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Week 10: Defense Makes Big Plays Down The Stretch
Bills hang on for dear life for huge division win.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:
Tyrod Taylor struggled against a fierce Jets pass rush and got his first win when he didn't play that well. He had pedestrian numbers completing 17 of his 27 passes for just 158 yards. He did throw a touchdown pass and didn't turn the ball over giving him a solid 91.3 yard QB rating. He struggling running the ball gaining just 12 yards on six carries.
Grade C+: He protected the football and that was the difference.
Running Backs:
LeSean McCoy ran hard and looked healthy getting his second straight 100 yard game with a solid 5.9 yard average per carry on his way to 112 yards on just 19 carries. He added five catches on five targets for 47 yards.
Karlos Williams was kept in check with just 24 yards on 7 carries with a 13 yard long run. He did catch one pass and it was a big one, a 26 yard scoring catch.
Grade B: Struggled for long stretches but made some plays.
Receivers:
Sammy Watkins beat Revis on the first play of the game but mis-timed his jump and it went incomplete. Struggled most of the game despite looking like he was getting open. Only caught three balls for 14 yards but made a huge third down catch in the final minutes to help run down the clock
Robert Woods had three catches for just 19 yards in another ho hum day.
Charles Clay had a team high 52 yards on five catches including two screen passes on the opening scoring drive in the second half.
Matthew Mulligan was called for a holding penalty.
Grade D: Wasn't a factor in the win.
Offensive Line:
Richie Incognito was called for a holding penalty.
Grade D: Opened holes for a 4.5 yard averaged on the ground but struggled in pass protection and gave up four sacks.
Defensive Line:
Mario Williams got sick in the first half and didn't play much in this game .
Jerry Hughes was quiet with just three tackles, one for a loss.
Marcell Dareus had the only sack of the game for the Bills.
Alex Carrington was in on four tackles.
Grade B: Did a solid job against the run despite not having huge pressure.
Linebackers:
Manny Lawson had two tackles and knocked down a pass.
Nigel Bradham had seven tackles before leaving the game.
Preston Brown had great tackle on 3rd and short completion short of the first down in the fourth quarter. He finished with a team high eight tackles
Grade B+: Did a nice job in this game.
Secondary:
Stephon Gilmore had two passes defensed as he was solid in coverage once again.
Ronald Darby made a great open field tackle on fourth down WR screen to Brandon Marshall short of the first down. He finished with three passes defensed breaking the club's rookie record.
Nickell Robey did a solid job in the slot.
Leodis McKelvin had four tackles and looked more comfortable playing safety.
Bacarri Rambo recovered a fumble that led to a field goal and had the big interception to put the exclamation point on the win.
Corey Graham was Johnny on the Spot with an interception off of a tipped ball. He had five tackles.
Grade B+: Allowed less than 200 yards through the air.
Special Teams:
Colton Schmidt faced more pressure than usual and that may have made him misplay a snap. He punted 8 times with a 43.4 yard average and a solid 41.6 yard net with two balls dropped inside the 20.
Dan Carpenter hit field goals from 47, 41, and 29 yards out but missed one of two extra point tries.
Leodis McKelvin let a punt go over his head instead of fair catching it, costing the team 20 yards. He did return three punts for just 13 total yards.
Boom Herron returned one kickoff for 22 yards.
Coverage Units Rambo forced a fumble that Duke Williams returned for a difference making touchdown.
Grade A-: Many big plays by this unit and it made a huge difference.
Coaching:
Rex Ryan wanted this game bad and got it. It seems fitting that his defense made some big plays to get him the win.
Greg Roman never gave up on the run and they did enough offensively to get the win.
Dennis Thurman was able to keep up the pressure despite losing Super Mario. Came up big time and time again.
Grade A-: Huge road division win. The players won one for their head coach.
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