It was another barn burner down at Ralph Wilson Stadium yesterday. The Buffalo Bills found a way to win, despite giving up nearly 500 yards of offense.
Somehow this football team keeps finding new and interesting ways to win games. It is pretty refreshing considering the last decade has been filled with new and interesting ways to lose games. Yesterday’s version was about three quarters of dominance followed by 20 minutes of white-knuckle action in which the Bills barely held on.
The defense continues to be either extremely good or extremely bad, often both sides are revealed in the same game. Buffalo managed five turnovers and scored a big touchdown, but struggled to make a stop in the second half when they really needed one. This has become an alarming trend; against New England, Cincinnati and now Philly, the defense has been very porous in the second half. Now, they found a way to get a stop yesterday. However, until that miscue, the Bills defense was on their heels for most of the second half.
I think a lot of the struggles have to do with scheme. When the Bills are aggressive they get fairly successful results. But when they drop into a zone scheme with a prevent look, the defense gets torn apart. George Edwards definitely needs to address the way he is adjusting to his opponent in the second half.
Offensively it seems there are few issues with a unit that is running at a high efficiency rate. I’m not quite sure why the Bills haven’t re-signed Fred Jackson, his price is only going to go up as the season goes along. The dude is virtually unstoppable. He is silky smooth running in traffic and has an uncanny ability to find green space when he has the ball in his hands. He put the team on his shoulders yesterday and was easily the most valuable player in the win.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was quiet, but strong against the Eagles. It seemed pretty obvious the Bills didn’t want to test their luck against the Eagles’ secondary. Instead, they pounded out some serious yards on the ground. Against a lesser secondary the Bills will likely revert back to a pass-happy attack – despite the fact they failed with that approach against Cincy.
The Bills are still a team fighting skeptics and those second guessing where this team can finish. The offense has asserted itself as a well-rounded until capable of putting up points. The defense, however, is prone to giving up big yards and even big plays. The defense is also capable of being a ball-hawking unit that can make big plays on their own. The remaining schedule has opportunities for the Bills to stay in the hunt for the playoffs. If everything goes right they will likely sneak into a spot. The only thing that may hold them back is their Jekyll and Hyde defense.
Two in the Box 