What a crazy roller coaster the 2017-2018 season was. Like any NFL season, it’s not always going to be pretty, there will be ups and downs. The season certainly had its downs, like the losses against the Panthers and Bengals, and who could forget the three-game losing skid in the middle of the season.
But, the season also had its highs. The Bills were often seen as the underdog and knocked off potential playoff teams like the Falcons, Raiders, Broncos, Chiefs and Dolphins not once but twice.
But most importantly, who could forget the Bills finally making the playoffs after a 17-year drought.
The longest pro sports playoff drought in North America was snapped on New Year’s Eve thanks to a miracle throw and catch touchdown by Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver Tyler Boyd. The miracle sent the Bills into the playoffs for the first time since 1999. And just like that the Bills had themselves a date with the Jacksonville Jaguars on wild card weekend.
Well, Sunday finally came. I was there at EverBank Field in section 440, row 5, and in seat 7. I was ready and the other 20,000 Bills fans that were in attendance were too.
What a matchup it was going to be. These two teams have had some history together, the 28-21-win last year and the 34-31-loss in London. Jim Kelly’s last playoff game and last game as a Bill was also against the Jaguars, which saw the Jaguars defeat the Bills 30-27 in the 1996 playoffs. Handing the Bills their only layoff loss at home.
The game featured a slew of former Bills facing off against their old team. Jaguars head coach and former Bills head coach Doug Marrone squared off against his old team. The game also featured the likes of Paul Posluszny, playing in his first ever playoff game against the team that drafted him in the second-round of 2007.
Lastly, the game featured the third overall selection in the 2011 NFL Draft Marcell Dareus, playing against his former team in his first playoff game after he was traded mid-season to Jacksonville due to his lack of effort.
Like the Bills season the game had its ups and downs. At times, it looked good for the Bills but most of the time myself, my friends and other Bills mafia members were in a panic as the momentum kept shifting back and forth between the two teams.
The Bills first playoff game in 17 long years was one to forget as Buffalo was only able to put up a measly 3 points and couldn’t seem to get anything going on offensive side of the football. The Bills fell 10-3 to the Jaguars in their first playoff game in 17-years. Here’s 5 reasons why the Bills lost to the Jaguars.
Penalties
It seemed on Sunday whenever something was going in the right direction for the Bills a penalty flag would appear. The Bills managed to rack up five penalties for a total of 52-yards. The Kelvin Benjamin offensive pass interference was a questionable call as Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey still was able to make a play on the ball.
But no penalty hurt the Bills chances of tying the game more than the Deonte Thompson offensive holding penalty. The penalty saw the Bills lose 39-yards thanks to a LeSean McCoy catch and run. It just makes you wonder, if Thompson doesn’t hold there, what could the Bills have done?
Getting back to the Benjamin penalty, sure you could argue that it should not have been a pass call there, but the penalty still killed that drive. If there isn’t a penalty (and assuming it’s not intercepted) it’s an incomplete pass and we move onto second down from just outside of the one. Who knows, maybe the Bills decide to run the ball there and they end up getting six points out of it. What we do know is that the penalty pushed them too far back and they ended up only getting a field goal, which proved to be their only points of the entire afternoon.
Blake Bortles’ Legs
Going into the game the key in my opinion for the Bills to have a chance at winning was containing the running game of the Jaguars. Specifically, rookie running back Leonard Fournette. The Bills did just that, holding Fournette to a total of 72-yards, Fournette had 21 carries for 57-yards on the ground and 3 receptions for 21-yards.
With the Bills stuffing Fournette, the Jaguars turned to none other than Blake Bortles on the ground and it payed off big time. Bortles wasn’t only the Jaguars leading rusher, he was the game’s leading rusher.
Bortles singlehandedly carried the Jaguars onto the Bills side of the field. He began his successful running game on two huge first down scampers late in the first half to set up the Jaguars for a field goal. This was only the beginning of Bortles’ leg work. He later finished the day with 10 carries for 88-yards and averaged 8.8 yards per run.
This was extremely frustrating to watch, as going into the locker room you would think head coach Sean McDermott would adjust and put a spy on Bortles. That was not the case as Bortles’ on the ground was the lone bright spot for the Jaguars offense. This put the Bills defense and myself in a panic.
Injuries
When it came to injuries, the Bills were a relatively healthy team all season long. But Sunday was different. The first half saw eleven-year veteran guard, Ritchie Incognito exit the game briefly with a shoulder injury. Things only got worse for the Bills as the game went on. Pro Bowl safety Micah Hyde left the game in the first half and was evaluated for a concussion. Hyde did not return and this was a major factor for the Bills.
Rookie cornerback Tre’Davious White also saw some time missed in his first playoff game as he was being looked at on the sidelines for cramps. At one point in the fourth quarter the Bills secondary had Lafayette Pitts and Colt Anderson in the game. Injuries definitely came into play on Sunday, no question.
Despite playing on a busted ankle running back LeSean McCoy still looked like his usual self on Sunday. McCoy racked up a total of 119-yards from scrimmage. It makes you wonder what could he have done if he was fully healthy?
The biggest injury for the Bills Sunday afternoon was none other than Tyrod Taylor’s concussion. With 1:43 left to go in the game. Taylor was slammed down hard by his head and neck by Jaguars defensive end Dante Fowler, Jr. This ultimately caused rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman to enter a playoff game in the fourth quarter and try to save the Bills season. But that thought was quickly put to an end thanks to a Jalen Ramsey game sealing interception.
Both Taylor and Hyde have recently been put in the league’s concussion protocol.
The Goal Line Sequence
After just one quick season some fans and myself are calling for offensive coordinator Rick Dennison to be fired. Rightfully so after he and the offense threw the ball on three straight snaps from the Jaguars one-yard line. The first two throws came on second and third down, the third would come on a 1st-and-goal from the Jaguars one-yard line. Tyrod Taylor later threw a fade to Kelvin Benjamin as he was covered by arguably the league’s best cornerback, Jalen Ramsey.
The call just simply does not make any sense. To throw the ball on the one-yard line is one thing, against the league’s best cornerback is another. But to match Ramsey up against Benjamin who isn’t the quickest receiver and is having surgery on his torn meniscus after the season is a total head-scratcher.
Myself and millions other fans watching were completely shell-shocked. The Bills have been the league’s best rushing team since the start of the 2015 season. You have LeSean McCoy in the back field, one of the league’s best running backs. Dennison also had a 250-pound running back in Mike Tolbert and an excellent blocking fullback with Patrick DiMarco.
https://twitter.com/JoeBuscaglia/status/950124759819476992
Even if the play was a run-pass option it doesn’t make any sense to throw the football from the one-yard line. Jalen Ramsey is now possibly the league’s best cornerback, in that situation you have to run the ball. But they didn’t. The Bills ran six plays in the Jaguars red zone, not scoring a touchdown on one of them.
"“During the week, we had plays set up and if we get the matchups, we’ll take it, then, concerning that No. 20 was out there, I thought we were going to run it. He is a hell of a player but we didn’t run it. I don’t really fight that battle if we should have run or if we shouldn’t have because if we catch the ball and we score, everybody is happy.” –LeSean McCoy"
Tyrod Taylor
Sometimes I feel like Taylor takes too much blame for a loss. Whether Taylor would have himself a good game or bad, I feel like he always took too much criticism. But this time, Taylor needed to be better. This was the biggest game of Taylor’s life and the biggest game this franchise had seen in 17 years and Taylor did not deliver. Taylor went 17 of 37 for 134-yards and 1 interception before being knocked out and was forced to leave the game thanks to a Dante Fowler, Jr. hit late in the fourth quarter.
Taylor was also only averaging just 3.6 yards per throw, which was his third lowest all season. You cannot win the in the playoffs with any quarterback who puts up 134-yards passing, throws and interception and has an offense that only puts up three points.
I hate to say it but I believe myself and the thousand other Bills fans in attendance saw Taylors last game as a Bill on Sunday. As painful as it is to some, including myself, it’s true. He simply is not the guy. Taylor was benched for Peterman in week 10 against the Los Angeles Chargers, you can’t simply think the Bills would keep Taylor.
The Bills have a $6 million roster bonus due on Taylor in March, with so many other capable quarterbacks like Alex Smith, Case Keenum, Kirk Cousins, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater available via free agency, the NFL Draft or trades, the Bills would look brainless if they kept Taylor.
The Bills also own the 21st and 22nd picks in the upcoming NFL Draft and could use it on promising quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Lamar Jackson and the 2017 Heisman Trophy Winner Baker Mayfield.
Closing Remarks & The Big Picture
The way it ended for Tyrod Taylor and the Bills was a little ironic. Jim Kelly’s last playoff game and last game as a Bill was also against the Jaguars, he too had to leave the game after taking a hit that caused him to be knocked out.
The Bills should move past Tyrod and onto something younger and wiser. While they’re at it they should move on from Dennison too. He didn’t establish his offense at all, and when he did it was never consistent. The Bills need to find the next best alternative at both the quarterback position and the offensive coordinator spot.
If the Bills chose to move away from Dennison, some intriguing names that come to mind could be the likes of, New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr., Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur, Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator and former Bills quarterback Frank Reich, and most recently Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula was let go of his job.
The Bills now have the 21st and 22nd picks in the upcoming NFL Draft, one of the picks they received from Kansas City in last year’s draft. Come training camp in August, the Bills could find themselves with a Kansas City quarterback on their team.
After all, Buffalo has made some deals before with Kansas City, last year’s trade and also shipping off their second-round draft pick, linebacker, Reggie Ragland to Kansas City.
Alex Smith in Orchard Park could very well become reality next season. Head coach of the Chiefs, Andy Reid, general manager of the Chiefs Brett Veach and Sean McDermott all used to work together in Philadelphia, don’t be surprised if a trade happens this off season.
There’s still so many questions heading into next season despite a post season appearance for the first time in 17-years. What position do the Bills focus on in the draft? QB? DT? WR? LB?
This may have been the last game as a Bill for Tyrod Taylor, but was it also the last game for veteran Kyle Williams, or will he give it one last run? What about Lorenzo Alexander, he had the game of his life on Sunday. Alexander had 10 total tackles, 7 of them solo, 1 sack and 2 tackles-for-a-loss. Alexander, who is 34-years-old says he’s not ready to retire.
"“Yeah, no. Retirement is not on my radar quite yet. I definitely want to get one more in,” I really love this organization, love what we were able to build here and I definitely want to continue to be a part of helping this organization take that next step, and that’s winning a playoff game and getting to a championship and winning that.” –Lorenzo Alexander"
At the end of the day, the end result may not be what the players and we all were hoping for, but it was sure one breathtaking ride.
Next: Tyrod Taylor Isn't To Blame For Bills' Loss, At Least Not 100 Percent To Blame
Seeing so many Bills fans take over Jacksonville was truly one of the highlights of my trip down to Jacksonville, singing the shout song and stomping our feet as if we were at a home game made the long trip worth it. Can’t wait to see what the future has in store for next season. Go Bills.