EJ Manuel averaged over eight yards per pass attempt for the second time in his career on Sunday. His only other performance with more than eight yards per pass attempt was the second Jets game in Buffalo. Manuel’s net yards per pass attempt on Sunday, which factors sacks and their yardage lost into the equation, was just his fifth best this season (6.11 NY/A). He’s been inconsistent game to game, but Manuel’s net yards per pass attempt has been almost the same before and after his knee injury: 5.65 before and 5.20 after.
Maybe it was an effort to get Manuel comfortable, but Buffalo ran a lot of screens in Jacksonville. Ten of the team’s 24 pass attempts (or eleven of 25, if you also think this was a pass and not a fumble) were thrown behind or to the line of scrimmage. Strangely, just six of those ten (or eleven) passes were caught for a grand total of 35 yards.
Those short passes weighed heavily on the average target depth per pass. Manuel’s passes traveled just 6.33 yards past the line of scrimmage on average. In the second half, the average pass depth was just 3.7 yards past the line of scrimmage! Only one pass wasn’t caught, but it was a sign that the Bills were content keeping Manuel under control with easy completions. Buffalo’s second half passing chart is below.
But the shorter passes worked. Buffalo’s receivers averaged 5.33 yards after the catch in the second half, compared to 3.63 in the first half. That, plus the high completion rate, allowed Buffalo to average 6.64 yards per pass play (including sacks) in the second half compared to the 5.76 in the first half.
Without Robert Woods, Buffalo’s gain per passing play in the first half would have averaged 4.15 yards. Woods caught five of the six passes thrown his way, some in spectacular fashion, and all of his catches netted first downs for the Bills. The passes to Woods were an average of 16.67 yards past the line of scrimmage (all but one were more than ten yards down field). The rookie had a nice game and continues to show that he is a reliable receiving target.
Passes thrown inside the numbers also continued to be reliable for Manuel. Eight of those attempts were completed for 109 yards. Those throws traveled an average of 7.9 yards past the line of scrimmage and led to three gains of twenty or more yards. Both receiving tight ends, Scott Chandler and Chris Gragg, caught big gains up the middle of the field. Their targets were an average of 9.17 yards down field.
And that was Buffalo’s plan. Create easy passing situations with the screen game. Those screens would then create more open space in the middle for the tight ends and Robert Woods in single coverage. Manuel didn’t pass for more than 200 yards, but it was a solid performance (especially after the first quarter ended). He was able to complete passes all across the field and was able to connect on passes deeper than ten yards down field. And the Bills won, which is great too.
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