It was the defense that led the way this week for the Buffalo Bills in the regular season finale against the New York Jets
The path to the second AFC East title was pretty easy for the Buffalo Bills as all they had to do was win on Sunday against the New York Jets. This on paper looked like a game the Bills should win easily and potentially even get some backups into the game for extending playing time.
The Bills offense got off to a fast start but couldn’t maintain that success in the middle of the game. Even though, Buffalo Bills was dominating in almost every statistical category this week’s game remained a one-score game for a majority of the game.
While the offense sputtered, the defense really made a statement and didn’t give up much of anything to this Jets’ offense and they were certainly the stars of this week’s game. This is the report card for each position group for the Buffalo Bills from their performances in Week 18.
Quarterback
For the second straight game, the Buffalo Bills got the win even with Josh Allen not necessarily having his best game. He once again was inaccurate completing only 24 of 45 pass attempts for 239 yards and two passing touchdowns. He also added 63 rushing yards on only five attempts.
It wasn’t all bad and that first touchdown is a great example of what Allen can do. He was able to throw a perfect ball to Stefon Diggs in a place only he could make the catch and did it all with a defender dragging him down. While it was a great play, this week the bad outweighs the good slightly.
Grade: C
Running Backs
For the second straight week, Devin Singeltary found the end zone twice. This week it was with one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown, both of which came in the fourth quarter and helped secure the win.
He finished the game with over 100 yards from scrimmage with 88 rushing yards and 24 receiving yards on Sunday against the New York Jets. The coaching staff has committed to Singletary as their featured running back since Week 14 and he has responded with good games ever since.
Grade: B
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
It was a record-setting day for Stefon Diggs as he had nine receptions, 81 yards, and a touchdown. He moved ahead of Wes Welker for most receptions by a player in his first two years with the team.
However, the Bills didn’t really get much else from the wide receiver or tight end position with no player having more than five receptions or 50 receiving yards outside of Diggs.
Grade: C-
Offensive Line
It took almost all season but the Buffalo Bills have found their best starting offensive line with the addition of Ryan Bates. This group has played excellent football over the past three weeks since Bates has been named the starter and Josh Allen has not been sacked once in that stretch.
The run blocking has also improved as Devin Singletary and Josh Allen have found more room to run. In the game against the Jets, the Bills ran for 170 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry.
Grade: A
Defensive Ends
The Buffalo Bills had five defensive ends active for today’s game and they all had big moments during the course of the game. Of course, Mario Addison was the one who stood out with two sacks and he finished the regular season leading the team in this category for a second straight year.
However, Greg Rousseau was tied for the team lead in tackles with five, A.J. Epenesa and Boogie Basham each had a sack with Jerry Hughes contributing to the sack total by splitting a sack with Ed Oliver.
Grade: A
Defensive Tackles
It was another great game for Ed Oliver and Harrison Phillips with Oliver leading the way with four total tackles, 1.5 tackles, two tackles for a loss, and three QB hits. The former first round pick has been one of the more consistent players this year on this defense.
As for Phillips, he didn’t have the high stat totals but was a big part of this defense’s ability to shut down the Jets run game. The Jets finished with only 48 rushing yards and an average of 2.8 yards per carry.
The Bills are set to play a Patriots offense that leans heavily on the run and they are going to need a similar performance to the one they had against the Jets if they want to secure the win against New England.
Grade: A
Linebackers
The linebackers also deserve a great deal of credit for limiting the Jets’ run game as Tremaine Edmunds was tied for the team lead in tackles with five. He also had one tackle for a loss as well as a pass defended.
Meanwhile, Matt Milano finished the game with three total tackles, one tackle for a loss, and contributed to the Bills’ sack total with one sack.
Grade: A
Secondary
It seems like the Buffalo Bills secondary the past few weeks have played really well and then build on the impressive performance the following week. This week against the New York Jets, the Bills held the second overall pick, Zach Wilson, to only 87 passing yards and allowed him to complete only seven of 20 pass attempts.
The only misstep was a 40-yard touchdown pass by Keelan Cole and if that long play doesn’t happen, this secondary could have had a historic day. Jordan Poyer led the way for this secondary with four total tackles and two sacks.
Grade: A
Special Teams
The big play of the game was a blocked punt by Cam Lewis at the end of the first quarter. It was the first blocked punt by the Bills since 2016. As for Tyler Bass, he was automatic once again making both field goal attempts and all three extra point attempts.
However, the biggest discussion coming out of this game around special teams is going to be the play of Matt Haack. After not punting for two straight games, the Bills needed Haack to punt seven times and he certainly struggled with an average of only 33.9 yards per punt. The performance of Haack brings the grade down this week.
Grade: C-
Buffalo Bills Team Grade for Week 18
It wasn’t really pretty for the Buffalo Bills in the second and third quarters. They started the game off great by building a ten-point lead and having the blocked punt in the first quarter. It looked like they were well on their way to an easy victory and one that would clinch the AFC East.
However, the offense would struggle in those middle quarters, and combined with Haack’s struggles punting the ball, the Jets found themselves typically in good field position and close to scoring range.
It was the defense though that didn’t give up anything to this offense and played excellent football that helped hold Buffalo’s lead until the fourth quarter when the offense got going again. There will be plenty to clean up this week but the Buffalo Bills got the job done, which was seemingly easier said than done in the final regular season game based on other games this week.
Grade: B+