Tag: Micah Hyde

Bills in the 2010s: Best defensive players of the decade

Here are the best players on defense for Buffalo during the last decade. 

The defense has been the stronger unit of the Buffalo Bills over the past 10 years. Defensive coordinators Leslie Frazier and Jim Schwartz have each guided their respective units to top-10 finishes during the past number of years.

As the 2010s close, it’s a natural time to review how the Bills have looked on the defensive side of the ball over the past decade.

Here are the best players on defense for Buffalo during the last decade:

Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams. Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive tackle: Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus

Kyle Williams was a fixture in Buffalo for 13 seasons. During his play in this decade, he led defensive linemen with 396 total tackles and 71 tackles for loss. Tack in 40.5 sacks in 121 games, and you have quite the player for the interior of the Bills line. Williams was named to six Pro Bowls during this time period.

Marcell Dareus is a story of what could have been. In 91 games, he recorded 300 total tackles and 35 sacks. He surely was dominant at times, but he just did not gel with the Sean McDermott regime. Dareus was a two-time Pro-Bowl selection with Buffalo and was an All-Pro with the squad in 2014.

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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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WATCH: Bills force turnover on Patriots’ opening drive

Jordan Poyer forces Rex Burkhead fumble, Micah Hyde recovers.

The Bills defense started off their Week 16 meeting with the New England Patriots on the right foot.

Buffalo forced a turnover on the opening drive of the game for the Patriots offense. Safety Jordan Poyer tackled Pats running back Rex Burkhead from behind and Micah Hyde scooped up the ball on the play.

The play led to the Bills earning the first points of the game, a 35-yard field goal from kicker Stephen Hauschka.

Here’s how the Bills ended the Patriots opening drive:

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Report card: Bills outlast Steelers, 17-10

The Bills are playoff bound after their victory of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was a victory where the Bills relied on their stout defense.

Buffalo, you can party like it’s 1999 because the Bills are sitting at 10-4, clinching just their second playoff appearance this century.

The game was an ugly, hard fought battle that saw seven turnovers between themselves and the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game which the Bills won 17-10.

Ultimately, Buffalo’s offense made more plays down the stretch that gave them the victory. It wasn’t a stellar performance from Josh Allen and company though.

With that, here’s how the Bills graded out in this week’s report card following their win over the Steelers:

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Quarterback: C

Josh Allen had a tough game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he completed just 52 percent of his passes for 139 yards. He struggled throughout the game, missing some wide open receivers, his interception was a perfect example of these errant throws. Allen had a clean pocket, and threw a pass to the outstretched arms of receiver Cole Beasley, that bounced off the hands of Beasley and into arms of the Steelers defensive back. The interception doesn’t fall on the shoulders of Allen alone, but a better pass could have been caught by Beasley.

The quarterback did have his moments of brilliance, mainly coming in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. He hit a massive 40-yard strike to John Brown that help set up the game winning touchdown. Speaking of the game winning touchdown, he found tight end Tyler Kroft on third down, sealing the victory for Buffalo.

Allen also had 28 yards on the ground, and one rushing touchdown that opened the scoring for Buffalo.

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What we learned from Bills’ Week 14 loss to Ravens

What we learned, Buffalo Bills vs. Baltimore Ravens, NFL Week 14

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bills did what few, if any, teams have doneso  far this season on Sunday: Slow down Lamar Jackson and the high-powered Baltimore Ravens. However, it was not enough to get them their 10th win of the 2019 season.

The Bills’ three-game winning streak was snapped by the Ravens, 24-17, in a game where Buffalo will get plenty of credit for hanging with perhaps the NFL’s best team right to the final minute of the game.

In the end, Baltimore left Orchard Park with it’s 11th win of the season and a playoff berth because they hounded and frustrated the Bills’ offense, especially quarterback Josh Allen. One week after his best and most efficient outing as a pro, Allen had one of his least efficient performances of the season, completing just 17-of-39 passes for 146 yards.

Still, Allen found his groove a bit in the fourth quarter and led the Bills back. Trailing 24-9 in the final frame, Allen helped direct a 78-yard touchdown drive that he capped with a three-yard touchdown throw to Cole Beasley. The Bills then wisely went for two and converted (Allen to Beasley again) to cut the margin to just seven with seven minutes to play.

Buffalo then forced a three-and-out and had a chance to drive for the tie or, perhaps, the lead in the final minutes. Aided by a couple of unnecessary roughness penalties and a 26-yard pass interference penalty, the Bills moved the ball inside the 20, but the drive stalled. With one last chance, on 4th and 8 from the Baltimore 16, Allen threw incomplete to John Brown near the goal line, and Baltimore was able to kneel out the game.

While the game was ultimately a disappointing one for the Bills, a lot went right for them on this Sunday afternoon. The Bills’ defense turned in one of it’s best performances of the season in holding the Ravens, the league’s highest-scoring team, mostly in check. Jackson finished with just 40 rushing yards and 145 passing yards. Similar to the Bills’ Week 4 performance against New England, it was the type of defensive effort that should earn praise and raise eyebrows across the league, even in a loss.

Also, the Bills got some help away from New Era Field as Oakland, Houston, and Indianapolis all lost, meaning the Bills can clinch their second playoff berth in three seasons simply by beating the Steelers next Sunday night in Pittsburgh. Oh, the Patriots also lost too, meaning the Bills are still just one game back in the race for the AFC East crown.

Here are four things we learned as the Bills fell to 9-4 Sunday at New Era Field:

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Micah Hyde told other teams ‘don’t sleep’ on Bills this year

On RapSheet+Friends podcast, Hyde shared this idea with host Ian Rapoport that some did not agree with the safety’s vision.

The Buffalo Bills made several upgrades to their roster in the offseason via free agency and the draft. With the additions of John Brown, Cole Beasley, Frank Gore, Devin Singletary, Mitch Morse, Jon Feliciano, Ed Oliver, Quinton Spain, Dawson Knox, and Andre Roberts, the Bills worked to mitigate the talent gap on the roster from a year ago.

Some may have been skeptical that the moves were not enough. However, Bills safety Micah Hyde had no problem telling people, including former college teammates, that Buffalo would be a force to be reckoned with this year.

On RapSheet+Friends podcast, Hyde shared this idea with host Ian Rapoport that some did not agree with the safety’s vision. Hyde told, “I remember having a conversation with some buddies on other teams, former players that I played with in the past whether it’s in Green Bay or even my days in Iowa. And I was telling guys, ‘Hey, don’t sleep on us this year. We’re going to be good.”

Hyde also made reference to the team’s second-year quarterback Josh Allen, highlighting the confidence that the team had with the former first-round pick entering this season. “Obviously we have a young quarterback, but he’s a competitor. He’s a stud.” Hyde added, “Once he gets that confidence from year one to year two’ we’re going to be a pretty good football team.’”

Even so, others paid little attention to what Hyde discussed. “And obviously all the guys were like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. Whatever. Whatever.’” Nevertheless, Hyde knew that this year could stand out from the recent history for the Bills. “Maybe I was a little biased, because I appreciate this football team. I know the hard work and stuff that a lot of guys put in, but I really did.”

Buffalo is on the verge of its first double-digit win season since 1999. They are a near-lock to make the playoffs, as publications give the group give the Bills around a 95-percent chance of making the playoffs.

“I saw the potential in this football team for sure,” Hyde highlighted. Now, it’s all coming together for the Bills year.

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5 storylines to follow during Bills at Cowboys

The Bills visit the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday for a Thanksgiving Day meeting. It’s the first time in about 25 seasons that the Bills have had the national spotlight on them while turkey was being served. 

Short week, big week.

The Bills visit the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday for a Thanksgiving Day meeting. It’s the first time in about 25 seasons that the Bills have had the national spotlight on them while turkey is being served.

The winner will add to their win total against a winning team for the first time after the one, too. Something neither has done to this point in 2019, despite their winning ways.

With that, here are five storylines to follow during Thursday’s Bills meeting with the Cowboys:

Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

How do Bills play under circumstances?

The Bills have a big test against the Cowboys. They’re a good team, yes. But it’s the festivities outside the game that are much, much different for Buffalo. The Bills haven’t played on Thanksgiving in a long, long time, as mentioned. That’s different for them. In this scenario, the Cowboys play each and every season on the holiday. They don’t answer questions in the locker room about playing during during it this week. Their locker room is used to it.

In addition, just… in general, the Bills don’t often play outside of 1 p.m. In fact, they haven’t done so since last season. The Cowboys on the other hand? This is America’s team, folks. They’ve played on Sunday Night Football three times, Monday Night Football once and had 4 p.m. kickoffs four times. In fact, playing at 1 p.m. is actually weird for them, they’ve only done that three times.

Thanksgiving Day is much bigger for the Bills. Sean McDermott has to get his team ready for it.

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Would it be fun to get a beer with Ryan Fitzpatrick? Micah Hyde thinks so

Buffalo Bills safety Micah Hyde on Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.

The last time the Bills and the Dolphins met in a game, Buffalo safety Micah Hyde met Miami quarterback and former Bill Ryan Fitzpatrick with a hit in the end zone when he scored on a late scamper.

Hyde would prefer to meet Fitz at the local watering hole next time.

On Wednesday while chatting with reporters, Hyde was discussing Fitzpatrick but more so talked about the man behind the mask instead of the warrior on the field. In fact, he said exactly that, Fitzpatrick would be a cool guy to get a beer with.

“I definitely respect him. I know that some guys here, that were here in the last couple of years actually had an opportunity to play with him, I think Lee (Smith) had an opportunity to play with him,” Hyde said. “He seems like one of those guys you can just go to the Big Tree Inn, have a beer with him him, shoot the [expletive] with him and have fun, that’s what he seems like, honestly.”

On the flip side, Fitzpatrick spoke to the Bills’ team radio show on Wednesday as well. Fitzpatrick reflected on playing for the Bills as he often does when facing his old team. It sounds like that would be a good topic of conversation Hyde and Fitzpatrick would have at the end corner of seat of an establishment.

“There are very few places where, during the football season, your mood every single day, is all based on what happened last Sunday and that’s what Buffalo is. It was such a special place to play and when you’re a player there you really do appreciate the fans and how much they’re into it,” Fitzpatrick said.

Beverages aside, Hyde also said he’s prepping to face a competitor in the Dolphins QB this week.

“You see him go out each and every week and he competes. He puts his body on the line and he gets hit a lot and he gets back up. In my eyes, I respect the guy a lot,” Hyde said.

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