Well that was nice. Nerve racking, anxiety ridden, and nail biting, but nice. A great feeling to finally break out of that 3 game defensive slump. So what should we make of this win and Bills team as a whole that currently holds the 2nd wild card spot? Let’s look at it on each side of the ball.
Offense:
What a difference half a season makes for a rookie trying to get adjusted. Zay Jones looked great running his routes and being able to hold onto the ball when thrown his way. Unfortunately, thats where most of the positives end for the offense, considering they could only muster a measly 16 points against a defense in the bottom 1/3 of the league. McCoy couldn’t find a hole to save his life today, which was caused by, you guessed it, a lack of any semblance of a passing game that goes for more than 5 yards at a time. Goodness gracious Tyrod was at his most Tyrod today, padding his box score stats (the only stats that ESPN talking heads care about) with checkdown after drive killing checkdown, and taking too long to throw the ball. No matter what happens to end this season, get your wallets ready to go to grab your bright new franchise QB’s jersey come April, because I can’t imagine the coaching staff being happy with his performance, even in a winning effort.
Defense:
Granted, the Chiefs offense has been sputtering out of control the last few weeks, I’m not surprised they were held in check. But after giving up point totals of 34, 47, and 54 in consecutive weeks, the defense NEEDED this kind of performance. They absolutely smothered the run today, #FreeEddieYarborough was filthy off the edge, and *gasp* the Bills had a pass rush?! Oh, the horror! And man was that Tre White route jump a thing of beauty? I think we all breathed a sigh of relief after the INT considering the Bills almost got hosed by a phantom personal foul call on EJ Gaines that could’ve cost them the game. The defense played an overall solid game, but they seem to have a dark cloud on the horizon as they head back to familiar territory at New Era next Sunday.
Special Teams:
Colton Schmidt had a wonderful performance today, consistently pinning the Chiefs deep in their own end. As much as we’d all like punts to be points, well take the opposing teams average drive start inside their own 20. Hausch was okay considering he missed a 52 yarder early in the 2nd quarter, but more than made up for it when he nailed a 56 yarder that probably could have been good from 66 yards. And finally, Brandon Tate had a quality day on the return side of things, averaging a healthy 13+ yards per return.
What next?
It’s funny that Star Wars: The Last Jedi comes out the same month The Evil Empire plays Buffalo twice. There wont be a single analyst that gives the Bills a chance against them in either meeting, and considering how the Bills played the previous 3 weeks, I wouldn’t either. But look on the bright side, even if the Bills drop both those games, if Buffalo can take care of business against Miami and Indy in the coming weeks, the Bills could punch their ticket to the playoffs for the first in almost 2 decades folks. So keep the faith, and #TrustTheProcess.
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