Tag: jaquan johnson

Instant analysis: Bills extend preseason win streak with last-second win vs. Colts

Instant analysis: #Bills extend preseason win streak with last-second win vs. #Colts (via @jdiloro):

The Buffalo Bills offense came to life in the second half, ending with a last-second victory over the Indianapolis Colts 27-24 in their first exhibition game of 2022. Buffalo extended its preseason win streak to nine games in the effort.

Buffalo kept all of their starters on the sidelines for the game, giving several reserves a chance in the spotlight. With most of the Bills roster seemingly in order, it was a game in which several depth players were battling for a depth roster spot.

The Bills second-string defense performed well on the afternoon, forcing two turnovers in the first half and putting up the first points of the season. Boogie Basham sacked Indianapolis quarterback Nick Foles, forcing a turnover. Third-round pick Terrel Bernard scooped up the fumble and rumbled 69 yards to the end zone, giving the Bills a 7-3 lead.

Jaquan Johnson also recorded an interception in the first half. Baylon Specter registered 10 tackles to lead both teams. Andre Smith, Prince Emili, and Daniel Joseph also provided sacks.

Overall, Buffalo’s second defense held Indianapolis to only a field goal. Colts starting quarterback Matt Ryan went 6-of-10 for 58 passing yards. It was a solid showing for the unit, as they enter the year seemingly in regular season form.

The rookie cornerback duo of Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford kept the Colts receivers under wraps. Both recorded two tackles and a pass defensed. In addition, both rookies limited the Colts’ receivers’ yards after catch.

Buffalo’s offense, for its part, sputtered throughout the first half. Case Keenum struggled to gain any short of rhythm, throwing two interceptions, including a very poor interception in the red zone. He also lost a fumble on a sack.

All told, Keenum ended the day 11-of-18 for 86 passing yards.

While the offense had its issues in the first half, there were multiple players who stepped up and made their presence known. On only three carries, Zack Moss gained 37 yards, including a 27-yard rush in which he bounced out wide and found space. Rookie Khalil Shakir caught five passes for 92 yards.

The Bills offense found its pulse in the second half under Matt Barkley. Barkley led the Bills on both of their offensive scoring drives and helped set up the game-winning field goal Tyler Bass. Barkley ended up 18-of-24 for 224 passing yards in one half of work.

Wide receiver Isaiah Hodges and running back Raheem Blackshear flashed in the second half, helping lead the charge back for the victory. Hodges had a game-high nine receptions for 77 receiving yards. Blackshear, meanwhile, caught four passes for 60 yards out of the backfield. He also plowed into the end zone for the game-tying score.

The end results sweetened the game after a sour first half.

The Bills defense largely was solid in the game, while the offense found its footing in the second half. Still, there are some concerns that will be addressed moving forward.

The Buffalo offense committed five turnovers, with Keenum under center for four of the turnovers. Jamison Crowder had a ball bounce off his hands and turn into a Colts interception.

The Bills committed 11 penalties during the game. The deep depth defensive linemen struggled to get pressure in the second half.

Still, there was a lot of promising play from many players, making the depth decisions much more intriguing as the preseason progresses.

Buffalo takes on the Denver Broncos on Aug. 20 at 1 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.

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Buffalo Bills winners, losers following 2022 NFL draft

Winners, losers from the #Bills after the 2022 NFL draft:

Each year the NFL draft comes and goes and all the attention is on the players picked. At this year’s event, the Buffalo Bills added eight to their roster.

But these additions have their ripple effects through the roster that was already in place. Let’s run through some of those now.

Here are winners and losers from the Bills roster following the 2022 draft:

Winners & losers from the Bills’ Week 4 win vs. the Texans

Winners & losers from the #Bills’ Week 4 win vs. the #Texans:

The Buffalo Bills were big winners for the third week in a row, topping the Houston Texans, 40-0.

Here are Bills Wire’s winners and losers from the action that was in Week 4:

Stock up, stock down following the Bills’ win over the Texans

Stock up, stock down following the #Bills’ win over the #Texans (via @mckennamiddle):

The Buffalo Bills advanced to 3-1 on the season with a dominant 40-0 victory over the inept Houston Texans.

It was a wet and rainy day in Western New York that saw plenty of sloppy play from the away team. Outside of an interception from Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen and a poor red zone possession, the Bills played a flawless game. 

With the Kansas City Chiefs on the horizon let’s look back at who played well and who didn’t against the Houston Texans in this week’s stock report: 

Sean McDermott on Bills’ Jaquan Johnson: ‘Love his unselfish nature’

Sean McDermott on #Bills’ Jaquan Johnson: ‘Love his unselfish nature’

The Buffalo Bills defeated the Houston Texans 40-0 in Week 4 on a rainy Sunday in Orchard Park.

Both teams experienced difficulty holding onto the football. But players still need to find ways to persevere and step up in big moments. And in the fourth quarter, third-year safety Jaquan Johnson did just that.

When Texans rookie quarterback Davis Mills went deep, Johnson was right where he needed to be to jump up and grab his first career interception, sealing the shutout for Buffalo:

With safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde firmly in place as starters in the Bills secondary, Johnson may have been an afterthought to some. But as the next-man-up, the 2019 sixth-round pick got his first career start Sunday when injuries struck.

With Poyer (ankle) and cornerback Taron Johnson (groin) out with injuries, Jackson was one of the players called upon to play against Houston. UB product Cam Lewis joined him in a day that saw the Bills take the ball away from Houston five times.

Following the game, Johnson took to the post-game press podium alongside Hyde. He was quick to point out how his teammates and the veteran guys provided him with the help he needed.

“It’s everything. You go out and work week in and week out with the guys, you know blood, sweat, and tears out there on the practice field, and for them to be so happy for me when I make a play it just shows I put in a lot of work and the guys are starting to respect me,” Johnson said while addressing the media.

He also spoke highly of Poyer’s impact on his preparation earlier in the week, and of Hyde’s leadership.

“He took me under his wing all offseason, this entire week he’s been nothing but helpful,” Johnson said of Poyer. “He’s been a tremendous help like a coach, I love Po for that. He told me I had a good game and he was proud of me.”

Regarding Hyde, he added “he kept me even keel out there, communicating the whole time we were out there on the field so I just take my hat off to those guys. You don’t find this type of leadership everywhere.”

Hyde, meanwhile, expressed full confidence in the young safety.

“There was no doubt in my mind that he was gonna go out there and ball out,” Hyde said.

The vets certainly made their support of him known. Stefon Diggs even coming over during pre-game warmups to hype Johnson up ahead of kickoff, and Tre White making sure to give him the game ball from his first career interception.

Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott spoke favorably as well of the safety.

“Year three for Quan and normally a special teams player for us and love his unselfish nature and then now when his number was called he was ready to go,” McDermott said during his media session.

Hyde also noted that Buffalo’s depth and talent in their roster are not unlike that of a pro sports farm system.

“Our safeties coach joked around the other day that we have a farm system here, kind of feels like college you know, you’ve got the seniors and you’ve got the guys underneath us that are just working and can’t wait for their opportunities and today was one of them,” Hyde added.

A strong showing from Buffalo’s young depth players is hopefully a good sign of the oft-mentioned player development that GM Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott pride themselves on.

Getting his first career pick in his first-ever start certainly provides a big confidence booster for Johnson as well, and momentum for the Bills ahead of their Week 5 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Buffalo Bills roster analysis: Safeties

Buffalo Bills 2020 roster analysis of safety position and 2021 look ahead including Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.

The Buffalo Bills had an excellent 2020 season as a team, but position-by-position is a different story. Some were better than others and as the offseason is now in full swing, Bills Wire will give a quick analysis of the team’s current roster by reflecting on the season that was and looking ahead to 2021.

Next up, here is our breakdown on the team’s safety unit:

Stock up, stock down following start of Bills training camp

Stock report following the start of Buffalo Bills training camp 2020.

The Bills are pretty much fully underway into their 2020 training camp slate. The Bills can hold a maximum of 14 padded practices during the 21-day contact integration period ahead of the start of the 2020 regular season. Just a few of the several curve balls the COVID-19 pandemic has sent us this offseason.

Of those 14 practices, we’re about halfway through them. With still a nice chunk of work left to do before the Bills meet the Jets for their season opener on Sept. 13, let’s check in with the roster’s stock report.

Here’s the latest stock up, stock down for the Bills from training camp:

Stock up

Bills Gabriel Davis. (James P. McCoy/Buffalo News via AP, Pool)

WR Gabriel Davis

Let’s start with the star of training camp. For years the Bills have coveted two things, a No. 1 wide receiver that’s going to knock your socks off and a big-bodied target that can’t be stopped. Nobody just really expected to get both of those via two players in Stefon Diggs and rookie wide receiver Gabriel Davis.

Diggs has impressed in camp in his own right, yes, but could his stock get any higher? Probably not. As the season unfolds, Davis might be getting more and more reps in the Bills offense as he’s already flashing an ability to box out defenders all throughout training camp.

Isn’t it nice to see all the eyes on a depth wide receiver for once who… actually seems legit?

Bills defensive end Bryan Cox Jr.. (James P. McCoy/Pool Photo via AP)

DE Bryan Cox Jr.

The defensive side of the ball has their Gabriel Davis as well and it’s Bryan Cox Jr. He’s more of your typical “depth wide receiver” type of guys who’s definitely on the bubble at this time, but he’s certainly making things interesting on the edge. Cox has notched several “sacks” on multiple days of training camp (they don’t actually tackle QBs at camp), even seeing some time against quarterback Josh Allen and the first-team offense. Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison and AJ Epenesa are your roster locks at defensive end, but if the Bills see Trent Murphy as an expendable player, could Cox be the team’s No. 4 defensive end? Or could the team even keep five?

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Stock up, stock down following the Bills’ loss to the Jets

Stock report following the Buffalo Bills’ Week 17 loss to the New York Jets.

The Bills fell in their final regularly scheduled game of the 2019 season against the Jets, 13-6.

In terms of stock reporting, it was a different one considering plenty of old faces were in the lineup. The game played out like a preseason contest with plenty of backups for the Bills.

Here’s how some of those players saw their stock move following the Bills’ loss to the Jets:

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Duke Williams. Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Stock up

WR Duke Williams

The one that everyone wanted to see happen, happened. Receiver Duke Williams started for the Bills and played a heck of a game with his opportunity.

His overall stat line was shaky with 12 targets and only six catches, but a few of them were off target. Of note, one was certainly a drop on third down which he would’ve liked back. All in all, Williams had 108 yards receiving in a game with a backup quarterback tossing him the ball against a solid defense that was playing their starters. Promising signs.

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