Tag: John Brown

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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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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Instant analysis: Game just out of Bills’ grasp in loss to Patriots

The Buffalo Bills fell just short against their long-time nemesis, losing to the New England Patriots 24-17 Saturday afternoon.

The Buffalo Bills fell just short against their long-time nemesis, losing to the New England Patriots 24-17 Saturday afternoon.

The game featured strong defense and several big plays for Buffalo, but it ultimately was not enough to knock off the evil empire of the NFL, giving the Patriots the AFC East crown for the 11th consecutive season.

New England carried most of the play in the first half, possessing the ball and putting pressure on the Bills defense. However, the unit did not break despite being on the field over 21 minutes in the first half.

The Bills defense dealt the first blow of the game, forcing a Rex Burkhead fumble. Jordan Poyer tracked down the New England running back and punched the ball out, and Micah Hyde returned it into Patriots territory.

However, Buffalo could only muster a 35-yard Stephen Hauschka field goal in response. The Bills moved the ball only 14 yards on seven plays.

New England responded with two long drives, both of which ended with points on the board. Matt LaCosse caught an 8-yard touchdown reception to finish off an 11-play drive, while Nick Folk added a 36-yard field goal to culminate a 17-play drive.

Buffalo’s offense struggled for most of the half, but then put it together for a two-minute drill. Allen, who only had 11 yards passing leading up to this drive, completed three of his four attempts for 51 yards. Dawson Knox was on the end of a great pass-and-catch, going for 34 yards and bringing the Bills down to the one-yard-line of New England. The playcalling became a bit more creative, as Allen found Dion Dawkins on a one-yard touchdown pass to even the game at 10-10 going into half time.

The teams then traded punches in the second half. The Patriots forced a three-and-out to open the second half. Buffalo’s defense kept Brady and company under wraps, allowing only a field goal.

Buffalo responded with a stellar route run by Brown, finally making Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore look human. John Brown smoked Gilmore on a double-move, and Allen found him in stride. The 53-yard touchdown receptions gave the Bills a 17-13 lead.

The remainder of the scoring went in favor of the Patriots. Nick Folk knocked through his third field goal of the game with just under 11 minutes remaining in the game. New England’s defense forced a Bills three-and-out, and the Patriots offense responded with another touchdown. Brady found Rex Burkhead in the flat, and the running back atoned for his fumble, breaking multiple tackles en route to the end zone. Julian Edelman scored on the two-point conversion, giving the Patriots a 24-17 lead.

Buffalo drove deep on their final drive of the game, traveling 60 yards on 14 plays. However, their penultimate offensive play put them back on their heels, as Allen was swarmed and took a sack. On the final offensive play for Buffalo, Allen faced the heat of New England’s pass rush. He turned his back to the line and was forced to throw up a low-percentage pass that fell incomplete. It was what was expected of Bill Belichick at that moment.

The Bills defense kept them within striking distance, but the Patriots offense was efficient all game. Brady ended with 271 passing yards on the day. The New England rushing attack was effective as well, totaling 143 yards gained on the ground. The Patriots put up 414 total yards on offense. Buffalo’s defense also failed to register a sack.

Buffalo’s ground attack never really got rolling along. Plus, their aerial attack was limited against Belichick’s defense. Buffalo converted only 2-of-11 third-down attempts during the game.

There were several things to be content with during today’s game for Buffalo. The big plays to Knox and Brown were impressive. Defensively, they forced a turnover on the opening drive.

However, the game still felt like it was a big brother toying around with their little sibling. Buffalo is close, but they are just not there just yet.

Allen was close on several passes. He missed Knox twice in the end zone. It was the usual mix of great passes combined with a few inaccurate tosses.

The Bills will have a chance to show their growth during the Wild Card round of the playoffs. For now, it’s a little bit of what could’ve been, as once again the team falls by one-score to their enemy.

Buffalo wraps up their season next Sunday against the New York Jets at New Era Field.

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Bills at Patriots: 5 matchups to watch

The Buffalo Bills are playoff bound and can make a run at the AFC East if they can beat the dreaded New England Patriots.

The Buffalo Bills have punched their ticket to the playoffs after their road win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football. Now the Bills have a chance in winning the AFC East with a victory of the dreaded New England Patriots… though the Bills will need some help.

The Bills and Pats met once this season, week four in Buffalo where the Patriots won 16-10. It was a defensive battle throughout the game, and game that saw Josh Allen leave with a head injury in the fourth quarter.

This will be a tough matchup for the Bills at Foxborough on Saturday, so these are the important matchups to watch:

Jordan Phillips vs. Ted Karras

After two strong seasons with the New England Patriots, center Ted Karras has taken a step back in his third season. Throughout the season he has allowed two sacks, and been called for three penalties. On Saturday, he’ll be facing the underrated defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. 

Jordan Phillips has had a career resurgence in Buffalo since joining during the team late last season. In his first full season with the Bills, Phillips has ten sacks, one forced fumble, and 12 tackles. Phillips has been able to create pressure inside the pocket, which has resulted in quarterbacks releasing the ball earlier than expected and leading to errant throws.

Phillips didn’t have a great game against the Patriots, he had just four tackles, and didn’t contribute any sacks. The Patriots offense is based around quick passes, and a stout run game. Which doesn’t play to the strengths of Phillips game. 

If the Bills want to get the best of the Hall of Fame quarterback, Tom Brady, Phillips will need to collapse the pocket and make the 42 year old scramble, and try to extend plays. Phillips will be vital for the potential divisional push, which starts on Saturday. 

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Fantasy football: 5 sleepers to start, 5 starters to sit in Week 16

Five starters to sit and five sleepers to start in Week 16/ Championship weekend in Fantasy football.

It’s championship time in fantasy football.

A little scouting and you can avoid a crucial late-season loss or do just enough to cross the finish line with a win this week in the title game. We’ve got you covered with a quick scouting report to help you out.

Here are five sleepers to start and five starters you’ve got to sit in fantasy football Week 16:

Starts
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

QB Jameis Winston

Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston is fresh off two back-to-back awesome games, despite not having some of his best playmakers. Can he go for the hat trick? Yes, he realistically could. Winston and the Bucs face the mess that is the Texans’ secondary this weekend. They’re the No. 28 pass defense in the NFL,  allowing 266.1 yards per game. Houston has also allowed 30 scores through the air this year.

RB Tarik Cohen

The Bears are out of it but their opponent, the Chiefs, are not. Kansas City will want to put Chicago away in this one in their battle for AFC playoff seeding. The Chiefs’ dynamic offense should get ahead in this one, which will make Tarik Cohen a menace out of the backfield via his hands. He’s averaged 5.5 catches per game over the last six games.

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3 biggest Buffalo Bills Pro Bowl snubs

Here are three Bills that were snubbed on this year’s Pro Bowl vote. 

The NFL announced its 2020 Pro Bowl selections Tuesday. The Bills, holding court among the league’s best with a 10-4 record, earned only one selection for the NFL’s all-star game.

Cornerback Tre’Davious White earned a spot among the league’s star-studded contest after years of being among snubbed players himself.

Buffalo’s record is a testament to the team-first mentality that the organization emphasizes. Still, several Bills deserved accolades and the opportunity to perform on this stage.

Here are three Bills that were snubbed on this year’s Pro Bowl vote:

Buffalo Bills wide receiver John Brown. Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

WR John Brown

John Brown has been a revelation for the Bills aerial attack, giving Buffalo its closest player to a No. 1 receiver in years. The veteran wideout has given quarterback Josh Allen a reliable option in all parts of the field this year, despite many tabbing him as nothing more than a vertical, speedy threat when he signed with the Bills.

Brown has demonstrated that he is more than just a burner, running precise routes and beating defenders out wide. Brown is tenth in the AFC in receptions (71) and seventh in receiving yards (1,007). When focusing solely on wide receivers, Brown is sixth in each category. This past week against the Steelers, Brown had 99 yards receiving, which gave the Bills their first 1,000-yard playmaker since Sammy Watkins in 2015.

Brown also threw a touchdown pass this season:

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By the numbers: 6 key stats from Bills’ playoff-clinching win over Steelers

Six stats to know from the Buffalo Bills’ Week 15 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Style points? Who needs ’em. Weak schedule? So what. Streaky quarterback play? No argument here.

Say whatever you like, nitpick all you want; the Buffalo Bills are postseason bound. This team wins ugly, sure, but it wins. 

Buffalo was on-brand Sunday night, outslugging the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-10 in a defensive standoff at Heinz Field to punch their ticket to the postseason on Sunday Night Football.

Here’s a look at how they got there with six key stats from the win:

Five

It’s been a common theme throughout the season for the Bills: it starts and ends with defense.

Buffalo’s five takeaways established a new season high, after picking off Devlin Hodges four times and recovering a fumble off a botched wild cat rushing attempt. The Bills are now plus-five in turnover differential on the season and their 21 takeaways has them tied for ninth in the league. New England leads the league in both turnover differential (+24) and takeaways (36).

715

What would be prove to be Tyler Kroft’s game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter Sunday came 715 days after his last touchdown – on Dec. 31, 2017– against the Baltimore Ravens as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals.

That game, as you likely recall, helped Buffalo end a 17-year playoff drought, as the Bengals stunned the Ravens 31-27 to end Baltimore’s season and send Buffalo to the postseason.

Sunday’s 14-yard score was Kroft’s first as a Bill and the ninth of his NFL career. It was his second score against the Steelers, both of which came at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

1,007

John Brown snapped a three-game streak of failing to reach 50 yards receiving in style Sunday night.

Brown hauled in seven passes for 99 yards – including a season-long 40-yard reception in the fourth quarter to set up the game-winning score. Over his past three games combined, Brown had 91 total receiving yards.

Brown eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark on the season in the victory, and now sits at 1,007 yards and five touchdowns on 71 receptions. He is the first Bills receiver to surpass 1,000 yards in a single season since Sammy Watkins had 1,047 yards in 2015.

Nine

It was a lukewarm performance in the passing game for Josh Allen Sunday, as he threw for a season-low 139 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 13-of-25 passing.

While Allen was relatively unproductive through the air, he kept pace on the ground, notching his ninth rushing touchdown on the year. His nine rushing touchdowns ranks 8th in the league among all players and first among quarterbacks. Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and Houston’s Deshaun Watson each have seven rushing touchdowns.

Four

Sitting at 10-4, the Bills have clinched a playoff berth. To date, Buffalo has shown itself to be steady and resilient, going 4-0 following a loss.
In the four games following a loss, the Bills have outscored opponents 92-46 and have held their opponents to 10 or fewer points three times.

+6.5

There isn’t a tougher game on Buffalo’s regular season schedule than a late-December date with New England at Gillette Stadium thi supcoming Sunday.

That’s exactly what the Bills are up against this week, as they take on the division-leading Patriots with Buffalo’s slim AFC East title hopes on the line.
The Bills opened up as a 6.5-point underdog against a Patriot team who has won the last six games in the match-up; Buffalo’s last win in New England came in 2016, when the Bills shut out the Jacoby Brissett-led Patriots 16-0 in Week 4.

The Bills (10-4) are 9-4-1 against the spread, while the Patriots (11-3) are just 8-6 against the number.

Buffalo is 6-0-1 ATS on the road; New England is 1-6 ATS at home.
The over/ under is set for 38.5.

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

Stock report following Buffalo Bills’ 17-10 Week 15 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Bills topped the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-10 in Week 15 to secure a spot in the postseason dance. Buffalo sits at the No. 5 seed, the AFC’s first Wild Card spot, with a 10-4 overall record.

To get there, the Bills beat the team right behind them at the No. 6 seed and in front of a national audience.

With that audience in mind, here’s Bills Wire’s weekly stock report following the Bills’ win over the Steelers on Sunday Night Football:

Stock up
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

QB Josh Allen

In no way did Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen have a great overall game. He rarely does. Allen finished the game 13-for-25 passing for only 139 yards in the air with a passing score and interception. His interception went off a receiver’s hands. On the ground, Allen added another 28 yards and a rushing score.

But when it mattered most, Allen was there to increase his stock. On Buffalo’s game-winning drive in the fourth quarter, Allen was 2-for-4 passing, which included a 40-yard strike to John Brown down the sideline and a 14-yard touchdown to tight end Tyler Kroft to put his team ahead. Allen is not a complete product, but he’s tied with Seattle’s Russell Wilson for the NFL lead in game-winning drives this year. They both have five. This is a good thing.

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