Buffalo Bills: Recapping the blowout against the Saints and the QB situation
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The Buffalo Bills shocked a lot of people in the worst possible way on Sunday. The Bills got destroyed by the New Orleans Saints in every aspect by the score of 47-10, falling to 5-4 on the season.
This is by far the least excited I have been to write a game recap for the Buffalo Bills. For starters, the New Orleans Saints held the Bills to just 198 total yards. But the bleeding only got worse.
Along with total yardage, the Saints also won all of the following categories:
- First Downs (32-10)
- Time of Possession (41:23-18:37)
- Total Plays (73-45)
- Yards Per Play (6.6-4.4)
- Rushing Yards for the Game (298-69)
The Saints offensive line overpowered the Bills all game. The Bills’ once elite looking defense had no chance at stopping the run. The D-Line didn’t even record one sack on Drew Brees.
New Orleans’ running backs had themselves an awesome afternoon.
Between Mark Ingram, Alvin Kamara, and Trey Edmunds, the trio rushed for 285 yards and recorded five touchdowns.
As for Buffalo, they did not even have a rusher go for more than 70 yards.
Tyrod Taylor haters are happy this week. The Saints mid-game adjustments had him visibly rattled. He finished with 56 passing yards and a pathetic 29.7 QBR and a rare pick.
His lack of ability to adjust mid-game and anticipate where his passes should be was exposed awfully throughout the game.
The trend of Shady doing well resulting in the Bills doing well was proven to be factual yet again. LeSean McCoy had a lowly 49 yards and that is including one rush for 36 yards. He had just 13 yards on his other seven carries.
The Bills need to implement a plan to not have the team’s success on offense revolve around the success of Shady McCoy if he is being held to minimal gains.
Kelvin Benjamin made his first start for the Buffalo Bills. He was targeted early and often on the opening drive but very infrequently after that.
As stagnant as the Bills offense was, it is important to at least give some credit to the Saints’ defense. After giving up a field goal on the opening drive, the Saints held the Bills scoreless for the rest of the first half and third quarter.
The Bills’ only touchdown came late in the fourth quarter in garbage time for the Bills second-team offense.
Rookie Nathan Peterman got reps late once the game was out of hand. He tossed the Bills’ lone touchdown to “the gloveless wonder” Nick O’Leary. Peterman finished the game with 79 yards and the TD.
He tossed the pigskin for more yards than Tyrod. This led to a lot of displeasure amongst the fans and Buffalo media. There are talks of whether it is time to bench Taylor for the rookie.
Personally, I think the talks are ridiculous. I am not justifying Taylor’s awful performance in any way. However, the Bills, despite back-to-back blowout losses, remain in a playoff spot.
Tyrod played well against the Jets and that loss was not mainly his fault. The loss to the Saints cannot be pinpointed to one particular player either, but rather a whole team loss.
Nathan Peterman looked very sharp. He threw a touchdown and looked composed. But it was 40-3 when he entered the game. The Saints were not trying too hard and every player on the field was just trying to avoid injury.
Giving Peterman reps was smart and if it proved anything, it proved he has some kind of potential.
But it is clear Tyrod Taylor is the starting QB for at least next game. If he wasn’t, then the coaching staff would not have even benched him and they would’ve risked letting him get injured.
Tyrod Taylor should be the starting quarterback. They tried benching him for Cardale Jones last year and that experiment failed so the team brought him back.
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Bringing in Nathan Peterman to start after one terrible game by Tyrod would not set a positive tone for the Buffalo Bills, who are still above .500 despite an abysmal stretch.
My theory is this: if the Bills decide to bench Tyrod based on how bad he played against the Saints, then they should bench every other starter too because they all played poorly on Sunday.
If Tyrod proves to be bad against the Chargers, Patriots, Colts, etc., then bring in Peterman and I wouldn’t complain.
The game against the Saints, however, is the outlier of the season. The Bills could go winless the rest of the way and still won’t have a contest this lopsided all year.
The Bills do not have a quarterback problem. They might not have a franchise quarterback like the Saints but they definitely have a guy talented enough to hold on in a weak AFC.
There are already ten teams with five or more losses in the AFC and the Buffalo Bills are not one of them.
Eight wins just might be good enough to earn the final playoff spot. The Bills can easily get there with teams like the Chargers, Colts, and two matchups with the Dolphins left on the schedule.
However, I would go as far as to say that it is time to panic at One Bills Drive. The next two to three games are all must-win games.
The Buffalo Bills now sit at 5-4.
- 3-2 in the AFC.
- 2-2 against the NFC.
- 4-1 at home.
- 1-3 on the road.
- 1-1 in the division
That line might not be pretty or one of a quintessential NFL playoff team, but it works well enough to be 5-4 and the sixth-best team in the AFC.
The Bills’ performance against the Saints saw a naked streaker rush for more yards than a Bills running back, but it is now time to refocus.
Buffalo travels out west on Sunday to go play the Chargers for the first time since the Bolts relocated to the city of angels.
Next: Kelvin Benjamin won’t improve Buffalo’s offense
A big conference win on the road would prove the Bills are not done circling the wagons just yet. It would be a statement to have six wins before December in a weak AFC.
It is okay to panic after seeing the last two games. But it is not time to throw in the towel on the season. The Buffalo Bills still have time to calm our nerves.