Wild Bills: Analyzing the Buffalo Bills Offense Against New England

Tyrod Taylor, Quarterback

Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

What he did: What, besides winning the starting job not even two weeks before taking the field as the starting quarterback? Okay. Here’s the damage Taylor laid on the Colts:

73.7 completion percentage, 195 yards, 1 touchdown, 41 rushing yards, 123.8 Passer Rating.

For a team that was expected to be ground-and-pound because of instability at the rock-slinging position, Taylor surely delivered all that Buffalo wanted of him and more, including a hell of a bomb to Percy Harvin in single coverage for a 51-yard touchdown. More than that, he avoided throwing turnovers or making any significant “rookie” mistakes (air quotes were used because Taylor’s actually been in the NFL since 2011, just not as a starter). The 41 rushing yards are nice and all, but what’s more impressive is that Tyrod’s clearly focused on reading through progressions and not panicking, running only as a last resort. Looking at you, RGIII.

Who Can Stop Him?

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In the “Do Your Job” documentary from NFL Network about the Patriots’ 2014 title run, we get to see a practice where Jimmy Garoppolo and some other scout team guys simulate a mobile QB by basically running in circles in the backfield like crazy people. The point? To neutralize the rushing abilities of quarterbacks like Russell Wilson, the defensive line and linebackers were forced to keep “Wilson” (or whoever was acting like him) from running past them.

The point isn’t getting the big sack as much as it is making sure that the defense doesn’t put a fast quarterback in a position to take off and burn the defender chasing him. As noted above, Taylor is a passer first and runner second, but containing this part of his game and making him read Belichick and Matt Patricia’s defenses will help a young secondary immeasurably.

Also, despite the stat sheet making it look like Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown laid waste to the smoldering pile of rubble that used to be known as Malcolm Butler, Butler’s coverage on Brown certainly wasn’t as bad as the numbers might indicate. If Butler gets put in man coverage on, say, Buffalo’s Sammy Watkins, not getting burned like Indy’s corner did on Taylor’s bomb to Percy Harvin is key.

Next: Speaking of Last Year’s Number 4 Draft Pick…