Special teams anything but special
Buffalo’s special teams have been a weak spot all season long. Special teams’ mistakes may have cost the Bills the game against their AFC East rivals from New England back in September. In week 11, it looks like little has changed in the quality of the Bills’ special teams from that disastrous performance earlier in the season.
The highlight of the game for the Dolphins on Sunday was a 101-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter by Jakeem Grant. The touchdown came after the Bills had just scored to go up 23-7 and were seemingly about to run away with the game. The special teams’ breakdown brought Miami right back into the game.
Grant is one of the fastest players in the NFL and is nearly impossible to catch once he gets into the open field. The Bills allowed him to get outside and find that open field in part because of five missed tackles as Grant got wide to the right side of the field.
Unfortunately, the touchdown wasn’t the only special teams’ mistake the Bills made on Sunday.
Miami caught the Bills by surprise after their first score with a surprise onside kick. Buffalo was not ready and Dolphins’ kicker Jason Sanders was able to circle it and recover it himself. Fortunately for the Bills, Allen Hurns fumbled the ball away on the next play.
The Bills were again victimized by Miami’s return game in the fourth quarter as Grant got free again for a 49-yard kickoff return to midfield.
Buffalo has problems with both kick coverage and too many short kicks that are returnable by opposing teams. The Bills have given up big returns going back to T.J. Jones long return of a punt back in Week 2. Meanwhile, in the era of almost automatic touchbacks on kickoffs, the Bills are seeing far too many kicks returned by opposing teams. The Bills have given up 476 return yards, which is ninth most in the league. For a team that doesn’t score a ton, you wouldn’t expect the Bills to be among the league leaders in kick return yards allowed.
Because the Buffalo offense has struggled for much of the season, the Bills have a thin margin for error when it comes to mistakes that might cost them points. The Bills can’t afford to be giving points back on special teams. While it did not cost them the game Sunday against woeful Miami, it could come back to hurt them when they see teams like Dallas, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and New England on the upcoming schedule.
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