By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The final score was 47-3. Let’s not beat around the bush.
The Buffalo Bills saw the stocks of many of their players drop following the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens. Finding stocks then went up was certainly the more difficult find, but even under these circumstances, we still have a few.
With that, here’s the direction the stocks of members of the Bills went following their season-opening loss to the Ravens:
Stock down
Offensive line
The offensive line for the Buffalo Bills played about as bad as one could imagine. In total, six sacks were recorded by the Ravens as quarterbacks Nathan Peterman and rookie Josh Allen split those six. On one against Peterman, defensive lineman Chris Wormley put center Ryan Groy on his backside on the ground next to Peterman before the QB was sacked. On the ground, it was just as bad. LeSean McCoy had a 12-yard run. On his six other carries, he average 1.5 yards-per-carry. It’s hard to imagine the stock going much lower on the offensive line. Was there anything worse than stocks during the Great Depression? Asking for a friend.
QB Nathan Peterman
Peterman doesn’t deserve all the blame, many even just half of it. His offensive line? Well, you just read about it. His receivers didn’t get open either and that’s a problem dating back to last season. Regardless, Peterman’s stock goes down, too. He tossed for 24 passing yards, which seems impossible to do without trying, and this was Peterman’s third-career start in two seasons. He hasn’t finished one yet.
WR Kelvin Benjamin
Zay Jones led the Bills with three grabs for 26 yards. Two of which came in the dying moments. He was also invisible throughout the day. However, Benjamin takes the cake. The top-target for the Bills had one catch on seven total targets. That’s not the output any team wants from their best receiver. The weather was bad, but the Ravens didn’t seem to struggle holding onto the ball like Benjamin did, specifically on a potential touchdown pass from Josh Allen which went right off his hands in the back of the end zone.
CB Phillip Gaines
The entire secondary deserves their share of the blame, but Gaines, stepping in for a healthy scratch in Vontae Davis, didn’t seize his opportunity. On a second-and-26, Gaines was in coverage when John Brown gained 29 yards. Just before half, Gaines was beat on a 12-yard score by veteran Michael Crabtree. What Buffalo does next at this second cornerback spot will be an interesting watch this upcoming week.
TE Charles Clay
Yeah, Charles Clay played. On two targets, Clay had no catches. For a young quarterback, Peterman, Allen, whomever, you want a reliable tight end option for them to revert to. Of course, this is a two-way street. The QB has to look for him, but Clay isn’t living up to his hefty price tag currently.
Stock up
Young linebackers
Buffalo gave up 47 points. No one played a great game on defense. Still, rookie linebacker Tremaine Edmunds flashed on the day. He was the youngest linebacker to start (20) in the Super Bowl era. On the day, Edmunds had his first-career sack, first-career forced fumble and two passes defended with seven tackles. On that forced fumble, Matt Milano recovered the ball. Milano also had two tackles for loss. The linebacking crew could stand to improve against the pass, though.
P Corey Bojorquez
It was Bojorquez’s first game, and yes, he fumbled. It was a down pour on Sunday in Baltimore. On top of that, yes, again, his first game. The rookie didn’t even see time in the preseason with the New England Patriots. He behind the eight ball. All things considered, pretty good day. Borjorquez averaged 49.6 yards on eight kicks. He had a long of 58 including three that went inside the 20. All things looked fine with his ability to hold, too.
RB Marcus Murphy
LeSean McCoy played, but Murphy led the way. It wasn’t a great outing, but Murphy’s 31 yards on seven carries led the Bills against the Ravens. Seeing the game get out of hand meant the run game got abandoned, though. Murphy also is now your No. 2 running back behind McCoy, having play in 36 percent of offensive snaps as compared to Chris Ivory’s 11 percent. Additionally, a 49-yard punt return was the lone exciting playing Buffalo had on the day.
CB Tre’Davious White
Joe Flacco picked apart Buffalo’s secondary, but not so much near Tre’Davious White. The problem was the rest of Buffalo’s secondary. Phillip Gaines was picked on and Jordan Poyer looked a little lost at times. White had four tackles too, but he simply can’t be everywhere in the secondary for Buffalo.