Tag: Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots

Bills’ Micah Hyde makes decision on Rasul Douglas: ‘We won the trade’

#Bills’ Micah Hyde makes decision on Rasul Douglas: ‘We won the trade’

The Bills defeated a chippy Patriots team 27-21 in Orchard Park on Sunday, extending their win streak to four straight contests.

Buffalo will head into next week’s regular-season finale against the Dolphins in Miami for the AFC Championship.

Sunday’s win could be the final AFC East meeting between defensive head coaches Sean McDermott and Bill Belichick, whose future with the Patriots organization is unclear.

And it was McDermott’s defense, for whom he is the primary play-caller, that shone, holding New England to only 294 total yards.

Buffalo caused four Patriots turnovers, including a pick-six by trade deadline acquisition CB Rasul Douglas.

Douglas tipped a pass by Patriots QB Bailey Zappe earlier in the game, which was then caught by teammate DT Ed Oliver for his first career interception, thanks to some single-handed acrobatics, before the cornerback reeled in two picks of his own.

All in the first half.

“That should have been another pick by me,” Douglas mused during his postgame media availability. “I should have had 3, honestly, cause I knew it was coming. I read it, but I was on the right side of the tight end and he kind of threw it to the left. So, I had to go around him and deflect it up and then I seen Ed diving for it, I was just happy that he caught it.”

Douglas has been a huge addition defensively in general, not to mention in the wake of another season-ending injury to CB Tre White.

“I don’t know what we gave up to get him… but we won the trade,” S Micah Hyde said about the Bills’ corner, per ABC 13 WHAM. 

Hyde’s comments were backed by their head coach, who noted the team’s resilience.

“They’ve been very resilient. And just the things that they’ve learned, I think, through the journey that have gotten us to here and then using them week to week to find a way to win games,” McDermott said to the press. “Today we knew wasn’t going to be easy and I thought that their resilient nature was on display in the second half.”

New England’s defense was still stingy despite their offense’s shortcomings, but it was Buffalo’s defensive group that won the day. The offense will look to bounce back and the team will aim to keep rolling into the win column next week in Miami.

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Bills’ Josh Allen on rocky Pats game: ‘One of the longest quarters I’ve ever been part of’

#Bills’ Josh Allen on rocky Pats game: ‘One of the longest quarters I’ve ever been part of’

The Bills beat the Patriots at home 27-21 on Sunday, as the team continues to win games, even when the win is an ugly one.

And it’s paid off.

The Bills’ overall offensive performance wasn’t the smoothest, however, as both OC Joe Brady and QB Josh Allen and his receiving targets, who struggled with completions and capitalizing on several Pats turnovers, expressed visible frustration at times.

Allen finished the day with two rushing TDs and 213 total yards of offense, though he struggled a bit in the passing game putting up only 45 total yards with an interception near the end of the first half.

“That was one of the longest quarters I’ve ever been a part of,” Allen said during his press conference. “Three possessions down there in the first quarter and we only scored one touchdown. That’s not good enough on our end. We got to be better prepared to go and get six and seven there. We lucked out. Our defense played a heck of a game and we got to just try to find a way to win.”

He quickly surpassed that first-half number on the first drive of the second half hitting  TE Dalton Kincaid for a 51-yard reception, a career-long for the Bills first-year tight end.

In the contest, Kincaid finished with 87 yards and set a new franchise record for receptions by a rookie with 62 catches on the season.

“We’re playing a pretty good team so just glad we came out with the win,” Kincaid said to the media.

“Each game’s been you know the most important game and now that this game passed you know next week’s the most important game for us, so looking forward to that.”

The Bills offense was a little bit of history repeating in some ways, as Kincaid led the way in receiving yards and Allen scored multiple TDs in their last meetup too.

What has been different about these past couple of matchups with New England has been the usage of WR1 Stefon Diggs, who was quiet these several games, even not taking any offensive snaps on Buffalo’s opening scoring drive at the start of the 2nd half.

Before this season, he had been the leading receiver in several matchups against New England, and while he had a TD in their last meeting and a shot at deep ball on Sunday night, his role has been different,

Diggs often commands double teams, and the coverage he and WR2 Gabe Davis require of opposing defenses creates openings for other targets like Kincaid, WR Khalil Shakir, and receiving RB James Cook.

In the quest for the Buffalo offense to become more multi-dimensional under new offensive coordinator Joe Brady, the captain has sacrificed to help his team win.

And win they have.

The Bills were at 6-6 and on the outside looking in at the playoffs, and have since rattled off four victories and a shot at their fourth straight AFC East crown in next week’s season finale against the Dolphins in Miami.

“I obviously would love to have a home game in the playoffs,” Allen added. “Would love to get in the playoffs, so that’s first and foremost. [We’re] just doing whatever we can do to give ourselves a chance of getting in.”

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ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky predicts Patriots’ defensive approach vs. Bills (video)

Orlovsky provides and early week #Bills vs. #Patriots preview:

Former NFL quarterback and huge Josh Allen fan from ESPN, Dan Orlovsky, provided viewers a glimpse on what QBs and offenses are doing right.

With the Buffalo Bills (9-6) playing the New England Patriots (4-11) this Sunday, Orlovsky joined the team’s radio show, One Bills Live, to predict what he expects the Patriots defense to do to keep Allen and the Buffalo offense at bay.

Orlovsky expects a bend, don’t break New England defense to mask their defensive coverage when the Bills reach the red zone. The multiple coverages the Patriots will show will aim to limit the Bills offense to field goals instead of touchdowns to give them a chance to win.

You can watch the full One Bills Live clip with Orlovsky here:

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Bills’ Dalton Kincaid points out communication, passion, energy on offense vs. Bucs

#Bills’ Dalton Kincaid points out: ‘Communication, passion, energy’ on offense vs. #Buccaneers:

The Buffalo Bills were looking to have a bounce-back win on a short week following a loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday.

On Thursday Night Football at home, they did just that.

The Bills (5-3) bested the Buccaneers 24-18, outlasting Tampa in their attempt at a fourth-quarter comeback.

Rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid’s contributions were among the bright spots for an offense that found a rhythm that has eluded them at times since early last season.

When asked what differences he noticed in the Bills offense, Kincaid pinpointed a few specific things that stood out.

“Better communication, more passion and more energy throughout,” the rookie said to the media postgame.

Kincaid had five catches on seven targets for 65 yards. After his first career touchdown, he leaped into the stands with Bills Mafia in celebration.

Following news this week that starting tight end Dawson Knox would undergo surgery for a wrist injury and land on injured reserve, Kincaid’s role is set to increase during the Pro Bowler’s absence.

After the win over the Bucs, head coach Sean McDermott commented on what he saw in Kincaid’s biggest outing yet as a Bill.

“(He just needs) to be him,” McDermott said. “To continue to grow like all of the players, particularly the young players. Grow every week, get a little bit better and find things to work on. … He’s done a good job. And when you watch the rapport of a good tight end and a quarterback, it only grows over the years. And the more they play together, the better it should get.”

QB Josh Allen ran a more up-tempo passing game, logging 324 yards with two touchdowns and one interception passing. He commented following the win on Kincaid as well.

“He’s a professional. I thought he stepped up to the challenge and we’re going to have to get him more involved in the offense as the season goes by.”

In addition to the scoring toss,  Allen also made sure to secure the game ball from Kincaid’s first points in the NFL.

“You never know what they’re gonna do on their first touchdown,” Allen added about rookies. “So I stole (the ball) from him and made sure I got it to our equipment manager (Austin Skobel) and ‘Scoby’s’ gonna put it in a nice spot and laminate it and put something pretty on it for his first touchdown.”

It was also one of the most balanced games the Bills have had on offense as they spread the ball around to receivers Khalil Shakir (92 yards on six catches), Gabe Davis (87 yards on nine catches, and Stefon Diggs (70 yards on nine catches), as well as TE Dalton Kincaid (65 yards on five catches.)

On the ground RB James Cook had 67 yards on 14 carries with Allen adding 41 yards and a touchdown.

Next up, they’ll get a rematch with the Bengals in Cincinnati in one of their most important tests of the season thus far.

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Bills’ Von Miller on Ed Oliver: ‘One of the best guys in the league’

Von Miller called Ed Oliver one of the best in the NFL:

The Buffalo Bills defense was missing some key pieces in their loss against the New England Patriots on Sunday.

With several defenders added to the injured reserve list in the last couple weeks, it was compounded with news that starting defensive tackle Ed Oliver would be out in Week 7 due to a toe injury.

Oliver has been one of the best interior pass-rushers in the NFL this season. It was a difference-making blow for the Bills (4-3).

Drafted in 2019, he has consistently pressured opposing quarterbacks into mistakes, and in 2022 had the second-highest pressure rate among his position in the NFL. As for this season, Oliver is on pace to set his career-best sack mark. He had five all the way back in his rookie year, but already has four in 2023.

Teammate Von Miller (knee) is working through his own injury situation. But he knows rushing the passer and he thinks Oliver ranks among one of the best in football at it.

“He’s the point guard – it goes as Ed goes. He’s one of the best guys in the league.” said Miller via video conference.

The All-Pro edge defender recently rejoined Buffalo’s defense after being one of the key injuries at the start of the season–but his stemmed over from 2022 which ended his year.

Such a serious injury takes time to get back in form, but Buffalo will hope to see peak Oliver and Miller firing on all cylinders as soon as possible this season.

But will that happen on Thursday?

First, one step at a time.

With such a short turnaround between the loss on Sunday and Buffalo’s next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3), coach Sean McDermott said on Oliver’s return “it’s going to be close” in terms of Oliver being able to play.

So far this week, both Oliver and Miller have been listed as limited participants in practice on Monday and Tuesday, as Miller was held to only six snaps played last week.

With such a short timeline, they could go either way by Thursday.

Bills Wire will continue to provide all injury updates ahead of kickoff.

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Von Miller: Bills got ‘punch in the mouth’ vs. Patriots

The #Bills defense explains what happened vs. the #Patriots:

The Buffalo Bills are looking for answers on both sides of the ball following a disappointing division matchup loss to the New England Patriots.

While the offense has struggled, putting up only ten first-half points in their last three games, the defense struggled on Sunday as well, giving up a game-winning drive inside the final two minutes.

OLB Von Miller, who recently returned to live gameplay from a year-long injury and surgery recovery, found a silver lining in the ugly defeat.

“A good punch in the chin, a punch in the mouth – they’re always good,” he said, suggesting it could inspire a spark, for the team and perhaps himself as well.

DT defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, meanwhile, touched on the teams’ pattern of playing to the level of their competition. A trend evident across the past several seasons.

“We have to stop playing down to different people,” the veteran noted. “We have to do our thing and play Buffalo Bills football and we haven’t done that the last few weeks even though we won last week.”

Behind the line, safety Micah Hyde recognized the Patriots’ offensive execution while pointing out the Bills’ defensive lack thereof.

“They worked their way down the field and worked the clock. It was just poor execution by us as a defense, we’ve got to do better,” he shared. “I felt like we gave them too much in the first two drives. I’ve got to look at the play-by-play to see rushing yards and all that stuff, but it’s just we didn’t play our brand of football today. We gave them a little too much and obviously, it came down to that last drive. This is the NFL and coming down to the last two minutes of the game, you’ve got to execute and get off the field. We just didn’t do it.”

Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott, a former defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers, took over playcalling duties on that side of the ball following the departure of DC Leslie Frasier.

The Bills defense, however, struggled to stop a Patriots offense that hasn’t been good this season.

“Just not enough, we didn’t do enough,” McDermott said during his postgame press conference. “We didn’t put it in position enough. I didn’t put the defense in position enough, and then just overall didn’t play complementary football.”
 
Hyde’s fellow safety Jordan Poyer provided some perspective both on the season as well as the short time before they face their next opponent.
 
“This is a long season. This is a very long season – 4-3, maybe not where we wanted to be at the beginning of the year, but we’ve got a short week this week and the games are going to keep coming,” Poyer said. “No reason to sulk into this one and turn one loss into two. We’ll hit it on the plane, watch the tape on the plane and tomorrow we’re on to Tampa Bay.”
 
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Bills’ Josh Allen on slow start: ‘I wish I knew the exact answer’

#Bills’ Josh Allen on slow start: ‘I wish I knew the exact answer’;

The Bills put up enough points over several minutes near the end of the fourth quarter in Sunday’s matchup to take the lead against the Patriots.

And then, within the final minutes, gave it back.

Despite a continued pattern of not putting points on the board until late in the contest, it seemed like Buffalo was making a comeback to secure a win on Sunday.

They took a fourth-quarter lead, and their defense got the chance to stop in the final minute, like the week before. Unlike that game, however, they didn’t stop their opponent.

When asked about whether he needs to be more involved on the offensive side of playcalling and if that is possible given he’s both head coaching as well as calling the plays on defense, HC Sean McDermott noted it would be a team effort to find a resolution to their offensive struggles.

“I oversee all three phases, we have communication across all three phases,” he said to the press postgame. “Collectively, we need to continue to find answers.”

The beginning of the outing was a little rocky for Josh Allen, who threw an interception on Buffalo’s first offensive play of the game. After the third contest in a row where the offense got off to a slow start, the QB is still looking for answers.

“I wish I knew the exact answer because we’d have it fixed by now, so I’m going to watch this film and find a way to get there,” Allen said. “Our season’s not over, it’s a long season I know it feels pretty bleak right now but we’re going to figure it out.”

In previous seasons, under offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, at times Buffalo would charge downfield to score on the opening drive or pile on points in the first half to add to in the second, where by the fourth quarter, their backup QB would take over for handoffs and running the clock down to a win.

Since offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey took over last season, there have been times where they’ve continued to spread the ball out and dominate and times where they are stagnant. He was previously the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Buffalo and has been learning on the job in his first experience as an OC.

Buffalo currently has a first-half points total of only 10 in their past three combined games, following what were several previous high-scoring outings.

That, along with continued execution issues, wasn’t enough to put the game out of reach for New England despite good production from TE Dalton Kincaid, WR Stefon Diggs, and RB James Cook.

Ultimately, the Buffalo defense couldn’t seal the win and the inconsistency and struggles have left McDermott acknowledging the need for examination.

Several commonalities across his tenure manifested in the game, such as penalties, turnovers, and struggling to stop the run. The pattern of often playing to the level of their competition continued as well.

“We’ve gotta continue to find answers to some of the reasons as to why we’re stubbing our toe,” the Bills coach added. “We’re not playing complimentary football. … We’re beating ourselves at times, and we’re not linking up in all three phases to control a game.”

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New quarterbacks have a bad time against Sean McDermott’s Bills

New quarterbacks have a bad time against Sean McDermott’s #Bills (via @TejasVemparala):

Recently drafted and new starting quarterbacks should fear starting against the Buffalo Bills.

At least according to the statistics.

Opponent quarterbacks who have played the Bills in one of their first five career starts have not had an enjoyable day.

Following Buffalo’s dominant win against the Washington Commanders, and with plenty of praise for the Bills’ defense who sacked quarterback Sam Howell nine times and generated five turnovers (including four interceptions), the statistic highlights how difficult the task is for new quarterbacks to the NFL:

The eight opposing quarterbacks who have faced the Bills in one of their first five starts are winless, throwing less than 200 yards per game. In total, the eight quarterbacks have thrown only three touchdowns along with 20 interceptions, and have been sacked 29 times.

Commanders quarterback Sam Howell was drafted in 2022, but started his first game in Washington’s season finale against the Dallas Cowboys in January. The Commanders won Howell’s debut game, along with both games to start the 2023 NFL season. The loss against Buffalo highlighted Howell’s inexperience against an elite defense that is excellent at both pass-rush and coverage.

The Commanders will look to get back in the win column, but Howell will have another tough test against the Philadelphia Eagles defense in Week 3. More importantly, the Buffalo’s next opportunity to play an inexperienced quarterback might come against the New England Patriots in Week 7 should Bailey Zappe have the opportunity to start ahead of teammate Mac Jones. If that is the case, look for the Bills defense to continue to make life miserable for the second year quarterback who will have started his fifth game against the Bills.

Maybe we will get an updated statistic of 0-9.

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Ranking the best tight ends on the Bills’ 2023 schedule by PFF grade

Ranking the best tight ends on the #Bills’ 2023 schedule by PFF grade (via @TejasVemparala):

The Buffalo Bills have some talented teams and offenses to play against on their upcoming 2023 schedule.

Typically, the offensive side of the ball is closely associated with the quarterback play. Tight ends now play an integral part in many NFL offenses, needing to block defenders to protect the QB, create and maintain running lanes for the back, or even running routes to provide an option for the quarterback when throwing.

Here’s how Pro Football Focus graded and ranked every running back the Bills will face in 2023:

Josh Allen finds John Brown, Stefon Diggs with deep balls in Bills win

Josh Allen finds John Brown, Stefon Diggs with deep balls in #Bills win:

The Buffalo Bills topped the New England Patriots 35-23 at home on Sunday in Orchard Park.

In a game that saw some electric scoring plays by the Bills in front of the Highmark Stadium crowd, several of those came by way of quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills receiving corps.

The longest of which was a 49-yard bomb to Stefon Diggs.

Diggs led all Bills receivers with seven receptions on ten targets and 104 total yards with the score, which was good for a third straight game against New England with at least 85 yards, seven catches, and a receiving touchdown.

The Patriots have simply not been able to stop him, and the Bills have too many weapons for New England to double-cover him with a safety.

In my Bills vs. Patriots: 5 things to watch for during Week 18’s game for BillsWire, I pointed out that Diggs was poised for another big performance against the Patriots’ secondary coverage and CB Jonathan Jones. Diggs has cooked Jones so often that he could have his own special on Food Network.

This after his lack of targets was questioned late in the regular season.

The wideout was involved in the offense early as the target of Allen’s first two passes. He played well against man coverage, and his TD catch was his 11th on the year, tying former Buffalo receiver Bill Brooks’s franchise record from the 1995 NFL season.

“We wanna throw to 14,” Allen said to the press postgame. “Teams do a really good job of taking that away, but at the end of the day they can’t do it every single play.”

Allen went 19-for-31 with 254 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception throwing with a 106.1 passer rating on the day.

“Just giving 14 a chance one-on-one and that’s something maybe I’ve gotten away from a little bit too much,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “The dinking and dunking is great, but sometimes you’ve got to let your dogs be dogs.”

Prior to the rocket to Diggs, TE Dawson Knox hauled in a four-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter, and Allen found John “Smoke” Brown who laid out for a big 42-yard scoring catch on a third-quarter dime the QB threw running toward the sideline on a broken-up play.

It was Brown’s only target and catch in the contest, and he made it count.

The two deep-scoring tosses came at a good time for Buffalo, while WR2 Gabe Davis was third in receptions with 39 yards and has factored more into the offense in recent weeks, he’s struggled with reliable hands and consistency this season, and was three for ten on catches in the game.

Brown’s touchdown was his first since the 2020 season with Buffalo, in a January 3rd, 2021 game against Miami. He recently re-signed with the Bills’ practice squad and was elevated to the active roster for the game.

With the win, the Bills have secured the No. 2 spot in the AFC playoffs and will host none other than the Dolphins, who might wish it was colder, in Orchard Park next weekend with a day and time yet TBD.

“I’m not going to say other teams haven’t been through a lot but we faced a lot of adversity and obstacles this season,” Diggs said to NFL Network’s Mike Giardi after the game. “It showed that we can really weather the storm on the field, off the field, everything. That all the trials and tribulations, we’ve got a strong group, a real family over here. And that’s something we’re going to lean on going into this new journey. But the mission starts.”

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