The 2-4 Buffalo Bills marched into Indianapolis to take on the 1-5 Colts, and it was as Bills-y a performance as you could expect. Buffalo had a bunch of mistakes, the defense was torched, there were injuries, and they lost. You’re shocked.
Here are the five takeaways from the game.
- Bills live and die by turnovers
If the defense can nab some turnovers, the Bills do well. This week, they were -5 in the turnover battle after Derek Anderson threw three picks and fumbled. Charles Clay had the other turnover. Lorenzo Alexander was sooooo close to a fumble recovery in the end zone but it squirted out the back of the end zone for a safety instead. Without protecting the ball and stealing it from the opponent, Buffalo is going to be in trouble
2. It wasn’t Derek Anderson’s fault
So many of the Bills games this season have come down to bad quarterback play. It wasn’t that way this week. While Anderson cost the Bills three points at the end of the first half after an interception return led to a Vinatieri kick, the rest of his turnovers were with the game mostly out of reach. His completion percentage was good through three quarters and he converted on a few third and longs before the wheels fell off late.
3. The Bills pass rush was non-existent
Buffalo had to blitz to get any pressure. Jerry Hughes was held, pulled, and tackled all day and it wasn’t called, but Trent Murphy and the rest of the Bills d-line couldn’t capitalize on the extra attention paid to Hughes. Zero sacks against a guy who throws the ball that much is not great. That leads us to…
4. Speaking of which, the defense was bad today
After the first six quarters of the season, Buffalo’s defense has been stout. Not today. The Colts threw and ran through Buffalo’s defense all day and the game was never in doubt. The running game was chunking yards against Buffalo after the first two series of the game. Marlon Mack went for 126 on 19 carries. Nyheim Hines had 47 yards and Jordan Wilkins had 46 yards on a combined 11 carries. Yikes.
5. Kelvin Benjamin was okay today.
So… Kelvin Benjamin had some nice catches today. Third and long conversions. He looked like he cared. He led the team with 4 catches for 71 yards. So is it time to trade him?