The Bills certainly need to make a run if they’re to be a part of the AFC Wild Card race with seven games to play. Here are some areas that should serve to help that cause or could stand some improvement in the season’s second half.
From BuffaloBills.com:
1 – Offense is surging
When Greg Roman was fired after Buffalo’s 0-2 start, the message was sent loud and clear that things had to improve offensively for the Bills to have a chance down the stretch. So far under Anthony Lynn, the offense has exceeded those expectations, and more.
The Bills are third in the NFL in touchdowns with 29, and rank eighth in scoring with 26.3 points per game.
Two of the biggest reasons for that success has come from the lack of turnovers and red zone efficiency.
Through nine games, Tyrod Taylor has only thrown three interceptions–tied for fifth in the league. The interception he threw on a miscommunication with Robert Woods on Monday was his first since Week 3 against the Cardinals.
“If we give him good protection, Tyrod can make you pay,” head coach Rex Ryan said. “He can make all the throws, and the fact that it was on a Monday Night game, I think the country got to see the kind of ability that this young man has.”
The Bills are fourth in the NFL with a plus-seven turnover differential.
As for Buffalo’s work in the red zone, the Bills have scored on 66 percent of possessions inside-the-20. They scored on three-of-four possessions against the Seahawks, including another touchdown to Justin Hunter–who has three in the red zone this season.
With the Bills scoring 25 points on Monday, they have scored 25 points or more in five consecutive games–the longest streak since the team did it in five consecutive weeks in 2004.
The consistency on offense can continue to grow with Percy Harvin working himself back into football shape. Harvin had no catches on Monday and appeared in only 21 snaps, but Ryan said that the bye week came at the perfect time for Harvin.
“Hopefully that workload can increase a little bit, but that’s about really where we thought it would max out at,” Ryan said. “To Percy’s credit, Percy wants to help this team out anyway he can, and I know he’s going to be working hard this bye week to try to get his conditioning (up) and everything else. Try to work routes and different things and he can only make us better I think.”
2 – Tightening up on the back end
It’s no secret that Buffalo’s secondary has underperformed so far this season. The strongest unit of the Bills defense last year has struggled to find its groove so far, but Rex Ryan sounds confident that his group of defensive backs still have time to turn it around in 2016.
The Bills gave up over 200 yards through the air in the first half on Monday–along with two touchdown passes to Jimmy Graham–but made some halftime adjustments that led to Russell Wilson only completing six passes in the second half.
“I think we really played a lot better in the second half, obviously, but it can’t take that long before you dial in and unfortunately that’s happened the last couple of weeks,” Ryan said. “Sometimes it’s hard to defend the perfectly-thrown ball and Russell Wilson threw some great passes.”
Graham hauled in both of those touchdowns via one-handed grabs, but the big play has been an issue for Buffalo’s secondary all season long.
The Bills have allowed an average of 6.9 yards per passing play, which is 21st in the NFL. Opponents have been able to exploit mismatches down the field, particularly with bigger tight ends against some of Buffalo’s smaller defensive backs.
In addition, the Bills have given up 23 first downs to opponents because of penalties, most of them coming from holding and pass interference calls in the secondary.
Even though the Bills have allowed opponents to get down the field more easily than they would like, they have done a solid job of preventing touchdowns. Buffalo has allowed opponents to score on only 50 percent of red zone opportunities, which is tied for sixth-best in the NFL. Rex put his brother, Rob in charge of that part of the defense, and so far it has paid off for the team.
Ryan already liked the improvement he saw on Monday, with guys like Stephon Gilmoreand Corey White having to step up with Ronald Darby leaving the game with an illness, but he says that has to continue.
“It hasn’t been all bad, but obviously we have to improve in that area,” Ryan said. “It’s something that we’ve talked about. I thought Stephon Gilmore played extremely well (Monday) and that’s what we expect from him. He has to play that way for us. Corey Graham, I think, plays really well – but we’ve got to get others to play up to their ability and if we do that, I think we’ll be much better.”
3 – More touches for ‘Touchdown Mike’?
His teammates call him “Touchdown Mike,” and Mike Gillislee once again lived up to that nickname on Monday.
Gillislee scored on a second-and-one handoff in the fourth quarter to bring the Bills within one score of Seattle, marking the fourth time this season he has reached the end zone.
It is no secret as to why Anthony Lynn isn’t afraid to dial up a play for Gillislee on a short-yardage situation. He is tied for first in the NFL with four first downs on third-and-one. In fact, every time he has ran it on third down, he has moved the chains for the Bills.
Gillislee is 14 yards away from breaking his career-high in rushing yards that he set with the team last year. Even more impressively, Gillislee has scored a touchdown in seven of the 13 games he has gotten a carry in throughout his NFL career.
He has helped the Bills rise to the top in nearly all rushing categories. Buffalo is number one in rushing yards, number one in yards per rushing attempt, and number one in rushing touchdowns.
He has a much different running style than LeSean McCoy and Lynn has found a way to use Gillislee’s talents.
The one-cut back has only gotten 42 carries this season, but has filled in when McCoy has been out with an injury or needs a blow in a game. His eight carries on Monday were his second-most for the season, and Ryan hinted that he may see even more work over the team’s last seven games.
“Unfortunately for Mike – he happens to be behind one of the best players in the league in LeSean McCoy. That’s the thing. We know, obviously – all the Bills fans out there and us as a football team and an organization – we know the contributions of Mike Gillislee,” said Ryan. “He’s earned some playing time. There’s no question about it. He seems to be getting better and better as we move on, and obviously we’re going to need him for this stretch run.”