Tag: Dion dawkins

PODCAST: Bills turn attention to Wild Card weekend post-Patriots loss

Buffalo Bills podcast following 24-17 loss to New England Patriots.

The Bills couldn’t get the job done against the New England Patriots. Poor execution on the offensive side, with an inability to extend drives, led to exhaustion and sloppy play on the defensive side of the ball. The Patriots experienced one of their better games of this back half of the season against Buffalo on both sides of the ball.

For the Bills, it’s not the end of the world, fortunately. While the idea that they were in the race for a home playoff game in Week 16 was enticing, they’re still in the postseason, and they still have a shot. The only ways that Buffalo would see the Patriots again is one of two situations.

First, both the Bills and whoever is the sixth seed win. Lowest remaining seed goes on to face Baltimore, and Buffalo would end up facing New England in the divisional round. Secondly, if both Buffalo or New England win out, and they meet in the AFC Championship.

That all sounds good and well, but one game at a time has to be the mentality, and right now, despite a meaningless Week 17 game against the Jets, Buffalo is slated to face either Houston or Kansas City come Wild Card Weekend.

Billswire podcast host ost Matt Johnson recaps the Bills-Patriots game and looks ahead to Wild Card weekend:

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What we learned from Bills’ Week 16 loss to Patriots

What we learned, Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots, NFL Week 16

The Buffalo Bills have climbed a long way in just a year from the depths of the NFL to the league’s summit, as they have earned a trip to the postseason and have proven themselves enough to be mentioned among the best teams in the league. However, they have still been unable to knock off the king from the top of the hill.

The Bills’ woes against the New England Patriots continued on Saturday night as the Patriots outlasted a very good Bills’ team, 24-17, to clinch the AFC East for the 11th straight season.

There was no shame in losing this game for Buffalo as the Bills shook off a sluggish start to tie the game at 10 in a thrilling sequence before halftime that saw quarterback Josh Allen hit a deep ball to tight end Dawson Knox and throw a touchdown pass to offensive lineman Dion Dawkins.

They moved out to a 17-13 lead in the third quarter on a 53-yard Allen to receiver John Brown pass, the Bills’ longest play from scrimmage all season. The Bills held onto the lead well into the fourth quarter and found themselves just minutes away from a monumental victory. But as has happened so many times before in this rivalry, Tom Brady and the Patriots put together a drive to get into the end zone and take the lead for good.

With a chance to answer, Allen led a gutsy last-minute drive inside the New England 10, but the drive fizzled and Allen found himself chucking a desperation pass up for grabs into the end zone on 4th and goal from the 15 that was knocked away by J.C. Jackson.

The loss now makes the playoff picture clear for the Bills. They are locked into the No. 5 seed while New England takes the division. The Bills can now turn their attention to wild card weekend and their Week 17 matchup against the Jets is meaningless, which likely means plenty of backups in the Buffalo lineup.

Here are four things we learned as Buffalo fell to 10-5 and New England claimed another AFC East title:

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Despite loss to Patriots, Bills remain confident

Despite a familiar result, the Bills feel ready for what lies ahead.

Another game vs. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots and yet another loss.

Despite a familiar result, the reaction in the Bills locker room following the game felt different. Even after a loss that knocked Buffalo out of contention for the AFC East title, the team appeared composed and ready to embrace what lies ahead.

“If you look at the type of teams we’ve played the last three weeks, they’re all playoff-type teams,” Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen said. “Getting that experience against these defenses, teams we might be able to see again, it’s all valuable experience because playing games in December that means something; not many people are doing that right now and we’re one of those teams. So it feels good to be in the situation that we’re in and the position that we’re in.”

While many on the Bills made it clear that simply competing vs. good teams is no longer good enough and that there are no moral victories, Bills Head Coach, Sean McDermott echoed similar sentiments to Allen after the game.

Yeah, I mean listen, we’re here to win – number one,” McDermott said. “Having said that, we’ve gone on the road and played in tough environments before. We’ve played four quality opponents, the last four weeks, in big games. And our players have put it on the line and that’s all I can ask.”

Dion Dawkins, who had a huge touchdown reception to tie the game going into the half, was clear that as cool of a moment as it was, he’d trade it all if it meant a victory. No surprise from a team that has learned to put the we, before the me.

“I’m thankful for that score, but I would trade that score for a win every day,” Dawkins said. “The touchdown was called in the playbook. Like I said I would rather have the win than the touchdown.”

Dawkins also said that regardless of the opponent, the Bills just want to continue to win football games. They know the goal is now to do something beyond merely qualifying for the playoffs.

“Whether it was the Patriots, or the Jets… We have our foot on the gas and we’re not taking it off. We just want to get a win every week and we like winning,” Dawkins.

The Bills are now locked into the 5th seed and will wait to see whether they travel to Houston, or Kansas City for the Wild Card round.

According to the NY Times, the Bills are more likely to head to Houston, which appears to be the preferred destination among the Bills Mafia. In large part because as good as Deshaun Watson has been… he’s still not Patrick Mahomes.

While the Bills can’t play the Patriots during the Wild Card round, there is a chance they could see them again in either the Divisional round, or AFC Championship game, should they advance that far.

Buffalo offensive lineman Jon Feliciano took to social media and said the Bills will be ready if there’s a Round 3:

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What they said: Once again, no moral victories for Bills

Buffalo Bills locker room says “no moral victories” in Week 16 loss to New England Patriots.

The Bills fell 24-17 to a good team in Week 16. That was the case against the New England Patriots, and the same against the Baltimore Ravens a few weeks ago.

In these games, the Bills have impressed nationally despite the outcome. But at the end of the day, Buffalo took the ‘L.’

Inside the Bills locker room, the mantra following their loss to the Patriots was the same as it was been a few weeks prior when losing a game. There are positives, but all that matters is the victory. If it’s not there, it’s a loss.

“Moral victories” has become a trigger word for this team.

“We played hard, but there are no moral victories. They made more plays than us,” safety Jordan Poyer said. “We knew we had to finish the game. (Tom Brady’s) the greatest quarterback to ever play the game and we knew they were going to come back and try and strike. Like I said, they just made more plays than we did today. I’m proud of our guys today, but in the end, there are no moral victories.”

That was the resounding feeling from Poyer’s teammates after this one, too.

Here’s who else felt similar following the Bills’ loss to the Patriots:

QB Josh Allen

“If you look at the type of teams we’ve played the last three weeks, they’re all playoff-type teams. So getting that experience against these defenses, teams we might be able to see again, it’s all valuable experience because playing games in December that mean something; not many people are doing that right now and we’re one of those teams. So it feels good to be in the situation that we’re in and the position that we’re in.

“But again, we didn’t do a good enough job today, we’re trying to win a football game. This one hurts for us obviously because we don’t want anybody to win the East during our game, that’s one that we’ll take to the heart. So we’ll learn from it.”

Head coach Sean McDermott

“Yeah, I mean listen, we’re here to win – number one. Having said that, we’ve gone on the road and played in tough environments before. We’ve played four quality opponents, the last four weeks, in big games. And our players have put it on the line and that’s all I can ask. And we have got to continue to learn from these experiences, as a young football team and continue to grow, so we get stronger and stronger. You know, in games like this in particular, as we move into the playoffs.”

S Micah Hyde

“I understand what this team is about. I’m not learning anything new from all the games we’ve played already. You understand what type of football team you are. We wanted to go out here on the road against a great opponent and win the game. It’s as simple as that. We’re not here trying to learn about this team anymore. We’re out here trying to win.”

“It was a tight game late in December, playing a very good football team on the road. You have to understand it was going to be tight going into the fourth quarter. We knew that was going to happen. We don’t take pride in losing by seven though. We go out there and try to win every ball game we can. We made a lot of plays in this game but also gave up some things, so we go back and try to correct thing and get on to the next game.”

WR Cole Beasley

“They did a hell of a job, in the red zone in the last series. We made a lot of plays to get down there but we have to figure out a way to finish it off. That’s what good teams do and that’s what they did tonight. We played good enough to win we just didn’t finish it at the end. We have to take advantage of that. We to the 8-yard line we have to score right there. That’s just what it is, we finish that and we’re not talking about how efficient they were, we’re talking about how we played.”

OL Dion Dawkins

“To just win, whether it was the Patriots or the Jets it was that make the net game for us. We have our foot on the gas and we’re not taking it off. We just want to get a win every week and we like winning.”

WR John Brown

“We just have to finish strong. At the end of the day, we have to manage the clock and execute more efficiently.”

LB Lorenzo Alexander

“We played well to an extent, but you want to win the games. So there’s no moral victory or anyway we can spin it to make us feel better. I mean, the only thing I think is that we know we can play with those guys, whether we’re at home or away.

“We know we can come in here and win, we just have to execute.”

WR Andre Roberts

“They [the Patriots] played a better game than us. They finished the game and we didn’t. We had our opportunities. Give credit to them, they played an outstanding game. They finished the game and we couldn’t.”

DT Ed Oliver

“It was everything we expected but we have to execute better. Nothing we didn’t expect, we just have got to execute better. If it comes down [to meeting in the playoffs] we will be ready. I expected to win and I am disappointed that we didn’t. We have got to find a way.”

TE Lee Smith

“Hopefully we will be back in this locker room here in a few weeks, I don’t how the playoff picture looks or if even that is possibility but that would be fun. We will see. We just have to get back to work, which I know we will we have great leadership and a great group of dudes. You are right there are no moral victories but at the same time unfortunately I have lost a lot of games in this league but losing on this team is a little bittersweet compared to my teams in the past just based off of how this year is going.”

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Report card: Bills fall 24-17 vs. Patriots

The Bills had their first chance to win the AFC East in 20 years on Saturday, but couldn’t seal the deal in New England.

The Buffalo Bills went to Foxborough and gave the New England Patriots an intense matchup that resulted in a 24-17 win for the home team. Both defenses played well in the cold New England night.

Buffalo made the game competitive, but they couldn’t seal the victory in the fourth quarter.

With the unfortunate loss against the Patriots, here’s how the Bills were graded against New England:

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Quarterback: C

Josh Allen started off the game terribly, completing just three passes before the end of the second quarter. At the end of the first half Allen found his footing and drove the offense down the field, and tied the game. That drive saw Allen hit a deep ball to Dawson Knox, and the touchdown came from finding Dion Dawkins in the back of the end zone on the final play of the first half with some trickery.

The second half Allen found more consistency, and again connected on the deep ball but this time to John Brown. Brown made a great move against Stephon Gilmore to create separation, and walked into the end zone with the ball was in hands.

Allen had an improved stat line from his first game against the Patriots, he completed 13 of his 26 passes for 208 yards and had two touchdowns. His biggest flaw though was his accuracy. He missed Cole Beasley twice, once in the middle field, and again on an out route where the ball was behind Beasley.

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Happy Holidays! Here are all five Fat Guy Touchdowns from the 2019 season

Outside of Santa Claus, these five large dudes catching TD passes in the 2019 season have been the biggest win for jumbo guys in uniforms.

John Madden: I love to see a fat guy score.

Pat Summerall: Why?

John Madden: Because first you get a fat guy spike, then you get the fat guy dance.

That line from The Replacements has always held true. There are few things more extemporaneously joyful than when a huge dude in a football uniform scores a touchdown and gets, for a moment, the adulation usually reserved for the smaller skill-position guys. When the Bills scored a touchdown on a Josh Allen pass to 6-foot-5, 320-pound offensive tackle with one second left in the first half of Buffalo’s Week 16 tussle with the Patriots, it set a mark that hasn’t been set in a long time.

Because we know what you need at Touchdown Wire, we’re presenting all five Fat Guy Touchdowns right here.

Week 1: Ravens FB/DL Patrick Ricard

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

With 7:54 left in their 59-10 thrashing of the Dolphins, the Ravens dialed up this one-yard pass from Lamar Jackson to the 6-foot-3, 311-pound Patrick Ricard. It was Jackson’s fifth passing touchdown on the day.

“It was my idea,” Harbaugh said. “My brother had his guy in San Francisco… I just thought that was a weapon, a dominant type guy, and he looked like a really good athlete. Then I asked him, he said he played it in high school, and the rest is history.”

Jim Harbaugh’s guy in San Francisco from 2011-2014 was Bruce Miller, a linebacker and defensive lineman at Central Florida who Harbaugh converted to a fullback after the 49ers took him in the seventh round of the 2011 draft. Ricard is no stranger to the end zone — the former Maine defensive lineman caught two touchdown passes in his rookie campaign of 2017, and he has eight receptions on 11 targets for 47 yards and that touchdown. Ricard has lined up all over the place for the Ravens in 2019 — 152 snaps in the backfield, 69 snaps inline, 47 in the slot, 20 as a wideout, and 134 on the defensive line.

So, if you see this play when the Ravens get their postseason going, don’t be surprised.

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WATCH! Josh Allen finds Dion Dawkins on tackle eligible for TD

Josh Allen found Dion Dawkins on a tackle-eligible play for a touchdown Saturday in the first half of the Bills-Patriots game.

The Buffalo Bills went into the bag of tricks and outfoxed the master, Bill Belichick, in the waning seconds of the first half Saturday for a touchdown that tied the game with the Patriots at 10-10.

Two plays after the Bills appeared to have scored a touchdown, a review declared tight end Dawson Knox was short of the goal line. Sean McDermott eschewed the field goal with six seconds left in favor of trickeration.

Dion Dawkins, a 6-foot-5, 320-pound tackle from Temple, checked in as eligible and Josh Allen found the big guy all alone in the end zone.

The PAT tied the critical AFC East battle in Foxboro as the teams went to the half.

This was the second TD reception of Dawkins’ career. He had a 7-yarder from Matt Barkley for a score in 2018.

Josh Allen is Michael Jordan (sort of) says Dion Dawkins

Buffalo Bills OL Dion Dawkins compares QB Josh Allen to Michael Jordan.

A big grain of salt here, but Bills offensive lineman did compare quarterback Josh Allen to one of the best to ever do their craft, Michael Jordan, this week.

After making a cryptic comment about Allen’s name starting and ending with the letters ‘J’ and ‘N,’ Dawkins explained what he meant.

“I believe that the question first started with a question about the fourth quarter,” Dawkins said. “If you want to go down history lines, fourth quarter starts with J and ends with N, is who? Michael Jordan. He’s just a fourth quarter dude and gets it done. (His last name) starts with J and it ends with N. He’s got all of it in one box.

Josh Allen has that Jordan feature in him.”

Dawkins has a bit of a point. Allen isn’t greatest of all-time status like Jordan is in his sport, but in his second season, there is one number to know: 5.

That stat signifies Allen’s number of game-winning drives this season. Allen and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson are tied for the league-lead in that category. That’s clutch, no?

One has to wonder, though. Could Allen’s number have been six had it not been for injury? Allen did not play the fourth quarter against this week’s opponent, the Patriots, the first time around, due to a concussion.

There’s always pressure in the NFL, but even more this week as the Bills have the AFC East title to play for against the team that has won the crown the past 10-straight years. It’d be the first time since 1995 the Bills took the title.

Allen playing the entire game could be a big key in this one. Regardless, Allen’s not worried about any of the above mentioned. Like a player who keeps it cool under pressure, he said this week it’s just another game.

“We’re aiming to go 1-0 each week, it’s just another week,” Allen said. “We want to execute and get a W.”

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Bills clinch playoff berth, but have bigger goals

This Bills team wants more than just to qualify for the postseason.

For the second time in the last three seasons, the Buffalo Bills are playoff bound.

Following their 17-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football in Week 15, the Bills clinched at least the fifth-seed in the AFC.

Unlike when the Bills ended their 17-year playoff drought two years ago, this team expects much more out themselves. Much more than just a one and done Wild Card game.

“Everything about it is different,” Defensive End Shaq Lawson told the media after the game. “The whole vibe is different. It’s a 360. (Brandon) Beane and (Sean) McDermott came in and changed it and brought they guys in and it’s paying off right now. Two out of the three years they’ve been here, we’ve been in the playoffs. So, something working… We winning, the culture different. Everybody in the building know what we gotta do and we wanna win a Super Bowl.”

Bills offensive lineman, Dion Dawkins, echoed similar sentiments when speaking in the Bills locker room Sunday night.

“Coach McDermott came in here and he had a team,” Dawkins said. “He had Beane with him… and had a plan. And their plan was to get guys here that can learn, can adapt and can believe in what the coaches are preaching. Three years, two playoffs, it’s special.”

Dawkins made sure to clarify that despite the team’s success, there is still more work to be done.

“Once again, like, we didn’t win the Super Bowl, you know? This is normal now, you know? This is normal. And we’re gonna keep this going and we’re gonna see how how far we can get,” Dawkins said.

Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White, who had a monster game against the Steelers, added that team has to stick with what has gotten them to this point.

“It’s big because we get to go to the playoffs for the second time in three years,” White said. “Before all of us got here it was a 17-year drought. We’ve been building this thing since 2017, since we all got here. I feel like, you know, it’s starting to take a turn, but we just gotta continue to trust the process and just go to work each and every day and just try to be the best that we can be.”

White also stated that past failures in the Bills franchise were not connected to this current group.

“This team is not connected to the past, but we just wanna be that team to pretty much break down those barriers and break those boundaries. We’ve been doing a great job all year just responding to adversity and just, you know, playing total team football,” White said.

The Bills will certainly enjoy clinching a playoff berth tonight, but their sights will quickly shift to the New England Patriots, who they will face on a short week, Saturday afternoon.

At 11-5, the Patriots currently hold a game lead over the 10-4 Bills in the AFC East standings. The Bills would need to beat the Patriots and then the Jets in Week 17 and hope the Dolphins can find a way to beat New England during the final week of the season as well, in order to win the division.

Regardless of where they finish, the Bills will be in the dance, which still takes some getting use to after all of those years of being on the outside looking in. But, as several of the players said after their biggest win of the season, that is no longer good enough. It’s the new normal.

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Bills vs. Broncos: 5 matchups to watch

The Buffalo Bills face the struggling Denver Broncos at New Era Field on Sunday, here are the matchups to watch

The rivalry between the Bills and the Broncos goes back to the AFL and the two have shared memorable moments throughout the years. Their last matchup was in Week 3 of the 2017 season, which resulted in a 26-16 victory for Buffalo.

This week the two teams are facing off with two contrasting seasons. The Bills are sitting at 7-3 and on the verge of a playoff birth. The Broncos though are at a disappointing 3-7.

Records aside, it will be the games within that games that will help us find the winner.

With that, here are five key matchups to watch in Sunday’s Bills-Broncos meeting:

Buffalo Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Spots

Phillip Lindsay vs. Tremaine Edmunds 

Second-year running back Phillip Lindsay has made a splash since his arrival in the NFL, amassing 1,688 yards, 5.2 yards per carry and 14 touchdowns a a rookie. Now, Lindsay is the focal point of the struggling Denver offense. 

This season Lindsay is averaging an impressive 4.9 yards per carry, which should unnerve Buffalo’s shaky run defense. The Bills’ rush defense has allowed 106.3 yards per game, which is 18th in the NFL. The Bills should be prepared for heavy doses of Lindsay, due to how poor the Broncos passing offense has been this season sitting at 25th in the league with just 206.6 yards per game. 

While the Bills rush defense has had poor form recently, they bounced back against Miami, holding the Dolphins rushing attack to just 23 yards. The Bills were led by linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who had 12 tackles against Miami.  

Edmunds was sent on more blitzes versus Miami than the rest of the season. These blitzes let him use his natural athletic talent to reach the running back in the backfield, or at the line of scrimmage. He blew up runs on a consistent basis which turned Miami into a one dimensional offense. 

If Edmunds can have a similar performance on Sunday, he can force quarterback Brandon Allen to try to beat the Bills secondary. 

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