Tag: bills chargers

Power Rankings: Some go up, some go down for Bills following bye

Buffalo Bills power rankings polls following Week 11 bye.

Six games remain in the regular season for the Buffalo Bills, who are on track to win the AFC East and earn a playoff spot. But this is a story about the national power rankings heading. 

The biggest factor in that? Week 11, naturally. 

But here’s the twist, the Bills didn’t play a game last weekend as their yearly bye week rolled around. Despite Buffalo sitting last weekend out, other teams played and that still causes the Bills’ position to fluctuate in the polls.

Each week, such polls can be taken with a grain of salt. After a week the Bills don’t even play? A massive one. Still, let’s have some fun.  

Here are this week’s power ranking poll roundup for the Bills as they head into Week 12: 

USA TODAY

9. Bills (12)

Pretty good bye week given their AFC East lead on Miami grew to a full game. But defense that didn’t give up more than 31 points in 2019 is still a concern given Buffalo has been burned for 32+ four times already in 2020.

Touchdown Wire

7. Buffalo Bills (7-3. Week 11 Bye. Last week: 6)

During last week’s thrilling game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Buffalo Bills, I saw a tweet that got me thinking. There is some truth to that declaration. After all, if you think back to last year’s Wild Card game between the Bills and the Houston Texans, there was a whole mess of crazy in that game from Josh Allen. Laterals on plays like the above, downfield scramble drill vertical routes to double-covered fullbacks, and much more.

So the question facing the Bills in the second half is this: Will Josh Allen avoid the big mistake?

Allen has been a bit of a roller coaster at times, at least in previous seasons, but as D’Andrea points out in the above tweet, Allen has largely avoided those head-scratching moments we are used to seeing from him this season. He has taken care of the football, not made crazy mistakes, and right now the Bills have the upper hand in the AFC East with a game in hand over both the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots.

Provided Allen continues to avoid the big mistake, that might keep them atop the division.

Sports Illustrated

5. Buffalo Bills (7-3)

Josh Allen’s rise to stardom has masked a struggling defense, but the fact that they lost their No. 2 and 3 corners 24 hours before the trip to Arizona and still came within a Hail Mary of winning counts as encouraging. And with the Dolphins losing in Denver and struggling to figure out their quarterback situation, the likely worst-case scenario for the Bills is an AFC East championship game against Miami during Week 17 in Orchard Park.

NFL.com

7. Buffalo Bills (7-3)

Previous rank: No. 7

The weather is about ready to turn in Western New York, which means it’s time for the Bills to finally figure out their running game. It’s been a near-constant issue this season, and it puts too much pressure on Josh Allen and the passing game on a week-by-week basis. Sean McDermott told reporters at the beginning of the Week 11 bye that he wants to find ways to improve the ground attack, and you have to expect that might mean more opportunities for third-round rookie Zack Moss. Devin Singletary’s high-end abilities as a pass protector will keep him in the mix, but Moss deserves a shot to show what he can do in early-down situations. A subplot to watch Sunday against the Chargers.

Sporting News

6. Buffalo Bills 7-3 (6)

The Bills enjoyed a bye week by seeing both the Dolphins and Patriots lose behind them as favorites in their games. Buffalo, with the AFC East in hand and little chance to climb up in seeding, needs to just work on fine-tuning with Josh Allen and the defense. Finding a running game for December and January would help, too.

Yahoo! Sports

8. Buffalo Bills (7-3, LW: 10)

The Dolphins loss was a big one for the Bills, who are back to having some breathing room in the division. The Bills want to make sure a Week 17 game against the Dolphins doesn’t have any impact on the division race.

CBS Sports

8. Buffalo Bills (-3)

They come off the bye with a little breathing room in the division with Miami losing. They have to be better on defense down the stretch.

Bleacher Report

5. Buffalo Bills (7-3)

High: 5

Low: 9

Last Week: 8

Week 11 Result: Bye Week

The bye week came at an inopportune time for the Buffalo Bills, in that it gave them an extra week to stew while watching replays of the “Hail Murray” play that brought about their third loss of the season.

Despite that heartbreaker, the Bills are 7-3 for the second year in a row and come out of the bye in first place in the AFC East.

The schedule sets up relatively well down the stretch for the Bills. Only two of the team’s last six games are against teams that sport a winning record—a prime-time tilt with the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14 and the season finale against the surprising Miami Dolphins. Both of those games are in the friendly confines of Bills Stadium.

Part of the reason the NFL schedules so many intradivisional games on the last weekend of the regular season is to add some drama to Week 17.

With the Bills and Dolphins locked in a battle for a division that has belonged to the New England Patriots for the past decade-plus, that one could be for all the marbles.

Pro Football Talk

4. Bills (No. 8; 7-3)

 A showdown with the Steelers is looming, and a division title is waiting.

ESPN

5. Buffalo Bills (7-3)

Week 11 ranking: 7

What they’re thankful for: A franchise quarterback

Although he improved drastically in his second year, the jury was still out on Josh Allen being the Bills’ franchise quarterback. The thought was, by the middle of the 2020 season it would be clear whether he was worthy of the title. Ten games in, he has the Bills at 7-3, in position to win their first AFC East title since 1995, and ranks seventh in the NFL in passing yards. He is a legitimate MVP candidate at his best and a good starter at his worst. After nearly two decades of below-average play at the position, Buffalo fans can sit comfortably knowing Allen will captain this offense for years to come.

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Sean McDermott latest on Mitch Morse playing: ‘We’ll see’

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott updates the playing status of center Mitch Morse ahead of Week 11 vs. Chargers.

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott has always subscribed to never giving an opposing team an inch. In terms of who will be his team’s starting center following the bye week? The world may never know… until Sunday.

Prior to the bye week, the Bills fell in stunning fashion to the Arizona Cardinals, 32-30. Mitch Morse was left on the sideline for that entire game, though.

Following it, McDermott said the situation was football-related and had nothing to do with his recent concussion issue which kept him on the sideline in Week 9. Coming out of the bye weekend on Monday and ahead of facing the Los Angeles Chargers, McDermott was again asked to update Morse’s status.

Not much of one was given via video conference.

“We’ll see,” McDermott said.  “He’s in the mix. We feel good about a number of the guys up front who are getting healthier now, finally. It’s been a while since we’ve had a consistent lineup, so we’ve got some guys and then some options available to us, Mitch being one.”

The coach added that Morse hasn’t done anything wrong, the coaching staff just opted for the “momentum” built during the mostly two games Morse missed due to his concussion. In those two outings, from left to right, the Bills started Dion Dawkins, Ike Boettger, Jon Feliciano, Brian Winters and Daryl Williams along the offensive line.

In regard to Morse, the two issues are play are pretty simple. Not only has Morse played at a level where he appeared to deserve to continue starting once healthy, he’s paid a heft sum as well. During the 2019 offseason, Morse signed a $44.5 million contract, including $26.2 million guaranteed, to be Buffalo’s center. That’s the second-highest total for his position currently in the NFL.

Throughout the week, media access to the Bills’ practices are very limited during the regular season. It’s not like a typical training camp, so we won’t get any offensive line depth chart updates. Instead, we’ll have to wait for the first time the offense takes the field against the Chargers (3-7).

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How much have the Bills struggled in the third quarter?

Breaking down the Buffalo Bills’ second-half stats and in the third quarter in 2020.

2020 has been all over the place and, at times, the Buffalo Bills have done the same. But while the year that’s eventually coming to a close in the next couple of weeks has been unpredictable, observers of the Bills know exactly where Buffalo’s football team has struggled. 

In somewhat of a role-reversal, the Bills offense has led the way for the team this season, carrying the Bills to a 7-3 start and first-place standing in the AFC East going into Week 12. Still, obstacles remain.

Both the Bills offense and defense has had their share of struggles in the second half of games, and more specifically, the third quarter. 

Though often the Bills have built a good lead early, at halftime their opponents make adjustments which Buffalo has struggled to counter adjust to. This allows those teams to score their way back into games and threaten victory or, in some cases, win. 

In terms of how much Buffalo has struggled in the third and fourth frames of games, it comes down to simple numbers. 

The Bills are being outscored 76-30 in the third quarter over their first 10 games of this season. Buffalo’s loss to the Cardinals saw the Bills outscored 17-7 in that stanza. But that isn’t just a 2020 problem like most things in life seem to be… For the Bills, it dates back to 2019, too. 

Since the start of last season, the Bills have given up 142 points (6th most) in the third quarter, while that 76 in 2020 leads the NFL. This season in the fourth quarter they’ve scored the most points (93) but they’ve also given up the fourth-most points (91.) It’s a tough formula to maintain, and a volatile one for success.

Head coach Sean McDermott is taking note and appears ready to tackle the third-quarter issue head-on.

“I am aware of it. I think that’s a study for the off week coming up here in the bye week to really dive down and into that and look into it and make sure we’re doing everything we can to make sure that gets better,” McDermott said prior to the bye while addressing the media.

With the 13th-most difficult remaining schedule, making adjustments to improve third-quarter performance will be important to the team’s success.  From an on-field perspective, Allen said last week he knows a response is needed to how opponents are adjusting as well. 

“Late, third quarter, early fourth quarter, we got to be better and find ways to move the ball,” Allen said via video conference. “If I knew I think it’d be better, it’s just game-plan adjustments the defenses are making and we have to find ways to figure it out faster… So I can have a better sense of what to do and how to get into our answers.”

In the NFL a top defense alone no longer offers the guarantees it once did, and the Bills have embraced a modern offense-heavy approach of outscoring opponents early and often, hoping to put the game out of reach. 

But even if that’s the way the Bills want to continue approaching games from the onset, changes have to be made in the second half prior to the postseason. Not only do the Bills still need to string together some more wins just to get there, in the playoffs, tougher opponents will expose this. 

Look no further than the Bills’ last trip to the playoffs in January. After shutting out the Texans in the first half, Buffalo surrendered 22 points in the second half and in overtime to cut their playoff dreams short in a hurry. 

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Chargers’ Justin Herbert sets rookie QB record ahead of Bills

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert sets rookie record before facing Buffalo Bills in Week 12.

The Bills have a bit of a record-setting quarterback coming to town next week via the Chargers’ Justin Herbert.

Herbert, the third quarterback selected at the 2020 NFL Draft, is the only rookie quarterback to ever have three-plus passing touchdowns in a five-game span in NFL history according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

The most recent outing for Herbert came against a bit of an expected opponent, the lowly Jets, as he had 366 passing yards and three scores in Sunday’s 34-28 win for the Chargers (3-7). The two games prior to that, Herbert did not sling three scores, he only had two against the Dolphins and Raiders, respectively.

Going back to Week 8, Herbert had three touchdown passes against the Brocnos and did so the week prior to that against the Jaguars. The Bolts did split those games though, losing to the Broncos.

Overall in that five-game span, Herbert had 1,504 passing yards, an average of 300.8 yards per game, and 13 total touchdown passes. The No. 6 overall pick had only three interceptions as well.

By comparison, the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa has six touchdowns and has averaged 148.4 passing yards in his past four games while the Bengals’ Joe Burrow has averaged 276.8 yards per game over his last five outings with seven total touchdown passes. Burrow was injured on Sunday, though.

Tagovailoa and Burrow were the fifth and first-overall picks, respectively, at the recent draft.

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Could Bills be wearing throwbacks soon?

Buffalo Bills DE Darryl Johnson shares throwback helmet.

Since all we’re doing is looking forward now in the world of the Buffalo Bills, why not include the team’s literal looks in the discussion?

On Thursday, fans might have gotten a hint of a blast from the past en route.

The Bills have a bye this upcoming weekend, but Bills defensive end Darryl Johnson appeared to still be in the team’s locker room and he took to his social media account on Instagram on Thursday and shared a video.

In it, he’s holding a helmet, but not any helmet, it’s the throwback standing buffalo. Check out the video here via Bills Wire’s Bradley Gelber:

For what it’s worth, wearing the throwback uniforms in Week 12 after the bye might make some sense, too. Buffalo’s next opponent is the Los Angeles Chargers, who visit Bills Stadium. Both the Bills and Chargers are two of the old-school AFL franchises that pre-date the NFL. Could be a cool throwback vs. throwback type event.

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Bills want improved run game post-bye: ‘It takes all of us’

Buffalo Bills’ Brian Daboll, Sean McDermott address running game struggles in recent games.

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Prior to Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, the Bills’ running game appeared to finally be showing some signs of life. The rushing attack has been slow to develop this season for Buffalo, but in Week 8, it had a 190-yard outing against the New England Patriots. 

But instead of growing on that, the work on the ground has stalled again. 

Bills quarterback Josh Allen led all rushers with 38 yards in the Bills’ Week 10 32-30 loss to the Cards. He was followed by rookie running back Zack Moss with 20 and back Devin Singletary with 15. Suffice to say this is not the run offense the team imagined when they added Moss to a backfield with Singletary and Allen. That has not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff and with the weekend off en route for the Bills, the ground game will be something Buffalo’s offense will be focusing on. 

“We need to do a better job,” offensive coordinator Brian Daboll while addressing the media on Monday. “Starts with me. We need to do a good job of designing things for those guys… It takes all of us to get that job done, we’re not where we need to be in regards to the running game, we acknowledge that and we look forward to working on it particularly in this bye week and getting ready for the Chargers.”

The Bills are currently among the worst teams in the NFL at rushing the ball at 29th overall in terms of rushing yards per game (97.6). A year ago, the Bills averaged the eighth-most (128). 

“It’s something we have to take a look at, particularly this week as a staff, and work hard to correct the things that we know we can correct,” added Daboll.

Much of the playmaking that has moved the ball downfield for the Bills offense this season has been in the air. Buffalo averages 278.9 yards per game via the pass attack, the fifth-most, but being a one-trick pony is not a good thing in the NFL. 

While Daboll is calling the shots on offense as Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott has a background as a defensive-minded coach, the bench boss still feels similar. McDermott has often said during his tenure that finding a franchise quarterback is among the most important things for a club, but complementing a QB with an established run game is of the upmost importance to McDermott currently. 

“It certainly hasn’t been good enough, for us to move forward as a football team and continue to evolve and grow, and try to win the games that we have to win, going forward here we’ve got to make sure that we get that better,” McDermott said. 

The Bills will have the week to re-evaluate the run before facing a former Buffalo coach and running back in his own right, Anthony Lynn. He returns to Bills Stadium as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers where Buffalo will look to bounce back from a loss in Arizona in Week 12. 

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Potential Bills trade target Desmond King sent to Titans

Desmond King was traded to the Titans by the Chargers.

The Buffalo Bills haven’t gotten a great effort on defense this season and some had hoped that Desmond King would be the answer to those questions. Turns out, he won’t be.

The Chargers shipped the cornerback to the Tennessee Titans on Monday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport for just a sixth-round pick. King, 25, was an All-Pro in 2018.

The trade comes one day ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline in the NFL.

In King, the Bills could have found themselves an upgrade at the nickel cornerback position. Taron Johnson has had his fair share of struggles there this season.

Per NFL Next Gen Stats, King would have been a better option there because he’s better than any player in that area this season. King has allowed just 0.3 yards per coverage snap this year, almost half the amount of any other slot cornerback.

King did not play in Week 8 because of a “team decision” the Chargers said. The defensive back is in the final year of his rookie contract.

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NFL news: Tyrod Taylor named Chargers starting QB

Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor named the Los Angeles Chargers starting quarterback.

Some good news came from one former member of the Bills to another on Wednesday.

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn named Tyrod Taylor his starting quarterback over rookie Justin Herbert, the sixth-overall pick at the 2020 NFL Draft.

“Tyrod Taylor is our starter right now,” Lynn, formerly Buffalo’s interim head coach in 2016, said from Chargers training camp. “Until someone steps up and shows that they can run this team, that’s… that’s where we’re going into it. Tyrod Taylor is our starter.”

Herbert was the third quarterback taken at the recent draft behind the Bengals’ Joe Burrow (1) and Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa (5). The Bolts’ rookie… and really all three are up against it this offseason due to COVID-19. The ongoing pandemic notably eliminated any preseason contests for Lynn and other coaching staffs to evaluate rookies against NFL talent.

Taylor, 31, was the Bills’ starting quarterback from 2015 until 2017. He helped Buffalo snap their near two-decade long playoff drought in his final season with the team.

Taylor then started 2018 as the Browns’ starting QB, a tenure which only lasted three games that season before being replaced by then-rookie Baker Mayfield. Taylor then joined the Bolts in 2019 and backed up then-starter Phillip Rivers.

As Buffalo’s former starter, Tyrod news is of interest. But magnifying that is Week 12. The Chargers visit the Colts that week of the upcoming season, but it remains to be seen how long Taylor will remain under center.

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2020 Bills opponents: Chargers GM likes ‘internal options’ at QB, aka Tyrod Taylor

Buffalo Bills 2020 opponents: Los Angeles Chargers general manager Tom Telesco on QB Tyrod Taylor.

Phillip Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers are no more after a decade and a half relationship. For now, former Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor is now the No. 1 quarterback on their roster.

But, it’s February. The NFL still has free agency in March. The Chargers have been connected to speculation surrounding Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, even.

Then there’s the 2020 NFL Draft in April, where the Bolts own the sixth-overall pick.

Despite that, Chargers general manager Tom Telesco made a radio appearance on AM570 LA Sports in Los Angeles on Tuesday and said he likes the guys he has already. Circling back: Tyrod Taylor.

Telesco when asked if their next starting QB could be on their roster already: “Certainly could be.”

Telesco continued, “We do like our internal options right now. Tyrod Taylor is a player that has won in this league and we think he has a style that fits what we can do.”

Along with Taylor, there’s Easton Stick, a fifth-round pick of the Chargers from last year’s draft out of North Dakota State. Telesco hedged his thoughts on Taylor and mentioned Stick too, but doubled down on Taylor.

“We have some high hopes for Easton Stick and Easton is still a young QB that has a little ways to go. We have a lot of confidence in Tyrod Taylor,” Telesco said.

While Telesco is the man pulling the string on the Chargers’ roster, there’s plenty to consider here. Mainly, the other parties involved.

Also during his interview, Telesco confirmed that team ownership and Los Angeles head coach Anthony Lynn, who worked with Taylor during their time together with the Bills, played a part in the decision to move on from Rivers. It’s known that Lynn and Taylor have a positive history together.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor and interim head coach Anthony Lynn. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

First, even NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said when Rivers was released this week that Lynn prefers a mobile quarterback like Taylor. In addition in 2017, RapSheet reported that after the Bills moved on from Rex Ryan, Buffalo’s owners, Kim and Terry Pegula, apologized to Lynn for making him bench Taylor in Week 17 of that season because of contractual reasons. They apologized because the Pegulas knew how much Lynn liked Taylor.

There’s also nothing short of a strong connection in words spoken between the coach and QB as well.

In March 2017, Lynn, recently hired by the Chargers, gave massive praise for Taylor, who was still on the Bills at that time.

“I think the sky’s the limit for Tyrod Taylor,” Lynn said. “I think he’s definitely a starting quarterback in this league. He won a few games with the Bills that we could not have won without him. Working with him 1-on-1, I understand his upside maybe a little better than others.”

Lynn and Taylor certainly became close in 2016 when Rex Ryan fired Greg Roman as offensive coordinator and promoted Lynn to that role. At the locker cleanout day following that season, Taylor said he would most certainly likely to continue playing for Lynn.

“I would love for that to happen but it’s still a prove it league,” Taylor said on continuing to play in Buffalo with Lynn at the time.

All things considered, we’ll just leave this reminder here: the Chargers with visit Buffalo during the 2020 season. While there are some skeptics based on the long offseason ahead, there’s a chance that Taylor leads the Bolts out of the tunnel that day.

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2020 Bills opponents: Chargers’ Phillip Rivers leaving, could Tyrod Taylor start?

The Buffalo Bills’ 2020 opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers, had QB Phillip Rivers retire, leaving Tyrod Taylor as their starting QB.

In 16 NFL seasons, quarterback Phillip Rivers has thrown for 59,271 passing yards with 397 touchdowns. All of those came with the Chargers organization, but his next yards and scores will come elsewhere.

In a long expected move, the Chargers announced on Monday that the Buffalo Bills won’t be facing Rivers in 2020 when Buffalo hosts them. Well, things weren’t exactly tailored that way, but the Chargers and Rivers “mutually agreed” that Rivers will become a free agent and not return to the team:

Speaking of “tailoring” news, this move brings former Bills starting QB Tyrod Taylor into the spotlight. He’s currently the No. 1 QB on the Chargers roster with Rivers gone.

But we’re a long ways away from next season. A lot could change by then, but there’s a few key factors to keep in mind.

The Chargers just extended their head coach, Anthony Lynn, so he’s going to be around regardless of whatever quarterback takes a snap next season for LA. In regard to Lynn, many point to his desire to have more of a mobile quarterback. You can’t get much more mobile than Taylor, who Lynn coached while with the Bills as well, and even NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport acknowledged that in a Monday report.

“You mentioned the kind of quarterback Anthony Lynn wants, they have one, (Lynn) does seem to favor more of a mobile-type quarterback, they have one in Tyrod Taylor,” Rapoport said.

Additionally, Rapoport said the Chargers are “looking for a new beginning at the quarterback position, someone who can turn the ball over far less.” That’s another trait used to describe Taylor, who has kept his interception rate down during his career, including his time with the Bills.

In his career, Taylor also has a winning record as a starter, 23-20-1, which is actually 24 wins because of that one time he didn’t take the first snap of the game with the Bills, a game the Bills won and he played every other snap as the QB.

Still, even with all the positives Taylor’s resume might hav, there’s plenty of other factors at play here. Rapoport also reported that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is expected to test free agency and in doing so also said the Chargers will be a team that’s interested. Furthermore, RapSheet says that the Chargers have been scouting quarterbacks “a lot” leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft. They hold the No. 6 overall spot so QBs such as Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert could be in play as well.

Circling back to the Bills, as things currently sit, Taylor is leading a team into Buffalo next season. But we’ve got a long way to go to see if that’s going to happen.

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