Tag: bills

PODCAST: Bills fend off pesky Patriots

Buffalo Bills podcast from Bills Wire following 24-21 win over the New England Patriots in Week 8.

It was seemingly a moment that everyone affiliated with the Buffalo Bills at any point over the last 20-plus years had clamored for. The unofficial end of the New England Patriots’ stranglehold over the AFC East, and it came via a 24-21 win for the Bills. While this New England squad looked much, much different from last year, they still admirably battled the Bills with the same tenacity that they always have, and didn’t roll over for Buffalo.

Aside from the game-sealing fumble from quarterback Cam Newton in the final seconds, the Patriots played smart football, never being too overly aggressive with their play calling. Their offense, outside of Newton, running back James White and maybe running back Rex Burkhead, was made up of players that you would probably never have in your starting fantasy lineup. They were impressive, but that’s the genius of New England coach Bill Belichick.

The Bills came out and played gritty football, and came out on top in a nail biter. It wasn’t pretty by any means, but there were certainly some positives to come from it. The running game finally got some traction, which is something that many have been clamoring for. The defense continues to tighten up, and their “bend, don’t break” style of play has led to the most crucial defensive stands happening when needed most.

There’s a lot to build off of for this game, as the Bills prepare for their tougher stretch of schedule, starting with the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9.

But before seeing the Seahawks, Bills Wire podcast host Matt Johnson and contributor David De Cristofaro breakdown the week that was.

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Bills’ ‘silent assassin’ cements victory over the Patriots

Defensive Tackle, Justin Zimmer’s forced fumble helped Bills improve to 6-2.

Another week, another win and another unlikely hero.

Heading into Sunday’s game vs. the New England Patriots, few observers of the Bills were probably familiar with defensive tackle Justin Zimmer.

But following his potential game-saving forced fumble against Cam Newton in the fourth quarter, his name is one plenty will know now.

“I don’t know what to feel right now. I’m still breathing heavy from the game,” Zimmer said following the game. “I’m excited. It’ll probably take me 24-hours before I realize what happened. I’m just excited.”

With the Bills leading 24-21 late, Newton and the Patriots were driving down the field with the clock winding down. well within field goal range, looking for the game-winning touchdown. This is when Zimmer jarred the ball lose for safety Dean Marlowe to recover, cementing the victory and sending the Bills to 6-2.

“They were all just hugging me, giving me congrats, saying ‘huge play’, things like that,” Zimmer said of his teammates. “We’ve got a great team around here. Everyone’s a tight-knit family. It was just great to do it as a team, honestly. I might’ve made the last play, but everyone played a part in this. That one play didn’t win us the game, the whole game did.”

As one would expect, Zimmer’s teammates were extremely complimentary of the defensive tackle after the game.

“We call him our, ‘silent assassin’,” Jerry Hughes said.

Not bad praise from last week’s AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Left Tackle Dion Dawkins & safety Jordan Poyer also added to the praise. Both referencing Zimmer’s strength quiet nature and extremely impressive work ethic.

Poyer even went as far as to call Zimmer’s forced fumble “the play of the year.”

Zimmer’s journey in the NFL actually started in Buffalo back in 2016, when the Bills signed him as an undrafted free agent.

Zimmer was waived before the season and saw his career take him to the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad, the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL, the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad, the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad, before ending back up on the Bills’ practice squad this season.

Zimmer eventually get the permanent call-up to the active roster on Oct. 21 and he has taken full advantage.

Head Coach Sean McDermott, mentioned Zimmer fighting through all of that adversity in his career, to get to this point and Zimmer himself mentioned this easily being the biggest play of his career.

While the Bills now sit atop the AFC East with a 1.5 game lead over the second place Miami Dolphins, the road ahead gets much tougher, with Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks on deck.

In the meantime though, the Bills and Zimmer are going to enjoy this win over the Patriots, their first at home since 2011, just like Zimmer likely was happy to be honored by McDermott in the team’s locker room after the win:

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Bills Wire’s Week 8 Player of the Game: RB Zack Moss

Buffalo Bills player of the game for Week 8 vs. the New England Patriots.

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It wasn’t pretty, but the Buffalo Bills took another significant step toward shaking off the ghosts of seasons past.

With the Bills winning 24-21 over the New England Patriots, the AFC East crown is now in sight. A major factor of that victory comes from our Week 8 and first time Bills Wire Player of the Game, running back Zack Moss.

Moss was a major factor in a significant rushing day for this lackluster Bills rushing offense. Moss pulled in 81 yards on the ground, just a few short of Devin Singletary. What separates Moss’ day from Singletary is the two rushing touchdowns he scored. They were the first two of his NFL career. 

The Bills will hope to continue to build off of this, as the Bills face the Seattle Seahawks next week at home.

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Bills OL Mitch Morse out vs. Patriots

Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Mitch Morse is out for the remainder of the team’s game against the New England Patriots.
Morse suffered a concussion on the Bills’ first drive on offense in Week 8.
Ryan Bates initially replaced Morse at center for the remainder of that drive, however, Jon Feliciano jumped in at center on Buffalo’s second drive

Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Mitch Morse is out for the remainder of the team’s game against the New England Patriots.
Morse suffered a concussion on the Bills’ first drive on offense in Week 8.
Ryan Bates initially replaced Morse at center for the remainder of that drive, however, Jon Feliciano jumped in at center on Buffalo’s second drive

Bills OL Mitch Morse out vs. Patriots

Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Mitch Morse is out for the remainder of the team’s game against the New England Patriots.
Morse suffered a concussion on the Bills’ first drive on offense in Week 8.
Ryan Bates initially replaced Morse at center for the remainder of that drive, however, Jon Feliciano jumped in at center on Buffalo’s second drive

Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Mitch Morse is out for the remainder of the team’s game against the New England Patriots.
Morse suffered a concussion on the Bills’ first drive on offense in Week 8.
Ryan Bates initially replaced Morse at center for the remainder of that drive, however, Jon Feliciano jumped in at center on Buffalo’s second drive

PODCAST: Bills survive Jets; look to continue against Patriots

In a much needed victory, the Bills swept the Jets for the 2020 season. While New York put together a much better game plan this time around, it was not enough to keep the spunky Buffalo team down. The Bills now are 5-2 and move on to a much …

In a much needed victory, the Bills swept the Jets for the 2020 season. While New York put together a much better game plan this time around, it was not enough to keep the spunky Buffalo team down. The Bills now are 5-2 and move on to a much anticipated game against the New England Patriots.

The Jets led for the entire first half of the game, a surprising result for a team that hasn’t led much all year. Their offense finding some rhythm against the Bills defense. Frank Gore ripped off several big runs, and the Jets passing game looked relatively effective. That all changed in the second half however.

A testament to the Bills defense, which has mostly been a first half team this year, they stopped any momentum that Sam Darnold and the Jets offense had built. Combining that with effective offensive play, that couldn’t quite find the end zone, but moved the ball well enough for the Bills rookie kicker Tyler Bass to hit six field goals, and you have a gritty team victory.

While it wasn’t the world-beating Bills victory that we hoped to see, it was certainly a step in the right direction after two losses to great AFC contenders. There was a lot to build off of in this game, as the team pulls itself up by the bootstraps and heads toward their much tougher portion of the schedule.

Podcast hosts Matt and David take you through the Week 7 encounter between the Bills and Jets.

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Bills K Tyler Bass: ‘It’s about what you do after a miss’

Entering today’s game vs. the New York Jets, Bills kicker, Tyler Bass, had had an up and down rookie season.

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Entering today’s game vs. the New York Jets, Bills kicker Tyler Bass, was having an up and down rookie season.

Bass started his NFL career 6 for 9 (67%,) with one of his misses coming before halftime last week vs. the Chiefs, in a game where his team really could have used the points. Others came in his first-career game, Buffalo’s season opener against the Jets, which were near chip-shot territory.

After releasing veteran Stephen Hauschka and handing the job to Bass, some were starting to wonder had Buffalo made the right move, entrusting the kicking duties to a rookie on a team that is expected to compete now.

In Week 7, Bass did his best to silence those critics.

After missing a 48-yard kick at the start of the game, Bass nailed a 53-yarder and was off and running.

Bass finished the day 6 for 8, accounting for all 18 of the Bills points leading them to the victory. After the 18-10 win, Bass had a very levelheaded approach to it all despite having just attempted eight field goals.

“It’s really not about how many you make,” Bass told the media via a Zoom call after the game. “It’s about what you do after a miss, after something goes wrong. Anyone can handle stuff when things are easy, it’s just about… when something goes wrong, it’s about how you handle that. You don’t let it define you… you just trust everything you’d done in practice that week and you just put it to show.”

The CBS broadcast crew was also heard poking fun at Bass during the game for wearing eye black under only one of his eyes. Turns out part of the reason is as a homage to his grandmother.

Regardless of the broadcasters, confidence was something Bass was searching for on Sunday and perhaps he found it.

“It’s a huge confidence boost to get out there and get the live reps,” Bass said.

While Bass was happy to see the live reps, one can be sure that he did not expect to see that many opportunities.

The kicker set a new Bills franchise record with eight FG attempts and tied Steve Christie’s franchise record for field goals made in a game at six. That was set all the way back in 1996.

While the Bills schedule doesn’t get any easier facing the Patriots and Seahawks before their bye week, the team will certainly be relying on Bass to make big kicks for them in the second half of the season.

If Sunday is any indication, perhaps despite a slow start, the rookie is up for the challenge.

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Bills Wire’s Week 7 Player of the Game: K Tyler Bass

Though he wasn’t perfect, Bass scored every point for the Bills against the New York Jets.

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With the Buffalo Bills moving to 5-2 after a much needed, hard-fought victory, the Bills Wire Week 7 Player of the Game is kicker Tyler Bass.

Though he wasn’t perfect, Bass scored every point for the Bills against the New York Jets in the 18-10 win, making the most of long, yet unfinished drives. Bass was 6-for-8 overall kicking, with his long being a 53-yarder. He also hit from 46, 37, 29, and 40 yards.

A nice sign for the rookie was him bouncing back from a miss, not once, but twice. After his first attempt sailed wide, Bass made four-straight kicks. Upon missing his second, Bass nailed two more, including one that pretty much iced the game, putting the Bills up by eight late in the game.

The Bills will face off against the New England Patriots next week, and this was a good showing for Bass. In what might be a close game, Bass building some confidence ahead of Week 8’s meeting could prove to be even more crucial to the Bills.

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Chiefs vs. Broncos live tweets and scoring updates

Follow along as Chiefs Wire staff and other media members tweet throughout the seventh Chiefs game of the 2020 season.

Are you ready for a snow game, Chiefs Kingdom?

Kickoff is coming up at 3:25 CT as the Kansas City Chiefs face the Denver Broncos in Week 7. You can find all the important details about how to watch the game and more here.

Looking for live scoring updates? We’ll update those in the chart below. Be sure to bookmark the page or click this link for the latest updates.

Chiefs vs. Broncos score

Quarter Chiefs Broncos
First – –
Second – –
Third – –
Fourth – –
Final – –

53-man roster guide

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Follow along as the Chiefs Wire staff and other media members tweet during the game. Get the absolute latest updates on our Twitter list down below.

Inactive players

Inactives for Chiefs vs. Broncos, Week 7

Live Tweets

https://twitter.com/TheChiefsWire/lists/chiefs-gameday

Chiefs’ 2020 schedule

Week Opponent Time (CT) | Date Channel
1 vs. Houston Texans 7:20 p.m. Thu, Sept. 10th NBC
2 at Los Angeles Chargers 3:25  p.m. Sun, Sept. 20th CBS
3 at Baltimore Ravens 7:15 p.m. Mon, Sept. 28th ESPN
4 vs. New England Patriots 6:05 p.m. Mon, Oct. 5th CBS
5 vs. Las Vegas Raiders 12:00 p.m. Sun, Oct. 11th CBS
6 at Buffalo Bills 4:00 p.m. Mon, Oct. 19th FOX/NFLN/Amazon
7 at Denver Broncos 3:25 p.m. Sun, Oct 25th CBS
8 vs. New York Jets 12:00 p.m. Sun, Nov. 1st CBS
9 vs. Carolina Panthers 12:00 p.m. Sun, Nov. 8th FOX
10 BYE BYE BYE
11 at Las Vegas Raiders 7:20 p.m. Sun, Nov. 22nd NBC
12 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3:25 p.m. Sun, Nov. 29th CBS
13 vs. Denver Broncos 7:20 p.m. Sun, Dec. 6th NBC
14 at Miami Dolphins 12:00 p.m. Sun, Dec. 13th CBS
15 at New Orleans Saints 3:25 p.m. Sun, Dec. 20th CBS
16 vs. Atlanta Falcons 12:00 p.m. Sun, Dec. 27th FOX
17 vs. Los Angeles Chargers 12:00 p.m. Sun, Jan. 3rd CBS

 

Bills at Jets: 3 keys to the game for both teams

Buffalo Bills, New York Jets keys to game Week 7.

The Bills and Jets are facing each other for the second time in 2020, and while it has only been seven weeks, so much has changed. The Jets are vastly different, losing running back Le’Veon Bell and many others. For the Bills, there’s a much different feeling, as the defense has shown it’s true colors.

As poor as the Jets are, this game shouldn’t be overlooked. Here are the keys to victory for both teams:

New York Jets

1. Rally behind Sam Darnold

Though he’s been out on injury over the last two weeks, the world is starting to see that Sam Darnold is a gamer, and the New York Jets franchise has let him down. His performance against the Denver Broncos, which didn’t yield a victory, but did involve Darnold breaking off a 46-yard touchdown run to get his team moving.

Despite the lack of weapons, Darnold moved the ball effectively in the second half against the Bills in Week 1, and despite some “questionable” injury designations on the Jets, Darnold may be able to move the ball against this Bills defense that is banged up and playing poorly.

Let Darnold loose, as best as he can be. Designated runs, albeit not being a rushing QB, might be a way to catch this Bills defense off guard. Short and mid-ranged passes to attack the linebackers work, too.

2. The “Old Man” can still go

When Bell went on injured reserve after the first Bills and Jets encounter, Frank Gore became the guy in their backfield. While he’s not close to what he once was, Gore can still break off runs when needed. More of a power runner than an elusive back.

Is the Jets’ offensive line bad? Absolutely, but so is the Bills rush defense. While he doesn’t have to be an every down back, Gore should be game planned as often as possible. Gore is averaging 3.3 yards per carry, and the Bills are giving up and average of 4.8 yards per rush. It’s quite obvious.

There might be a bit of revenge mentality as well, with Gore having played in Buffalo last year, and having opportunities taken from him as the team transitioned toward Devin Singletary. Gore’s a true pro, and that may be drastic, but, how sweet would it be to have a season high game against the team that dumped you for the new kid.

3. Be Aggressive on Defense

The Bills offense has gone against much tougher competition than the Jets since their first game, this team has done a good job of beating itself in recent weeks. Penalties, overthrows and general mistakes have had the Bills look night and day different from what they had in weeks one through four.

It’s a Gregg Williams defense, which is trained to be more physical then most. Aggressive play from a defensive front is enough to rattle Allen, and we’ve seen in recent weeks what that can do. It might be the most important key to giving this Jets team an opportunity to win.

Play disciplined and penalty free football, while being hard nosed and physical. The Bills offensive line woes should come into play here, and may be the best opportunity for a Jets defense to find success.

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