Buffalo Bills Defeat Browns: Highlights, Notes and Stats

The Buffalo Bills defeated the Cleveland Browns  on Sunday, bringing their record to an even 7-7.

Here are a look at my full notes from Sunday’s victory vs. the visiting Cleveland Browns. Overall, it was a nice victory that included a complete team effort by the Buffalo Bills. They should be proud of this victory, despite it being against a winless team.

Each bullet point represents a change of possession.

First Quarter

• A holding penalty on the Browns helped the Bills force a three-and-out for the first possession of the game. Cleveland had an interference penalty on the punt, giving the Bills nice field position.
• 44 yards from back to back LeSean McCoy runs — he reached 1,000 yards on the season — but poor red-zone execution limited Buffalo to a field goal in their first offensive sighting.
• Up 3-0, the Buffalo Bills allowed RGIII some timely throws, despite a fumble early in their second drive. A 25-yard run by Crowell helped them get to the goal-line, but a sack by Zach Brown followed by a sack shared by Lorenzo Alexander and Kyle Williams limited the Browns to a field goal. 3-3 on the scoreboard.
• A 10-yard catch by Sammy Watkins, 13-yard third down conversion by Charles Clay and risky pitch from Mike Gillislee to Brandon Tate that went 30 yards brought the Bills to the goal-line again. LeSean McCoy wasn’t given shot, but Mike Gillislee ran it in for 3-yard TD. 10-3 at end of first quarter.

Second Quarter

• Browns started with ball, but Jerry Hughes started with an 8-yard sack. A nice stuff by Jerry Hughes/Preston Brown brought them to 3rd and long. 13-yard run wasn’t enough, Browns punted on three and out.
• On Bills’ 3rd offensive drive, Charles Clay started to see more targets and LeSean McCoy converted a third down with an 8-yard run. Drive was short-lived, Buffalo Bills punted.
• Luckily, Bills force three and out soon after the Browns couldn’t get anything done. Their drive lasted just 1:22 with Ramon Humber and Leger Douzable getting nice stop on first down.
• Bills strike again in fifth offensive drive. Impressive drive (14 plays, 91 yards, 7:29) began with 18-yard LeSean McCoy run. Tyrod Taylor had nice completions to Jerome Felton (12 yards), Charles Clay (13 yards), a 23-yard catch by Marquise Goodwin after he had a penalty followed by a sack on Tyrod Taylor. The drive ended with a 9-yard third down conversion by Marquise Goodwin followed by a 19-yard catch by Charles Clay for a TD (play was reviewed, play stands as TD). Bills up 17-3 with 0:34 left.
• A couple of nice throws by RGIII, but Kevon Seymour has nice coverage on fellow rookie Corey Coleman to end the half. Bills lead 17-3.

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Third Quarter

• The Buffalo Bills started the second half with a 9-yard rush by LeSean McCoy, which put him over the 100-yard mark. However, a dropped pass by Sammy Watkins forced them to punt to start the half off.
• The Browns would take advantage of an offsides penalty on Shaq Lawson, 33 yard catch by Andrew Hawkins and 13-yard rush and finish the drive off with an 18-yard rushing TD by RG3. The Bills’ lead sat at 17-10.
• In the following drive by the Buffalo Bills, Charles Clay continued to be a top target with 21 yards on 2 receptions to start the drive. Jerome Felton had a nice block to pave the way for a 28-yard scramble by Tyrod Taylor. LeSean McCoy finished the drive with a 3-yard TD — his first TD of the game. 24-10 Bills.
• The Browns would start to move the ball again with a 28-yard catch by Barnidge, which had a roughing the passer penalty attached to it for an extra 13 yards. However, a Browns holding penalty, Adolphus Washington stuff and nice stop by Zach Brown, the Bills forced a fourth down and allowed a field goal. Bills led 24-13.
• The following possession was another productive one for the Bills. Tyrod Taylor opened it up with an 8-yard run, followed by a Mike Gillislee 14-yard catch to end the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter

• Continuing the drive, a 12-yard scramble and 16-yard reception by Justin Hunter set up an 8-yard touchdown run by LeSean McCoy. A missed extra point brought the game to 30-13.
• The Browns would stall on the next drive, with two incomplete passes and a Kyle Williams‘ sack for 9 yards. The Browns would quickly punt.
• Buffalo would respond with a field goal thanks to an 11-yard and 16-yard rush by LeSean McCoy. The Bills took a 33-13 lead.
• A sack shared by Lorenzo Alexander and Shaq Lawson helped the Bills force a three and out in the next drive for the Browns.
• On the next Buffalo Bills‘ drive, Tyrod Taylor was replaced by EJ Manuel to avoid injury, something no one wants when it comes to Taylor. Mike Gillislee started to run very well in that drive, with Jonathan Williams adding two 5-yard runs. However, they would get stopped on fourth down with one yard to go, giving the ball to Cleveland.
• With 2 minutes left, the Browns started to move the ball with some nice throws by RG3. However, they wouldn’t score and would actucally fumble to end the game. The Bills would finish the game with a 33-13 victory.

It was a must-win for the Buffalo Bills and they came out and handled business against a winless team. Let’s enjoy the victory and hope for a 9-7 record to end the season.

Let’s take a look at the highlights from the victory!