Watching the Buffalo Bills this season was like watching a deer get hit by a car. The season was full of lows for the Bills, with the highs being overshadowed by the team’s disappointments and failures. Some fans reading this will say, “But what about ending the seventeen-year playoff drought? That’s got to prove something, right?” You’re right; it does prove something—how incredibly lucky the Bills were this season. It first took a weak AFC and, on top of that, an Andy Dalton miracle in Baltimore for the Bills to make it into the postseason. As the Bills General Manager Brandon Beane succinctly put it after their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Round One of the playoffs, “[They] have a long way to go.”
The Highs of the Season
Without any question, the best part of this season’s team was LeSean McCoy. The running back carried the Bills to the playoffs with 1,138 yards rushing, and he led the team in receptions with a total of 59 during the regular season. What’s scary is that this season was not even that good by McCoy’s standards. His average carry fell from 5.4 yards in 2016 to just 4 yards this season. He also dropped from thirteen touchdowns in 2016 to only six this year, and this season was only his fifth highest total yards in his career. Without McCoy, the Bills offense would have been completely terrible, even worse than it already was. Other teams should watch McCoy next year, for when his performance has dipped in seasons past, he has always bounced back the following season.
Also, on the offensive side, praise should go to tight end Charles Clay who led the team in receiving yards with 558 yards. Having said this, it is indicative of a huge problem that the leading receiver for the team was a tight end and not a wide receiver. Defensively, the only thing the Bills had going for them was their secondary team. Safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde were great free agent pickups and rookie Tre’Davious White was amazing to watch as he covered receivers. With four interceptions and eighteen broken up passes, White probably should have made the Pro Bowl in his first season.
The game of the year for the Bills was their Week 8 game against the Oakland Raiders. Scoring a season high 34 points, everything except the passing game seemed to be working for the Bills. McCoy was putting in work and the defense caused four turnovers against the Raiders. At this point, the season looked promising for the Bills after they beat what some considered to be a good Raiders team. Unfortunately, the Raiders turned out to be an overhyped team, and the Bills failed to replicate such a performance after Week 8. The only other game that remotely came close in strength was their Week 14 win against the Colts, but they only managed to win that because of the terrible snow on the field.
The Lows of the Season
Where do I start? I guess I will begin with the quarterbacks. Both Tyrod Taylor and his backup, Nathan Peterman, were absolutely awful this season. Taylor and Buffalo’s pass offense finished a disappointing thirty-first out of thirty-two teams this season. This isn’t to say that everything Taylor did was bad. He only had four interceptions and he was masterful at running. The problem was, however, that he misfired too many passes, and that he failed to see open receivers too many times. Taylor just isn’t good enough for today’s NFL, and the Bills should have realized this a long time ago. The Bills had some inkling about this last season, but kept Taylor this year for financial reasons.
However, in Buffalo’s game against the Chargers they tried to switch to backup quarterback Nathan Peterman. He played only half of the game, but it was amazing to watch because of how truly terrible his performance was. With five interceptions, Peterman tied the record for most picks thrown in a career start, and he resoundingly demonstrated that he was not the answer to the Buffalo’s quarterback problem.
Additionally, the Bills’ wide receivers barely showed up this season. While that might be due to Taylor’s inability to throw, the right side of the offensive line was a catastrophe. John Miller really struggled at right guard most of the season. The right tackle position may be even worse—Jordan Mills was awful this season, and there just doesn’t seem to be an answer there regardless of who plays.
One of reasons Rex Ryan was fired as head coach of the Bills in 2016 was because his defense was terrible both years he was there. However statically speaking, this season’s defense was worse than either one of the two previous defenses. Sure, statistics do not say everything—a large part of why the Bills were horrible statistically was their three-game losing streak against the Jets (21-34), Saints (10-47), and Chargers (24-52). If you take those games out, the Bills end up with an overall defensive rank of 20. Not bad, but certainly not playoff-worthy.
Getting to the Playoffs
There is no doubt that overall this season the AFC was weaker than the NFC. Both conferences had great teams but the NFC just had more competitive teams. A weak AFC should have left the door wide open for a not-so-terrible team to walk into the playoffs. Instead it became a four way showdown between four teams that at the start of week 17 had 8 to 7 records. The week started to shape up with the Titans securing their wildcard spot with a win over the Jaguars and the Chargers winning their game against the Raiders but missing the playoffs because of the Bills’ win at Miami. It came down to the Ravens game against a Bengals team that was dead last in the NFL for total offensive yards. A Ravens win would have sent the Bills home, but with the Ravens leading 27 to 24 with 52 seconds left in the game, the Bengals’ Andy Dalton performed one of the miracles he’s known for. On fourth and twelve, Dalton threw a bullet to Tyler Boyd; a 49-yard reception for the game winning touchdown. To put it simply, the Ravens choked, and they were the only reason that the Bills advanced.
The Playoffs
This Round One playoff game was awful for both teams involved. After somehow slipping into the playoffs, the Buffalo Bills faced a Jacksonville Jaguars team that was struggling. The Jaguars had come off of two mistake-ridden losses, to the 49ers (33-44) and Titans (10-15). In reality, the Jaguars were absolutely begging to be upset at home against the Bills. The defense even managed to do its job, holding the Jags to just 230 yards and only ten points. It was Tyrod Taylor and the offense that stumbled once again. Scoring just three points, Taylor had his worst performance as a Bill. He went 17 of 37 for only 134 yards. He was impatient with his receivers, often giving up on them before they got open, and he just flat out missed receivers when he did give them a chance. He also disastrously used the pass option on first and goal at the one-yard line costing them a potential touchdown. Watching this game was like watching a highlight film of Taylor’s career as a Bill—great on his feet, managing to keep the Bills competitive, but unable to pass consistently and score points when it mattered.
The Future
What’s next for the Bills? How do Head Coach Sean McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane build off of a playoff season? First, Buffalo needs a new quarterback. There are two routes the Bills could go: either they pick one up in the draft, or they sign an experienced quarterback. Kirk Cousins, of the Washington Redskins, is a potential free agent with experience the Bills could use, but it would cost the team $34 million to franchise tag him. There are rumors that the Kansas City Chiefs are looking to drop Alex Smith. Smith kind of makes sense, but given that he has two, maybe three years left in his career, I doubt that the Bills can build a franchise with him.
That leaves the 2018 draft. However, the Bills will face fierce competition from the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, and New York Jets all possibly looking to pick up a quarterback and all having draft picks before the Bills. Sam Darnold (USC), Josh Rosen (UCLA), Josh Allen (University of Wyoming), Baker Mayfield (University of Oklahoma), Lamar Jackson (Louisville), and Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State) are all potential choices for the Bills if other teams don’t pick them up first. Out of these options, Josh Allen would be the best fit, as he is strong, athletic, and can play in Buffalo’s often dismal outdoor conditions. Having said this, acquiring any of these quarterbacks would be great for the Bills.
So, can the Bills make it to the playoffs next year? Maybe. If the AFC remains as weak as it was this year or if the Bills gain a new quarterback and replace their offensive line, they have a chance. The future of the franchise remains unknown with McDermott and company, but one thing I do know is that Bills fans are extremely loyal and will stick with their team no matter what, even through a whiteout blizzard or another seventeen-year playoff drought.
