Tag: Taron Johnson

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.”

[lawrence-related id=128282,120409,128247]

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.”

[lawrence-related id=128220,128212,128202]

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

Here is Bills Wire’s stock report following Sunday’s 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Buffalo Bills (7-6) entered Sunday’s game at the Kansas City Chiefs (8-5) needing to run the table if they wanted any chance of making the playoffs. In a game of critical importance to the Bills, the team made the plays needed down the stretch to walk away from Arrowhead Stadium with a 20-17 win.

In a matchup that turned out to be of the lower-scoring variety due to the struggles of both offenses, Josh Allen and Buffalo’s defense came up big for the Bills down the stretch.

With that being said, here’s Bills Wire’s stock report following the Bills’ 20-17 win over the Chiefs:

Bills at Chiefs: Key matchups to watch in Week 14

#Bills at #Chiefs: Key matchups to watch in Week 14:

The Buffalo Bills will visit the Kansas City Chiefs in their upcoming Week 14 matchup at Arrowhead Stadium.

The two teams have been rigorously preparing for the contest throughout the past week. Buffalo (6-6) and Kansas City (8-4) will think they know their upcoming opponent, inside and out, after all the practicing and studying they have put in.

Because of that, despite all the off-field talking, speculation and discussion, it will still be the games, within the game, that will make all the difference when it comes to the final outcome of this upcoming weekend.

With that, here are three key matchups to watch during Sunday’s Bills-Chiefs matchup:

PFF: 5 highest-graded Bills players on defense in Week 12

PFF: 5 highest-graded #Bills players on defense in Week 12 vs. the #Eagles:

The Buffalo Bills narrowly lost in overtime to the Philadelphia Eagles, 37-34, in their Week 12 matchup on Sunday afternoon.

The Bills (6-6) had a few players that stood out above the rest on the defensive side. It’s hard to say that the Bills defense did well when they had conceded the most points in a game this season, but this was against a dangerous Philadelphia offense who only have one loss in the 2023 NFL season.

With multiple injuries on the defensive side of the ball, the Bills had their work cut out for them and performed to their best but ultimately could not keep the Eagles out of the end zone in overtime.

In terms of positive efforts on defense, these players will especially need to continue to put in a tremendous effort, according to Pro Football Focus.

Here are the five highest-graded Bills players on defense against the Eagles (10-1) according to PFF’s metrics:

Bills at Eagles: 5 things to watch for in Week 12

#Bills at #Eagles: 5 things to watch for in Week 12:

The Buffalo Bills (6-5) continue their regular season journey on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles (9-1) in Week 12 on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

All week, topics and storylines have been discussed ahead of these two unfamiliar 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 five things to watch for during Sunday’s Bills at Eagles matchup in Philadelphia:

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

PFF: 5 lowest-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 reverse throughout the rest of the 2023 season as the push toward the postseason unfolds… particularly, they’ll need better efforts from these players, according to Pro Football Focus.

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

Sean McDermott updates Bills injury report post-Jets win

Sean McDermott updates #Bills injury report post-#Jets win:

The Buffalo Bills dominated the New York Jets on nearly every front in Week 11.

The Bills (6-5) took a 32-6 win over the Jets but were beaten up in one place in particular: The injury report.

Multiple Buffalo players went down with injuries against New York. The area that was targeted more than any other by the injury bug was the defensive backfield.

At first, some issues appeared to be serious. At the top, safety Taylor Rapp required an ambulance to leave the field.

However, head coach Sean McDermott did have some good new regarding his team’s injury report when he spoke via video conference on Monday.

A quick Bills injury rundown provided by McDermott can be found below:

Bills vs. Jets: Dane Jackson, Taylor Rapp, Taron Johnson ruled out

#Bills vs. #Jets: Dane Jackson, Taylor Rapp, Taron Johnson ruled out:

The injury bug has run through the Buffalo Bills secondary during the team’s contest against the New York Jets in Week 11. Three players have been ruled out due to similar injuries.

Safety Taylor Rapp and cornerback Taron Johnson collided while making a tackle. Rapp did stand up after but then went down to the turf and required an ambulance to take him off the field.

For his own efforts, Johnson stayed down too. Johnson managed to make it back to the locker room under his own power but both were ruled out due to neck and head injuries, respectively.

Prior to the collision between Rapp and Johnson, cornerback Dane Jackson was hurt. Jackson required help getting off the field but was quickly ruled out due to a head injury himself.

All three injuries occured in the first half against the Jets.

Bills Wire will provide updates when information is made available.

[lawrence-related id=126920,126917,126912]

ESPN’s Ryan Clark did not think Bills’ Taron Johnson took PI vs. Broncos

ESPN’s Ryan Clark did not think #Bills’ Taron Johnson took PI vs. #Broncos:

The Bills were not alone in thinking that Taron Johnson did not commit a late, costly penalty against the Broncos in Week 10.

Involved in a wild 24-22 finish, which included a 12 men on the field penalty as well, Bills cornerback Taron Johnson was called for pass interference on Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott, the defensive play caller for the team, called an all-out blitz on the play. Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson felt the pressure coming and tossed up a prayer and it’s up for debate: Did Johnson turn around in time to see the ball before knocking into Jeudy?

We know what side ESPN’s Ryan Clark is on.

During the contest, Clark, a former NFL defensive back, took the side of his DB brethren on the play. Clark was adamant that Johnson didn’t take a pass interference penalty… much like Johnson thought after the game.

“I don’t know how I could play it better,” Johnson said.

Clark’s thoughts can be found via his social media post below:

 

[lawrence-related id=126825,126804,126797]