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Week 8: Typical Blowout At The Hands Of Patriots
Injury depleted offense adds to defensive woes in loss.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:
Tyrod Taylor had two overthrows on the opening field goal drive including a third down pass to Bush in the end zone. He had several other overthrows including a fourth down end zone pass to Clay. He finished completing 50% of his passes for just 183 yards and added 48 yards on the ground.
Grade D: Had no weapons but his accuracy issues are a growing concern.
Running Backs:
Mike Gillislee had 85 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown as he had a real nice game in his first start of the season.
Jonathan Williams got his first career touchdown in garbage time. Finished with 12 yards on five carries.
Reggie Bush had two catches for 34 yards but lost 8 yards on two carries. That includes a failed halfback option when he wanted to throw it and then threw it behind him to Taylor which only almost got his quarterback hurt.
Jerome Felton got outside the coverage on a Taylor scramble and he was wide open for a 22 yard reception to setup the Bills first field goal.
Grade B: Didn't do that bad but needed more with the receiving corps banged up and depleted.
Receivers:
Robert Woods barely played early despite being active as the foot wasn't ready yet. He had to play down the stretch because of more injuries at the position. He led the team with four catches and had 50 yards.
Justin Hunter drew a pass interference on a deep pass late in the first half. He dropped a pass in the third quarter. He started but only had one catch for seven yards.
Brandon Tate dropped a wide open deep sideline pass. He had two catches for 17 yards and got hurt on his second catch that gave him a first down.
Walter Powell was called for an offensive pass interference penalty. Made a really nice 35 yard catch in garbage time then let the next pass go through his hands. Finished with three catches for a team high 59 yards.
Charles Clay dropped a pass that would have given them a first down. He needed to be a big factor and had two catches for six yards.
Nick O'Leary had one catch for 10 yards.
Grade F: Too depleted and not enough talent.
Offensive Line:
Eric Wood was called for two first half holding penalties that negated runs by Gillislee.
Grade D: They gave up two sacks but opened up some holes for the running game.
Defensive Line:
Marcell Dareus blew up an early run by Blount up the middle. Went for a two yard loss. He had four tackles and a sack.
Kyle Williams sacked Brady to force a punt.
Adolphus Washington had three tackles.
Leger Douzable had two assists.
Grade C: Not the reason for the loss as they got pressure on Brady and plugged running lanes.
Linebackers:
Jerry Hughes had a very quiet day and was not seen on the stat sheet and had seven tackles.
Preston Brown sacked Brady to force a punt and was in on 11 tackles.
Zach Brown had 11 tackles to lead the team.
Brandon Spikes was beaten by Gronkowski for an 18 yard sideline reception. He was in on three tackles.
Lorenzo Alexander left the game in the first half with a hamstring injury and did not return.
Shaq Lawson was called for a 12 men on the field penalty on New England's second play. Got his first career sack in the fourth quarter but followed it up with his first roughing the passer penalty.
Grade D: Couldn't do a job against the great tight ends of New England.
Secondary:
Stephon Gilmore was beaten by his old teammate Chris Hogan for a 16 yard gain on a third and 10 play that kept the Pats first TD drive going. He was then beaten by Hogan for a 53 yard touchdown as he thought he should have had help on the play. He was called for a holding penalty in the end zone as that was the only way he could stop Hogan for beating him for another touchdown. He was beaten by Gronkowski for a 33 yard catch and didn't even seem to try to make the tackle after the catch. He just gave up in this game. He was called for a second holding penalty that kept a fourth quarter Pats drive alive.
Ronald Darby dropped a sure interception in the fourth quarter. He did seem to do better in coverage than his teammates in this game.
Nickell Robey-Coleman was beaten by Gronkowski for a 53 yard touchdown. He was also called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the red zone.
Robert Blanton was called for a defensive holding penalty.
Corey Graham was not heavily involved.
Jonathan Meeks was beaten by Amendola for the Patriots first touchdown.
Grade F-: Brady owned this unit.
Special Teams:
Colton Schmidt bobbled a snap and turned it into a 16 yard gain to convert a 4th and 15.
Dan Carpenter hit his 100th field goal of his Bills career in the first quarter when he hit a 23 yard chip shot. He missed a 49 yarder off the upright late in the first half.
Brandon Tate had a two yard punt return before leaving with a concussion.
Reggie Bush had three kickoff returns for 68 yards for a 22.7 yard average including a 35 yard return.
Coverage Units even struggled in this game. They gave up a 73 yard return of the 2nd half kickoff by Amendola to setup another Patriots touchdown. They gave up two punt returns for 19 yards and a 28 yard average on kickoff returns
Grade C: Not their best effort.
Coaching:
Rex Ryan got called for a penalty for throwing the challenge flag inside of two minutes and that was the bright spot. Too many mistakes from this team.
Anthony Lynn had a lot of confusion forcing them to waste a first half timeout. They had a penalty for five men in the backfield.
Dennis Thurman didn't have answers for Brady but nobody does. They had communication issues getting called for twelve men on the field twice including giving them a first down deep in Buffalo territory on third down.
Grade F: Two straight losses takes away the good vibes from the four game winning streak.
 Bills Blitz
NFL.com Gamebook
Patriots Game Preview
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