Dolphins vs. Bills: Highs and Lows

The Bills did exactly what they needed to do today to keep their playoff hopes alive  with a 24-16 win over the Miami Dolphins this afternoon at New Era Field.  The win marked the last home game that the Bills will have until next summer.  At 6-2, the Bills finished with their best home record since 1999.  Here is a look at the highs and lows from the much-needed win that sent the Bills to 8-6 on the year.

Highs

LeSean McCoy
McCoy has made his pursuit for 10,000 rushing yards well known this year.  Needing only 33 rushing yards to get to the mark, McCoy was able to get to that mark with a 14 yard run in the second quarter.  McCoy also added a TD catch to cap off the drive where he hit the 10K mark.  McCoy did not have a productive second half of the game, but that was more on the OL and Rick Dennison.  Well done to McCoy for a great career up until this point.  He definitely wasn’t washed up and on the down trend of his career when the Bills acquired him in March of 2015.  Let the march for 12K yards start!

Kyle Williams
In what might be his final game in Orchard Park, Kyle Williams made a difference.  Many run plays were sniffed out and blown up by Williams throughout the course of the game.  He is a leader on that defense and I know that Bills fans everywhere hope to see him back next year.

Tyrod Taylor
The roller coaster season for Tyrod Taylor was at a high point today.  Tyrod was exactly what the Bills needed from him today: to be an efficient quarterback, limit mistakes, use his legs and get the ball to the playmakers in space.  Tyrod did all that and actually had above average numbers for his standards.  Taylor finished with 224 yards and a TD in the air along with 43 yards and another TD on the ground.

Lows

Offensive Line
A putrid performance today for the offensive line, which honestly hasn’t been much different than the rest of the year.  Many plays were blown up before they were even able to get started.  The Dolphins defensive line dominated up front.  The Bills need to make significant upgrades to this unit during the offseason.

Rick Dennison
Play calling has been an issue for the Bills all year.  I will not mince words when it comes to “Rico”…regardless of if this season ends with the playoffs or not, Rick Dennison should be fired at the end of this season.  He was a questionable choice for OC coming in, and he has done nothing this year to indicate that he is the man to call plays for a franchise QB that is most likely coming in this years draft.  With the Bills attempting to close out the game, Dennison couldn’t draw up anything that the Dolphins were not expecting.

Discipline
This one surprised me, considering how much McDermott preaches discipline.  The Bills had two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, the second one by Adolphus Washington which lead to a Dolphins touchdown.  It was clear that the Bills were out for Dolphins WR Jarvais Landry in retaliation for last years hit on Aaron Williams.  When these two teams meet again in two weeks, the Bills will want to make sure that they let the Landry situation go and not shoot themselves in the foot anymore.

Final Thoughts

The Bills still need a lot of help in the AFC Playoff picture, but they took care of their job today.  The Bills reached 8-6 for the first time since 2014.  The Bills also guaranteed an improvement from their 7-9 record last year.  When it comes to big games for the Bills, none are bigger than next week’s matchup against the Patriots in Foxboro.  After 17 years, all we have want is December games that mean something, and that is exactly what we have.