Rumblings Bills Grades: Week 4

Below are grades for every Buffalo Bills player on every play in the team’s Week 4 win over the New England Patriots. You’ll also find cumulative grades through the first four games.

(For a quick primer on this project, this is from the introduction article. Here's a link to the entire thing.)

I’ll be assigning number grades to each Bills player on every play this year, so keep in mind... the grades themselves will be inherently subjective. However, they should provide a relatively good idea of which players are struggling and excelling on the field. This system is not precisely how Pro Football Focus grades — they have multiple graders for each game and use a different numbering system — but it’s similar. Below you’ll find that grades were assigned in 0.2-point intervals on a scale from -1.0 to +1.0 on each play for each player.

Offense vs. Patriots

Observations:

Quite obviously, this was Tyrod's best performance thus far. A good chunk of his completions were relatively short, easy passes, but he did make some quality throws down the field with pinpoint accuracy. His missed connection to Walt Powell actually hit the WR in his hands. His +3.2 grade was bolstered by his tremendous day as a runner. His running grade was significantly boosted by his two escapes from what looked like definite sacks. For the fourth-consecutive week, LeSean McCoy was outstanding, as he had a handful of super-agile runs in which he forced many missed tackles and accumulated yards after contact. Charles Clay turned in his best blocking effort and made a few nice catches. Cordy Glenn was good in his return from injury although he wasn't necessarily a road-grader in the run game. While I'm on the subject of offensive line, I considered the Patriots' defensive line containing often instead of simply trying to get up field when grading Buffalo's blocking unit. Especially early, there were clear instances in which New England's defensive front was peeking into the backfield watching Taylor, thereby making it easier for the Bills offensive linemen to keep them blocked. Robert Woods made a few routine catches yet was a monster run-blocker. He really gets after it. It seems as though the more playing time Jerome Felton gets, the more effective he becomes. The fullback played his best game of the season against the Patriots, only whiffing on a lead block once. Here comes my obligatory praise of John Miller. He was as sturdy as usual on Sunday. As you'll see in the overall grade table below, he's the first Bills player to reach double digits.

Defense vs. Patriots

Observations:

Kyle Williams still has an explosive burst off the ball and uses his hands well, and he's most disruptive as a run defender. The Bills used a handful of three-man rushes once again, so Buffalo's down linemen weren't necessarily docked for the plays in which they were doubled or sometimes triple teamed. Lerentee McCray was the sole player to earned a big negative score (-1.0 as a pass-rusher). He has a great dip around the edge, he just can't quite bend sharply enough to get to the quarterback consistently. Corbin Bryant looks much more comfortable playing a two-gap nose tackle position now than he did to start the season, which shouldn't come as a surprise. On more than one occasion, he stacked New England's center and either completely shed the block to make the tackle or helped take down the ball-carrier with one arm. By my count, Zach Brown had 11 legitimate, unquestionably solo tackles against the Patriots and again utilized his elite speed and impressive quickness to make plays in the run game. He's also been exceptionally sound as a tackler. As expected from the result of the game, Buffalo's secondary put New England's pass-catchers on lockdown for the overwhelming majority of the contest.

Offense: Through Week 4

Defense: Through Week 4