Note: My opening is a bit of a downer, so, if you wanna be happy, just go right to the stats part
Prior to today’s game, I was pretty over it in regards to the Bills. Frankly, I didn’t care. The Bills are “In the hunt” once again in December and it just gets tiring for me and probably most fans to muster up any Bills hope. It just happens every year and after awhile, its just a whole lot of apathy. The Bills won today and while we can break out the calculator and figure out who has to be beat who, I’m still not feeling it. Sure, there were moments in this game when I was cheering from my bar stool when something good happened or cussing up a storm when the shit hit the fan a few times. They would pull me back in, but once I was in I started to remember I’ve been here one too many times. I’m numb to it and as a lifelong fan, I can be a bit of a dick when it comes to not giving my all when the situation is groundhog day.
There were some nice moments today that the Bills can build on (IE: Tyrod Taylor/Sammy Watkins), but who are we kidding here? The Bills aren’t running the table and are on their way to 8-8. Sorry, if I’m not spinning this in some sort of billieve propaganda. Anyways, here’s what I took away from the game and sorry if I’m not giving it my all with pleasantries.
—I like Tyrod Taylor. If you own him in your fantasy football league, you probably like him even more if you picked him up as a FA. Its crazy how he’s had 2 games this season that the Bills have won with completing just 11 passes. Yet, all those completed passes have meant so much. Tyrod averaged almost 20 yards per completion today which is pretty insane when you consider he faced a more than formidable defense in the Texans.When Tyrod throws fewer than 30 passes, the Bills are 6-0. This is the exact formula the Bills offense wants. They let the running game suck defenses in and then boom…Tyrod hits them deep. He’s not turning the ball over and he’s making teams pay when he’s asked to make a play. . Like I said, I like him.
—Sure, there are times when Greg Roman annoys me with his playcalling. I mean, it happens all the time in this town when it comes to OC. However, when he’s on, he’s on and today may have been his best day coaching with the Bills. The Texans got a lot of studs on their front 7 and when you have some dude named Jordan Mills taking on JJ Watt, that’s normally a recipe for disaster. Not today. The Bills had a perfect game plan to stifle the Texans pass rush. The Bills allowed just 1 QB sack and 3 QB hits and were able to average over 5 yards per carry. JJ Watt had just 1 QB hurry on the day. Without question, this was probably the line’s best performance this year.
—LeSean McCoy is the first Bill since Thurman Thomas in 1992 to have 6 straight games with over 100-yards in total offense. The dude looks like Thurman Thomas from Tecmo Super Bowl with the way he busts out moves and can reverse his field when nothing is there. The Bills now have 6 games this season where they have rushed for 140 yards or more.
—The Bills now have 1,691 yards rushing on the season. Last year, they had just 1,482 yards. The Bills have had a running back go over 100 yards rushing five times this year. Last year…Zero.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/236404933″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”286″ iframe=”true” /]—Now for the defense… Aside from Hughes/Mario getting pressure in the 2nd half (6 QB hurries between them), the defense didn’t have their best showing. They have been a seesaw this season. Look, I get they got some injuries with their LBs and they have CFLers in there, but this is Brian Hoyer. Hoyer sucks and when he almost gets 300 yards passing, you have issues. The Bills have had issues defending the middle of the field this season and with a bunch of LBs out, their weakness has been exploited.
—The Bills allowed 3,296 passing yards and 16 passing TDs last year. This year…3,070 yards and 23TDs. Woof.
—Sammy Watkins is averaging 18.7 yards per reception. That’s the most a Bills WR has had with at least 30 catches since Eric Moulds in 1998. Since week 8, Watkins has the 7th most receiving yards (488) and is tied for 9th in receiving TDs (4). Just get him the damn ball.
—WTF is wrong with Dan Carpenter? Seriously, I don’t get why the NFL decided to make PATs longer. I guess they want fans to stick around for that play and not make it a bathroom break of sorts. How about this? Let’s get rid of PATs and have just 2 point conversions. That sounds a lot more exciting to me.
—All Bacari Rambo does is make plays. Seriously…where the hell did the Bills find this guy from? Yesterday he lead the club in PDs with 3 and had a sack. Its cliche, but he’s always around the ball and is making plays.
Final word: They are still “In the hunt” and have to keep winning. There are no such things as easy games when you are a Bills fan. If they beat the Eagles next week, maybe I’ll start giving it my all in the hope department. Alas, I’ve been here before and know how this thing normally ends. Sorry to be a bit of a downer.
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