Archives for November 2015

'“The coaches did a tremendous job,” Rambo said. “They came up with a tremendous scheme. They knew these guys like the back of their hands. They knew what was coming, and they put us in the right position to make plays.”'

'If the game turned ugly, it’s because the Bills made it that way. They had another strong running game, piling up 148 yards against the No. 1-rated defense in the NFL, and harassed Ryan Fitzpatrick into one of the weak performances that were commonplace against Ryan’s defense when he was the Bills’ QB.'

'“He’ll do whatever it takes to come back healthy and 100 percent,” Rambo said. “We have players. Our back-ups could start on different teams and that’s the beauty of this defense.”'

'The Bills were only penalized five times for 44 yards. That qualifies as a minor miracle for a team that entered the game leading the NFL with 85 penalties and that routinely draws flags in the double digits, such as the 13 it had last Sunday.'

'Holy rods and cones, those were some gaudy uniforms the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets wore Thursday night. I swear I actually could see a gloaming well past midnight in the easterly skies.'

'Credit the Bills’ offensive coordinator for sticking with the run and coming up with some plays to the edge of the mighty Jets run defense that worked. Buffalo finished with 33 rushes for 148 yards against Rodgers’ No. 1-ranked run defense in the NFL.'

'Despite that, this was a situation where punting it away felt right. The opposing quarterback was Ryan Fitzpatrick, after all. The Bills’ defense should have been trusted to put the game away, especially considering the Jets didn’t have any timeouts.'

'Rex Ryan said he might feel certain emotions after the game and, boy, he wasn’t kidding. He admitted this win was satisfying, comparing the Jets firing him to getting dumped by a hot girlfriend. So there he was on the sideline chucking his headset, screaming “(bleep)-yeah! (Bleep)-yeah!” when the win was sealed.'

'"We beat a hell of a football team, a very talented football team," Ryan said after his triumphant return to the place where he was the head coach the previous six years. "We just had to keep fighting and that's we did as a team, so I'm extremely proud of my team, and it took every man."'

'New York loved Ryan’s act, but now can’t stand him. The New York Post ran a headline Thursday with a large photo on its front page of a grinning Ryan that read “Wipe that smile off his face.’’'

'Running back LeSean McCoy. Finally 100 percent healthy, the former NFL rushing champ with Philadelphia is rounding into form. He had 112 yards rushing on 19 carries, including 32 on four attempts on Buffalo’s critical final drive when it needed to kill clock, and it all came against New York’s No. 1-ranked run defense. He also caught five passes for 47 yards. He’s the first Bills player with three consecutive games of at least 100 yards from scrimmage since C.J. Spiller in 2012.'

'As they say, a win is a win, so it would be hard for me to take anything away from the Bills. Sure, they almost turned what looked like a sure victory into a season-crushing defeat, but in the end, they made just enough plays on defense to avoid that fate to win the Rex Bowl. OK everyone, breathe.'

'Ryan said this game didn't mean anything extra to him. But he was jumping up and down like a little kid in celebration when the Bills iced the victory. Maybe he was just relieved to avoid what could have been a disaster for Buffalo. Now his team is back over .500 at 5-4, and the Bills have everything to play for in the second half.'

'"Pretty satisfying," Ryan said. "Without question, it's definitely satisfying. And you know what, now I can talk the truth and say the truth: This thing is kind of like being dumped by some girl that you had the hots for and all that stuff. Every guy in the room has been dumped by some girl before. That's really what it feels like. You move on, and every now and then they call you back, but they can't get you back."

'Heading into the bye week, the Bills were 3-4 and coming off a rough loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. Since getting the week off, the Bills have won two division games in five days, including a 22-17 win over the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football. With the win, the Bills are in fifth place in the AFC but will need some help to stay there.'