlos TD: The Bills went conservative and were going to settle for a field goal on their last minute drive in the first half but the rookie RB had other ideas. He broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, had a burst of speed and took it to the house for a 26 yard touchdown on the first carry of his career. That gave the Bills a 17-0 lead and gave them firm control of the game at halftime.
The Big Drive:
The opening drive of the second half the Bills went 80 yards in 11 plays in a drive that took 5:26 to a touchdown that gave them a 24-0 lead. Dixon ran it in from one yard out for the score. Taylor hit McCoy for a 22 yard screen pass on the first play. He had a 3rd down conversion pass for 12 yards to Robert Woods. A McCoy 12 yard TD run was called back on a holding penalty on Matthew Mulligan but the Bills overcame that thanks to runs by all three running backs.
Stat I Did Like:
Turnover Ratio: The Bills were a +3 forcing two interceptions and a muffed punt while holding on to the football.
Stat I Didn't Like:
Penalties: The Bills were called for a whopping 11 penalties for 113 yards.
Quick Slants:
- The Bills honored the AFL Championship teams of 1964 and 1965 during a halftime ceremony. 18 members of those teams were on hand.
- As part of that ceremony the Bills surprised everyone and put the Championship teams head coach Lou Saban on the Wall of Fame. A long standing feud between Ralph Wilson and Saban prevented this. Nice to see it happen unfortunately it had to come after both men are gone.
- Also in attendance was the ailing father of Rex Ryan, legendary coach Buddy Ryan. He was on the field before the game in a golf cart. He is recovering from a stroke and is also battling cancer.
- Bill Polian was at the game as a game analyst for ESPN radio. He is the former GM of both these teams.
- The Colts won the toss and elected to receive to put the strength of both teams on the field first.
Key Matchup Results:
The winners of the battles highlighted in our preview article:
TE Charles Clay vs. LB D'Qwell Jackson: Winner: Jackson. Clay didn't do too much in this game. He had 4 catches for 43 yards.
WR Sammy Watkins vs. CB Vontae Davis: Winner: Davis. He was on Watkins all day and you never heard from the Bills receiver all day long. He was held without a catch.
DE Mario Williams vs. RT Jack Mewhort: Winner: Mewhort. You didn't hear much from Super Mario during this game.
CBs Stephon Gilmore and Ronald Darby vs. WRs T.Y. Hilton and Andre Johnson: Winner: Gilmore and Darby. There were plays made against the Bills CBs especially Darby the rookie. They held their own for the most part though.
Keys To The Game Results:
How the keys highlighted in our preview article turned out:
1. Pressure Luck: Success! They kept him uneasy in the pocket throughout the game and sacked him twice.
2. Get Taylor In Space: Success! He had 41 yards rushing including a 31 yard scramble.
3. Physical OL Play: Failure! They didn't open up any holes for the running game.
My Take:
I didn't think they would win this game but they proved me wrong. Taylor looked very poised and the defense played a solid game against one of the best in the league in Luck and they did it without Marcell Dareus. It was a fired up crowd and the Bills came through and beat the team that was the second best team in the conference last year. Next up is the best team in the conference from last year and I suspect the crowd will be fired up to see Tom Brady. This season sure looks like it will be fun.
What's Ahead:
The Bills remain at home to take on the other team from last year's AFC Championship as Tom Brady and the New England Patriots make their annual trek to Orchard Park. As it usually seems to be, they will have extra time to prepare for this game after opening the season with a win on Thursday night.
Gameballs
Tyrod Taylor - He was responsible for 236 of the team's 342 yards. He had a great performance.
Percy Harvin - He led the way with five catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. Also added a nine yard run on a reverse.
Karlos Williams - He led the team with 55 yards on six carries including his touchdown.
Dan Carpenter - He sure showed Rex Ryan by hitting field goals from 41 and 45 yards out. He also hit all three of those pesky, extra long extra points.
Goats
Jerry Hughes He was fired up to play his former team. Maybe a bit too fired up. He was called for three penalties including two personal fouls that negated big plays.
Cordy Glenn - Was called for two holding penalties.
Sammy Watkins - Was a non factor in this game.
LeSean McCoy - Really couldn't get anything going on the ground until late. Finished with just 41 yards on 17 carries.
Player Of The Week
Tyrod Taylor - He played a great game and gets the win in his first NFL start.
 Positional Breakdown and Grades
NFL.com Gamebook
Colts Game Preview
Gameday Homepage
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