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Are The Buffalo Bills Cursed?

By Michael Straw

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Buffalo Bills fans just can’t seem to have nice things. After years of living in quarterback purgatory it appeared as though the team had finally found its answer under center with former Baltimore Raven Tyrod Taylor. The career backup came to town with no fanfare, and was expected to only be, at best, the third QB on the Buffalo roster.

However, Taylor proved day in and day out that he was capable of starting in this league with a preseason performance that was head and shoulders better than his competition of Matt Cassel and E.J. Manuel. He gave the Bills someone to make plays with both his arm and legs while taking care of the ball. It was a godsend to the organization and a city looking for their first playoff appearance since the turn of the 21st Century.

Through five games, Taylor has performed much better than anyone could have really predicted. All anyone really wanted him to do was to not make mistakes, and manage the game. What has happened, though, is play that has led the Bills to their 3-2 record. He has completed 70% of his passes while throwing nine touchdowns and four interceptions. On the ground, Taylor has rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns on 31 attempts. The plays Taylor made, especially against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, were big reasons for victories while not being the reason for either of his team’s losses. Yes, even if the record so far isn’t as good as hoped, everything was going just fine for the Bills.

That is, until, the horse collar tackle on Taylor by Titans linebacker Zach Brown. Though no one looked too much into the fact that Taylor hasn’t been 100% so far, it wasn’t something that couldn’t be talked about after Sunday. Coach Rex Ryan said that Taylor has been “pretty beat up” this season, and that he hasn’t been fully healthy all season long. It got fans worried about just how much more durable Taylor could be.

Then the bombshell was dropped.

To paraphrase a popular saying, this is why the Bills don’t have nice things. Every time it appears that things are heading in the right direction for the organization, something happens that throws a major wrench in the outlook of the season. With Taylor down, it really does start to bring back the “Bills are cursed” talks that have been around for years.

With Taylor out of the lineup, the Bills will be without their best field general. Not only that, but Taylor’s MCL sprain is just the latest of a string of injuries to Buffalo’s best players. From running back LeSean McCoy’s lingering hamstring problem to receiver Sammy Watkins’ troubled calf, Buffalo just can’t seem to catch a break with injuries.  Sure, every team has to go through injuries during a season, but what team sees countless things go against them year after year? The Buffalo Bills are quickly becoming the NFL version of Murphy’s Law, and it’s not even close.

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It’s tough to picture this latest setback resulting in anything better than .500 football despite the success that Manuel had in the summer.  Manuel simply can’t do what Taylor can, and he doesn’t “scare” teams the same way that the former Virginia Tech Hokie does. They are two completely different players.

The Bills have to prepare for the unbeaten Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday before heading to London for a battle with Jacksonville. It’s quite possible that Taylor remains out until after the bye week simple because it defeats the purpose to have him fly overseas if he isn’t going to play. Instead, the team would be better off letting him stay in town and rehab to make sure he’s as close to 100% as possible for the division game against Miami.

The situation is certain to be closely monitored, but if Taylor is out for anything longer than a week or two, it may be time to kiss Buffalo’s 2015 playoff hopes goodbye.

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