Play-action passes are the Buffalo Bills’ secret weapon

The Buffalo Bills will bring a 2-1 record into Sunday’s big road clash with the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons (3-0).

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor is in a make-or-break season, and so far through three games, we’ve seen the good Taylor (during the 26-16 win over the Denver Broncos), the average Taylor (during the 21-12 win over the New York Jets), and the ugly Taylor (during the 9-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers).

The Bills are in first place in the AFC East, and through three games, Taylor has completed 53 of his 79 passes (67.1 completion percentage) for 562 yards with four touchdowns and only one interception. He has a 99.2 quarterback rating, and has added 106 rushing yards on 24 carries (an average of 4.4 yards per rush).

According to ESPN and Pro Football Focus, one of Taylor’s biggest areas of strength has been the play-action pass.

Taylor, in his third season with the Bills, has excelled in the play-action pass, thanks in large part to his status as a quarterback who can hurt you with his arms and his legs.

Taylor possesses a 144.1 passer rating when relying on play-action, tops among all NFL quarterbacks, while his passer rating on plays that don’t feature a run fake falls to 84.7. Additionally, Taylor’s yards-per-attempt average is a full four yards higher when using the play-action, and he is completing nearly 79 percent of his passes.

All the more reason for offensive coordinator Rick Dennison to continue dialing up the play-action when Buffalo heads south to face the high-flying Falcons.