Tag: Christian Benford

PFF: 5 highest-graded Bills players on defense in Week 15

PFF: 5 highest-graded #Bills players on defense in Week 15 vs. the #Cowboys:

The Buffalo Bills easily won a thrilling 31-10 final in their Week 15 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Bills (8-6) had a few players that stood out above the rest in this one. On defense, the Bills had a strong showing out of multiple players, including cornerback Christian Benford who had an interception against the Cowboys (10-4).

In terms of the players who helped Benford pull out the win, Buffalo will hope such efforts remain throughout the rest of the 2023 season as the aim to secure a postseason spot.

According to Pro Football Focus, they’ll need these players specifically to start to play at a high level.

Here are the five highest-graded Bills players on defense against the Cowboys in Week 15:

Report card: Bills top Cowboys, 31-10

Report card: #Bills top #Cowboys, 31-10:

The Buffalo Bills kept rolling in Week 15 against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Bills (8-6) took a 31-10 win. As the score indicates, a lot went right for Buffalo against Dallas (10-4). Some positions more so than others.

With that, here is Bills Wire’s position-by-position report card for Week 15:

Bills react to late penalty vs. Chiefs: ‘Fortunately it came on our side’

#Bills react to late penalty vs. #Chiefs: ‘Fortunately it came on our side’

The Buffalo Bills came out of their bye week on a mission.

With a 6-6 record entering a critical game to the AFC playoff picture and their postseason chances, a win in Sunday’s rematch with a familiar foe in the Kansas City Chiefs was sorely needed.

Buffalo was undefeated following the bye at 6-0 since Sean McDermott became head coach, and after an eventful week riddled with off-the-field headlines they were looking to improve on that record and extend their regular season win-streak at Arrowhead to a third consecutive victory.

And they did just that.

In a nail-biter the Bills special teams and defense came through in the end to seal a 20-17 road victory, keeping their postseason hopes alive while becoming the first NFL team to log three regular season victories against Patrick Mahomes.

But it wasn’t without an all-to-familiar close-call.

TE Travis Kelce, who had a huge play on the season-ending Chiefs win against Buffalo in the 2021 AFC Championship game, had a 29-yard catch on the Chiefs final drive Sunday which he then threw what would have been a 20-yard lateral pass to Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney as he ran untouched in for a touchdown.

“That’s the ballsiest play I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Allen told NFL Network’s James Palmer after the game. “That was unbelievable.”

The play was waved off, another feeling Buffalo knows all too well themselves, due to an offsides penalty on Toney for being in the neutral zone back at the line of scrimmage.

“In the moment I thought it was one of the best plays I’ve ever seen and he’s done that before, but fortunately it came on our side,” Bills safety Jordan Poyer noted per The Buffalo News.

Allen had a first-quarter passing touchdown in the air to running back James Cook, adding another one on the ground in the second quarter thanks in part to a rugby-like push from his teammates to help power into the endzone against roughly half the Chiefs defense.

In the second half Kansas City fought back, scoring in the third quarter and fourth quarters to pull even and tie the game at 17.

While Buffalo struggled to find the end zone throughout the second half, two second-half field goals by kicker Tyler Bass kept them in it, including one kick with under two minutes left in the game to give Buffalo back the lead.

Them came the final drive by the Chiefs.

Buffalo hasn’t typically come out on top in one-score games, and for a moment it seemed like history could repeat itself.

“As the play unfolded, I think it was Kelce that was wide open there and the play after he caught the ball, I’ve never seen a play like that, not in the NFL,” head coach Sean McDermott said to the media. “But, thankful and, you know, then, I saw the referees signaling that direction. So, I didn’t know if it was a pick or what it was, and then it turned out to be the offsides there.”

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Bills’ Ed Oliver post-Chiefs win: ‘That’s exactly what we get paid to do’

#Bills’ Ed Oliver post-#Chiefs win: ‘That’s exactly what we get paid to do’

The Bills traveled to Kansas City on Sunday for a game against the Chiefs with Buffalo’s playoff hopes hanging in the balance, and left with a 20-17 victory.

Sean McDermott’s squad has now won their third consecutive head-to-head regular-season matchup in Kansas City.

He has emphasized complimentary football in his time as Buffalo’s head coach, competing in all three phases of offense, defense, and special teams as a means to victory.

In big matchups with QB Josh Allen under center, the Bills offense has often done its part to put the team in a position to win, but had their defense fail to get stops or special teams not always come through in clutch moments to close out games and seal victories.

Perhaps no more visibly than a now infamous AFC Championship game loss to Kansas City during the 2021 NFL postseason.

But in Sunday’s victory, Allen pointed to the team’s defense as a key to their win.

“Wasn’t the prettiest of wins, we all know that, lot to clean up,” Allen said to the media. “But defense played fantastic, went out there made a two-minute stop which is great to see and they played great all night.”

The two teams reminded all who were watching why they are among the top rivalries in the NFL, locking into a neck-and-neck 17-17 score through much of the second half after the Chiefs fought their way back to tie the game.

And in the final two minutes of the game, they found themselves in a familiar position.

The Bills defense, who has struggled at times to get key stops late in games to close out wins, was again facing Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense with the game on the line.

And on third and long with a three-point lead and about a minute left to play, Buffalo defensive tackle Ed Oliver batted a pass by Mahomes incomplete to force a 4th &15 in their own territory.

And it proved to seal the game for a needed Bills win as Mahomes threw an incomplete pass under pressure, giving Buffalo to improve to 7-6 while keeping their playoff hopes alive.

“That’s what they paid me for — to impact the game like that late in the game,” Oliver said to the press. “We need to get off the field and all the guys just rushing together and just getting after Mahomes. I know he was a little flustered at the end. So that’s exactly what we get paid to do.”

He also noted that the Bills’ defense came prepared for just that type of situation.

“You know it’s kind of cliche but we literally did this in practice,” Oliver added. “You know they say practice how you play, but literally we had a two-minute drill at the end of practice specifically for this moment to close our games. So I guess when you practice the situation, and we was put in the situation and we W, I think it has a lot to do with practice.”

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Bills at Eagles: 6 storylines to watch for in Week 12

#Bills at #Eagles: 6 storylines to watch for in Week 12:

The Buffalo Bills will turn the page of their 2023 NFL season to Week 12 and the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Bills (6-5) are fresh off a win against the New York Jets on Sunday. Buffalo will hope continue their winning ways in Philadelphia, however, the Eagles (9-1) will be no pushover as there is plenty on the line ahead of this matchup.

But before we even get to kickoff, there will be a lot of Bills-related discussions and conversations to be had throughout the coming days.

With that, here are six storylines to watch for during the lead up to Bills- vs. the Eagles on Sunday:

PFF: 5 highest-graded Bills players on defense in Week 11

PFF: 5 highest-graded #Bills players on defense in Week 11 vs. the #Jets:

The Buffalo Bills defeated the Nee York Jets, 32-6, in their Week 11 matchup on Sunday afternoon.

The Bills (6-5) had a few players that stood out above the rest in this one. On offense, the Bills were lead by quarterback Josh Allen who led a new-look offense with Joe Brady now calling the shots as offensive coordinator.

But not everyone had a game to remember, defense included.

To get more wins, Buffalo will hope such efforts will remain throughout the rest of the 2023 season as the push toward the postseason unfolds… particularly, they’ll need these efforts from these players to continue, according to Pro Football Focus.

Here are the five highest-graded Bills players on defense against the Jets (4-6) according to PFF’s metrics:

Bills vs. Broncos: 6 things to watch for during Week 10’s matchup

#Bills vs. #Broncos: 6 things to watch for during Week 10’s matchup:

The Buffalo Bills (5-4) continue their regular season journey at home against the Denver Broncos (3-5) in Week 10 on Monday Night Football at Highmark Stadium.

All week, topics and storylines have been discussed ahead of these two familiar foes facing off. In the end, regardless of what is said by players, coaches, media outlets and fans, it always comes down to what unfolds on the field in the NFL.

And once the battle arrives, there will be a few particular things to keep in mind to look out for.

With that, are six things to watch for during Monday’s Bills vs. Broncos matchup:

Bills vs. Broncos: 7 storylines to watch for in Week 10

#Bills vs. #Broncos: 7 storylines to watch for in Week 10

The Buffalo Bills will turn the page of their 2023 NFL season to Week 10 and the Denver Broncos.

The Bills (5-4) are fresh off a loss against the Cincinnati Bengals, 24-18, last week in Week 9. Buffalo will hope to get back to winning ways against Denver, however, the Broncos (3-5) will be no pushover as there is plenty on the line ahead of this matchup.

But before we even get to kickoff, there will be a lot of Bills-related discussions and conversations to be had throughout the coming days.

With that, here are seven storylines to watch for during the lead up to Bills-Broncos on Monday:

What we learned from the Bills’ loss to the Bengals

What we learned from the #Bills’ loss to the #Bengals:

The Buffalo Bills taught us some things in their latest outing in Week 9.

The Bills (5-4) lost to the Cincinnati Bengals (5-3) on Sunday Night Football by a final score of 24-18. Buffalo’s offense had a lackluster outing but the defense did its best to hold a strong opponent despite a series of injuries building up.

All that just in time for the playoffs.

After letting the result sink in, let’s take some time to look back and reflect. What exactly did Buffalo’s football team teach us this week?

Here are four things we learned from the Bills’ loss to the Bengals in Week 9:

Bills’ Christian Benford suffers hamstring injury in loss vs. Bengals

Another potential injury to watch:

The Buffalo Bills sustain an addition injury on defense in their Week 9 contest against the Cincinnati Bengals which was not originally announced during the game.

Following the 24-18 loss, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said  that cornerback Christian Benford sustained a hamstring injury. The coach noted that he “tweaked” it.

For most, if not all of the second half, Benford did not play against the Bengals.

On Friday’s injury report prior to heading to Cincinnati, the Bills (5-4) had listed Benford with a hamstring issue on their injury report and he was limited in practice that day. Prior to that day’s practice, Benford was not listed throughout earlier portions of the week.

Due to the hamstring issue, Benord was held to 49 percent of defensive snaps against Cincinnati. The recently acquired Rasul Douglas played in 60 percent while Dane Jackson saw 84 percent.

In addition to Benford, safety Micah Hyde left the contest in the second half due to a stinger. He was originally labeled as questionable to return.

Bills Wire will provide all injury updates throughout the upcoming week when information is made available.

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