Buffalo Bills: Unsung Heroes, Big Turnover Key in Win vs Bucs

The Buffalo Bills defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday 30-27 to improve to 4-2 and remain in a playoff spot in the AFC.

For the first time all season the key to victory for the Buffalo Bills was not the defense. The defense actually struggled at times and allowed the Bucs to cumulate over 440 total yards.

The keys to this game were the offense and a key turnover late in the game.

Top Guys

As I noted in this game’s preview, LeSean McCoy needed to make some big plays. He did exactly that as he was able to score two touchdowns and put up over 100 total yards.

Tyrod Taylor fought off the naysayers for one more week on Sunday. He led the offense to a seemingly forever elusive comeback win and threw for 268 yards and once again had zero INTs.

Tyrod threw for over 200 and ran for over 50, once again showing off his versatility.

Next Man Up

The Bills’ recent injury woes have forced some unusual faces to step up and make some plays.

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On Sunday, a few players did just that.

Deonte Thompson, who was recently acquired from the Bears, put up a 107-yard receiving game. He was picked up to help out the receiving corps and did just that.

Matt Milano, the rookie in the spot of Ramon Humber, picked off a Jameis Winston pass to end a Bucs possession.

Logan Thomas, the No. 3 tight end and former Virginia Tech quarterback, hauled in a Tyrod pass for a touchdown.

Taiwan Jones made a huge third-down play. The running back only had one catch but his 11 yard gain was enough to help the Bills kill off more clock before the eventual game-winning field goal.

All four backups made key plays that helped the Buffalo Bills win the game.

ORCHARD PARK, NY – OCTOBER 22: Taiwan Jones (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

Turnovers

Although the Bills failed to score a lot of points off turnovers, a key forced fumble late put them in position to win and they did.

The fumble, forced by potential Defensive Rookie of the Year Tre’Davious White, was right before the two-minute warning and was in Bucs territory, putting the Bills in field goal range.

Shady fumbled once himself, which the Bills were unable to recover, but the Bills won the turnover battle 3-1. This puts the Buffalo Bills at +10 on turnovers this year which is the highest total in the NFL.

Notes

EJ Gaines and Jordan Poyer were both banged up after the game but no timetable has been set on their returns although Poyer seemed fine.

Stephen Hauschka scored a point in his 100th consecutive game. In addition, “Hausch-Money” has converted 12 straight field goals from 50+ yards.

On Monday, the Buffalo Bills were awarded their waiver claim for CB Tony McRae. In the process, the team released WR Kaelin Clay.

The Bills held the lowly Bucs rushing offense to just 69 total yards.

Next: Buffalo Bills: Analyzing the 2017 Season to Date

Final Thoughts

The Buffalo Bills won their third home game and now sit 3-0 at home on the season, which is best in the AFC.

Buffalo, as of now, holds the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff picture.

Next week, the Buffalo Bills remain in Western New York to host the Oakland Raiders.

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