‘None of them was trying for an interception. Hyde and Poyer were both reaching for the ball with one hand, hardly the way one tries to make a pick, while the 5-foot-11 White, in front, was trying to force his hands between those of the 6-1 Hopkins.’
Archives for November 2020
Upon Further Review: Bills have to sit with bitter taste of defeat through bye week
‘“It hurt. It was a Mike Tyson haymaker. It hurt,” Dawkins said after the Cardinals’ shocking, 32-30 victory at State Farm Stadium. “But the good thing is that I know what it feels like and my teammates do too, so it’s the feeling that we never want to feel again. So, I guarantee you with the guys that we have here, we’ll never allow this feeling to occur again.”’
What we learned from snap counts in Bills’ Week 10 loss, game ball and more
‘A.J. Klein was close to an every-down player. The Bills’ linebacker played 67 of 73 defensive snaps – 92% of the team total.’
Position grades: Tremaine Edmunds, A.J. Klein shine for Bills’ defense
‘Running backs (2.0): The running backs rushed 11 times for 35 yards, just a 3.2-yard average. If you count Allen going 4 for 25 on designed QB runs, which is fair, the average goes up to 4.0. On three run stuffs, the Bills ran into run dogs. Running against lighter boxes remains an area in which the Bills need to improve. The return of center Mitch Morse should help. Morse was having a strong season before missing the past three games due to the concussion. Zack Moss showed his power by running through 290-pound Josh Mauro for an 8-yard gain. Singletary dropped a screen pass that would have been a big gainer.’
Mitch Morse not playing a coaching decision and four more Bills observations
‘McDermott insisted that Morse not playing was strictly a “football decision,” and had nothing to do with anything the center did – or didn’t do – off the field. When asked if Morse was benched, McDermott said, “No, he was not benched.”’
Analysis: Cardinals didn’t really find a formula for Bills’ Josh Allen
‘The bigger problem for the Bills’ offense was a handful of big miscues.’
Jim Kubiak: How Cardinals’ amoeba and tandem Cover 1 strategy impacted Josh Allen
‘Despite a fourth quarter that was riddled with Buffalo penalties and a damaging interception, Allen had one final opportunity to set things on the right course, and he did. Allen completed 7 of 10 passes on the Bills’ final drive as he ripped a perfect corner route to Stefon Diggs with 34 seconds to play for a touchdown. This appeared to be the game-clinching play of a hard fought victory, or so we thought.’
Column: CBS’ Eagle has a ‘terrific’ day with great final call, ‘SNL’ humor, chess talk
‘Eagle and Davis were up to the task. Eagle was the star of the show, providing excitement on the big plays and adding some analysis and some “Saturday Night Live” and National Hockey League humor.’
The focus is on the Hail Murray, but it is far from the only reason the Bills lost
‘Not that the Bills aren’t used to this. If there’s one thing the Bills might lead the league in during their 61-year history, its inexplicable losses that wind up with forever nicknames. Wide Right, Music City Miracle, now the Hail Murray. I’m probably missing a couple others.’
Bills center Mitch Morse was healthy, but Sean McDermott decided not to play him
‘“He was healthy, coach’s decision right there,” McDermott said. “We know Mitch is a good player and just felt like for that week, meaning last week, we felt like we had at least some momentum with the group we had had in when Mitch went down and wanted to take a look at it one more week there.”’
‘Hail Murray’ Loss Will Linger Through Bills’ Bye Week Off
‘“It (stinks) going into the bye week, because it’s gonna be the only thing on our mind for the next week and a half,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “But I think it’s also a good thing. It makes us hungry.”’
Sean McDermott, Bills react to DeAndre Hopkins Hail Mary heroics in Week 10 loss
‘”Me personally, I know I could’ve timed it up better,” Hyde said, via the Bills website. “I was trapped behind him. I was too worried about him getting over top of the defense. So I stayed back and tried to force everything to be in front of me. And at the same time, when the ball was in the air, I was stuck behind him. I wasn’t able to get in front.’
Loss to Cards stings, but Bills still have everything they want in front of them
‘I didn’t really feel like that in this one as the game was unfolding. I’ve actually been asking myself, “who was the better team in that game?” Did the Bills outplay the Cardinals? In some ways. They also got outplayed in other ways. This was back-and-forth. Either team’s game. One just made one more play. And a miraculous one.’
Tyler Bass one of two kickers to show off big legs with field goal feats in Week 10
‘Though he struggled to start his first season in the pros, entering Week 10 with 72.7% accuracy, he shook off any signs of inconsistency as he drilled not one, not two, but three 50-yard field goals against the Arizona Cardinals… all in one quarter of action. Bass became the first kicker in franchise history to covert three kicks of 50-plus yards in one game, and also only the second kicker in NFL history to make three field goals of 54-plus yards in one game.’
Opinion: Sometimes you just get beat
‘We all know what happened after that, and there’s plenty to digest there. Should the Bills have called a timeout before the Hail Mary play? Did they make it too easy for the Cardinals receivers to run freely off the line of scrimmage? Should they have sent one more pass rusher to try and take away Kyler Murray’s time and space?’