The Unsung Hero Award
Eric Wood
At this point in his career, Buffalo’s center is widely respected around the league. He possesses a great anchor, rarely makes mental mistakes, and has a great combination with Richie Incognito and John Miller. When he went down with a broken leg in the fourth quarter, Buffalo’s offense began to unravel, just enough for the team to miss out on scoring any additional points. The Bills suffered three sacks and two tackles for a loss on their final two drives, as Ryan Groy couldn’t come close to Wood’s standard against Seattle’s line.
Let’s hope that Groy (or Mr. Inactive, Patrick Lewis) will be capable of holding down the pivot with a couple weeks of dedicated practice.
The “Secret Weapon” Award
Percy Harvin
Ever since the Bills signed Percy Harvin out of retirement, there was a sense that he would be the key piece to add a spark to Buffalo’s morose receiving corps. Jon Gruden seemed to highlight him every time he came onto the field. In the end, he was just a decoy: zero targets, zero rushes.
The Chan Gailey “Megamind” Award
Anthony Lynn
It may be a bit lost in the shuffle because the team came away with a loss. But Buffalo’s offensive coordinator deserves credit for putting together a nearly flawless gameplan. The Bills doubled the Seahawks in time of possession, ran 82 plays on offense, out-passed Seattle 263-245, and out-ran them 162-33. Even without their injured center, Buffalo’s offense made it to a goal-to-go situation with a minute remaining in the game.
12th Man Award
Walt Anderson’s referee crew
Moving on...
Least Valuable Player
Robert Blanton
You could make the argument for Ronald Darby, who allowed several big chunks of yardage in the first half before being benched. Or Jordan Mills, who was abused by Cliff Avril all night, including when it counted the most at the end of the game. But Blanton, who doesn’t measure up to Aaron Williams in terms of range or tackling ability, was a factor in Jimmy Graham’s huge receiving night. The tight end caught eight passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns, and help was often slow to arrive against Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse in the middle of the field.
Most Valuable Player
Robert Woods
As the NFL Twitter account likes to say, “Have a day, Robert Woods!” For the first time since he joined the team, Tyrod Taylor was consistently looking to Woods for big plays all game long, and the receiver delivered with a career high 162 yards on 10 catches. He excelled at finding soft spots in the defense to attack, and dipped his head to drive forward for extra yards after every catch. This is what the Bills were hoping for when they drafted Woods in the second round of the draft four years ago: a savvy route-runner with the physical style of play that earns extra yards on each pass. Here’s hoping for the rapport between the two to continue for the rest of the season.