The defeat was a good old-fashion, soul-crushing ‘L.’
By Justin DiLoro / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills 19-16 loss to the Cleveland Browns was a good old-fashioned soul-crushing ‘L’, as the performance of the defense seemed to be enough to help the team squeak out another victory.
Instead, the Bills gifted the Browns with a victory to help eradicate the weeks of struggles that Cleveland faced. The script was similar to every other game this year, as the defense kept the Bills afloat while the offense failed to find any sort of consistency. Add in a couple of missed field goals in a close game, and it’s a recipe for a tick in the loss column.
In this week’s stock report, we explore how a few players were still able to perform favorably which several are seeing people hit the “sell” button on them:
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Tre’Davious White
Tre’Davious White took on the task of tracking Odell Beckham throughout the afternoon, and cornerback won most of the battles, a week after doing the same against the Redskins’ stud rooke wideout Terry McLaurin.
Beckham caught five of his 12 targets for 57 yards. White had an impressive pass breakup in the end zone on a fade pass to Beckham during an early goal line stand which included White taking a penalty a few plays prior. One of two penalties White was flagged for. The third-year pro ended the day with four pass breakups. It put him on display as one of the top cornerbacks in the game.
Bills goal line defense
Oh my goodness. Buffalo’s defense seemed to be getting carved up once again, as Browns running back Nick Chubb was having his way weaving through the unit. Once Cleveland found its way into the shadow of the Bills goal line, Buffalo shut it down. On two drives in the first quarter, the Bills negated the Browns’ progress on 12 plays. Cleveland only came away with a field goal on those two drives, and were going to go for it on a second fourth down until a flag was thrown on them.
With a competent offense, these plays would have been game-altering drives. Instead, the defense’s effort was merely good enough to keep the Bills in striking distance throughout the afternoon.
Nevertheless, the Bills defense did something special in closing the door at the goal line.
John Brown and Cole Beasley
We are grouping these two together because they essentially do the same thing. No matter what, these players find a way to get open. When it’s time for a big play, quarterback Josh Allen only needs to look toward one of these two players.
It was another consistent performance from John Brown, as he caught five passes for 77 yards. Cole Beasley, for his part, added four receptions for 74 yards. They just find ways to settle into space and move the chains.
Dawson Knox
Tight end Dawson Knox dropped his first target of the game. After that, he turned it up a bit and become a reliable option in the intermediate passing game. The rookie ended the day with a career-high four catches for 55 yards. He also showed that stiff-arming defenders is a favorite activity of his.
It was the second-straight game that Knox saw the most playing time among tight ends, too. He edged out veteran Tyler Kroft, who saw slightly more playing time than the rookie upon his return from injury a few weeks ago.
Stock down
Stephen Hauschka
Stephen Hauschka missed both of his field goals on the afternoon. The 34-yard attempt was hooked left, but the 52-yard attempt in the closing seconds of the game may not have been hit long enough even if it were on track to be good. Nonetheless, the attempted game-tying kick did not make its way through the uprights.
This is Hauschka’s fifth miss of over 50 yards in a row, which is quite a flip from when he broke the record for most consecutive field goals made from beyond the 50-yard distance. His first miss might have changed the Bills play-calling, as the team attempted a fourth-and-four yard play instead of kicking a 53-yard field goal.
Levi Wallace
The Browns picked on Levi Wallace all afternoon. That’s what’s going to happen with Tre’Davious What on the other side of the field.
He was beaten on the game-winning touchdown to Rashard Higgins. While he did lead the team in tackles on the afternoon, he was often seen chasing Browns receivers, leading to those tackles. It was a struggle against the Browns, and it might indicate that the Bills may need to find someone stronger opposite White. Jarvis Landry had himself a day when covered by Wallace, who scored the initial touchdown of the game when covered by Wallace, who wasn’t even close on the game-winning score by Cleveland:
Brian Daboll
There’s something not right with this offense. It’s been over half the season, and the unit has not taken a meaningful step forward.
Josh Allen is being used as a high school quarterback and the remainder of skill players are not getting the ball enough to make an impact. Something needs to change soon, or else this team may find itself on the outside looking in with respect to the playoff picture.
Daboll’s play-calling on short-yardage opportunities is what has been most concerning for the Bills. That or rookie Devin Singletary getting so few touches after a career-best day the week prior, whilst facing the third-worst run defense in the Browns last week.
Lee Smith
His penalty-to-snap ratio must be astounding. He took a false start penalty upon entering the game, and then he was flagged for holding which negated a sold run for the unit. He brings a level of grit and acts as an additional offensive lineman, but the mistakes are becoming quite problematic. Instead of slamming a helmet in frustration after the foul, it would be nice not to incur such fouls.