FanPost

Real Score: Week 1 at Chicago

The "Real Score" is an original concept that provides a more accurate picture of how each unit performed where it matters most - the scoreboard. It answers these questions: how many points did each unit contribute, how many points did each unit give up, and what is the net score of each unit? It provides unit-specific accountability and looks past the positive highlights in favor of the whole picture, good AND bad; the scoring highlights played on a loop and the train-wreck plays we tend to forget.

With the "Real Score", higher is better for Offense and Special Teams while lower is better for Defense.

WEEK 1


Football is back! And the Bills, 7-point dogs at Chicago, finish Week 1 at 1-0. That's a 1.000 win percentage. That's better than this guy...

And I think we can all agree Lincoln Hawk was a winner.

During Sunday night's halftime show, Tony Dungy said Buffalo's offense outplaying Chicago's was the biggest surprise of the day, but the truth is a little more complicated. Here's how the final scoreboard gets broken down by unit.

BILLS - 23 (Offense: 20, Defense: 3)

  • Q1, E.Manuel for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
  • Q2, J.Cutler to B.Marshall. FUMBLES, RECOVERED by BUF to CHI 46. D.Carpenter 50 yard field goal is GOOD.
  • Q2, J.Cutler INTERCEPTED by C.Graham to CHI 7 (with penalty yards). E.Manuel to C.Spiller for 7 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
  • Q4, J.Cutler INTERCEPTED by K.Williams to BUF 48 (with penalty yards). D.Carpenter 33 yard field goal is GOOD.
  • OT, D.Carpenter 27 yard field goal is GOOD.

CHI- 20 (Defense: 20)

  • Q1, J.Cutler to M.Bennett for 12 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
  • Q3, R.Gould 41 yard field goal is GOOD.
  • Q3, E.Manuel INTERCEPTED by C.Conte to CHI 44. Jay Cutler to Brandon Marshall for 11 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
  • Q4, R.Gould 37 yard field goal is GOOD.


Offense Summary


Real Score = 17 (20 with OT)

There were two big positives for the Bills' offense in Week 1: they scored 2 TDs on their 3 red zone trips in regulation after ranking 29th in the league last year, and after giving 2.63 points/game away to opponents in 2013, this E.J. Manuel-led offense contributed 0 points to Chicago's score.

That being said, the Offense's 17 net points in regulation is right on track with their 16.6 net points/game Manuel started in 2013. They answered Chicago's quick score with a 71-yard drive highlighted by one of Robert Woods' great catches and capped by back-to-back Tight Zone Read-Option runs for Manuel's rushing TD, but the Offensive unit's next score would come after Corey Graham gave them the ball at the 7; they got blanked on 3 of their next 4 drives (including an ugly E.J. Manuel pick); and started with the ball at midfield when they scored their final points in regulation.

The Bills are still struggling to get to the edge in the run game, much like last year when they were forced to run inside 71% of the time (most in the league), but capitalized on Chicago's missed gap assignments inside for big gains like Dixon's 47-yd run and Fred Jackson's game-winner.

The stars of the day for the Offense were Buffalo's wide receivers. Robert Woods, Mike Williams, and Sammy Watkins all made great catches for E.J. Manuel. Most big runs happen because wide receivers execute great blocks outside and Mike Williams had a beautiful downfield block on Dixon's run.

And it was a nice day for Nathaniel Hackett; the two touchdowns were great playcalls to outflank the defense; he picked up big yardage twice to start drives with Robert Woods coming across the formation looking like he might be a cutoff block on the backside of a run and then heading to the flat on play-action; and having Spiller out wide in bunch looks gives defenses something to think about.

Defense Summary


Real Score = 17


The Defense ended up with a nice net score of 17 (giving up 20, but scoring 3 of their own), tying their average from last year, but they gave up a scary amount of explosive plays; Martellus Bennett had a memorable day while Leodis McKelvin had a day he'd like to forget; and after the Bills took the lead late in the fourth, the Defense couldn't stop Chicago marching down the field to tie it up.

On passes thrown at McKelvin, Cutler was 10/14 for 139 yards and 1 TD. He also dropped an interception in overtime. Corey Graham, on the other hand, was the star of the day. Cutler was 3/10 for 18 yards and 1 INT when throwing at Graham, who also had 2 pass deflections. Brandon Spikes also made a pretty good first impression with multiple plays in the backfield, including a sack.

The defense ended the day with an overtime stop, three turnovers, 3 points of their own created by a forced fumble, another INT return that set up an easy TD for the offense, and a win for the Bills in Jim Schwartz's debut.


Special Teams Summary


Real Score = 0


Special Teams didn't contribute to the score of this one (no points gained, no points given up), but it was a great day for the unit. The only blemish was Fred Jackson's fumbled punt return near the end of the 2nd half.

Marcus Easley resumed his exceptional play; Colton Schmidt pinned the Bears within the 20 four times and inside the 10 twice; Jordan Gay had only one kick returned on him, which Chicago only took back to the 13; and Dan Carpenter hit a 50-yd FG to give Buffalo a 10-7 lead.

Week 1 Summary


Last year showed that 17 net points for the Offense won't be enough to win consistently, and was barely enough on a day when Chicago kept shooting themselves in the foot, but Manuel's high points looked better than last year's high points and the WR corps looked outstanding.

The Defense should be pleased giving up 17 net points, but alarmed at how easily Chicago moved the ball at times with over half their drives going for 50+ yards. The new LBers struggled in coverage and Alshon Jeffery exiting the game in the 3rd quarter with 5 catches for 71 yards was certainly a relief.

Special Teams looked much improved over last year's unit, which gave gave up points in 25% of the team's games and ended the season with a net score of -1.81 points/game.

The Offense's Real Score of 20 minus the Defense's Real Score of 17 gets you the 3-point differential in the final score.

Bull Hurley, we're calling you out!

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.