Sunday wasn’t the game that a lot of people expected, but crazy things can happen when a divisional opponent comes to town with nothing to lose. It nearly cost the Bills their chance at the top seed in the AFC, but the Bills escaped with a 24-21 victory over the New England Patriots.
The Bills moved to 12-3 on the season and have two more divisional games before the playoffs, one at home and one on the road. While there’s still a chance to capture the first round bye, there are some decisions approaching when it comes to injury management and rest.
Yes, I know the defense has been decimated by injuries but I am going to play devil's advocate here. This is an NFL roster; depth is paramount, especially at this point in the season. Sunday showed that the Bills have an issue when it comes to their defensive depth and they were exposed badly by a rookie quarterback with a pretty weak receiving core.
The game plan from the Patriots was clear, they were going to pick on the weak spots until it didn’t work anymore. Throughout the game, Drake Maye targeted two players on the Bills defense and had a field day; Kaiir Elam and Baylon Spector.
Kaiir Elam
The Elam saga added another chapter on Sunday, potentially the last one. The former first round pick has seen an uptick in playing time these last two weeks due to injury, and it hasn’t been what the Bills fans had hoped for.
Against the Lions, he wasn’t too noticeable and when it comes to a defensive back, that can be okay. On Sunday, he was the most noticeable player on the Bills’ defense, and it was for the reasons DBs dread. Right away on the first drive, Elam was beaten in coverage on a 28 yard touchdown pass from Maye to Kayshon Boutte. That was the beginning of a long night for Elam. He spent most of the night covering Boutte, and Maye made that his top target as he finished with 5 grabs for 95 yards and the touchdown.
In the second quarter, Elam got beat again for a 22 yard completion to Boutte, setting up the Pats in Bills’ territory. However, that drive ultimately ended in a Cam Lewis interception. New England’s final drive was the main spotlight moment for Elam. Having worked the ball down to the four yard line due to some defensive penalties, the Pats were facing a third and goal. Maye, looking to the end zone, threw a pass to Boutte who was grabbed by Elam, forcing an easy pass interference flag setting up first and goal from the one.
Just four plays later, on another third and goal, Elam was called for pass interference again, this time on Kendrick Bourne. The Patriots punched it in three plays later, giving them a chance to attempt the onside kick, which ultimately failed. This may be some of the last football we see Kaiir Elam play in a Bills uniform.
Baylon Spector
Spector was a liability in coverage and in the run game. He was constantly out of position and was in over his head time and time again. On the very first drive, Maye threw a pass intended for Rhamondre Stevenson on the sideline with Spector in coverage. Spector never got his head around to locate the ball and slammed into Stevenson for an easy pass interference call, moving the Patriots deeper into Bills’ territory on an eventual touchdown scoring drive.
Over the course of his quarter and a half of football (left the game with an injury in the second quarter), Spector was unable to defend any of the short passes over the middle, mainly to the tight ends. He was also slow getting to the ball on run plays, in the wrong gaps and unable to get off his block. Even dealing with injury, Dorian Williams was a clear and noticeable upgrade for the remainder of the game. That too could be some of the last football we see Spector play in a Bills uniform depending on the extent of the injury.
With two games left and the injuries on defense piling up, the focus needs to be on recovery. While the rest can’t come too early, Sean McDermott and the staff will need to keep a very close eye on their overall health, because Sunday shined a light on the lack of depth heading into the postseason.