ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Tyrod Taylor took another step in his quest to convince his doubters that he truly is, at long last, the Buffalo Bills’ answer at quarterback.
In Buffalo’s critical 30-21 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday, Taylor threw for 211 yards and three touchdowns. He ran for another score on a play which very few NFL quarterbacks have the speed – he was timed at 4.51 seconds in 40 yards – to get around the edge and get to the pylon.
He played turnover-free, and he extended his consecutive passes without an interception streak to 187, a new franchise record.
“Tyrod is a guy who works extremely hard,” said tight end Charles Clay, who caught a perfectly-thrown 40-yard touchdown pass from Taylor with 1:53 left to break a 21-21 tie. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone with the work ethic that guy has. So it doesn’t come as any surprise when he plays well. I see the way he works, I see the way he studies, I see him lift weights. So whenever he plays a game like that, it doesn’t surprise me at all.”
Taylor has been coddled by offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Rarely does he ever have to read the entire field as Roman has him focus on half-field reads. Sometimes that causes Taylor to lock in on receivers, and in some cases, ignore good matchups. This was a problem when wide receiver Sammy Watkins was being underused for several games because if the defense doubled Watkins, Taylor looked the other way.
But Taylor is making progress, and he’s also starting to figure out that Watkins is a player who he has to get involved. Against Kansas City last week, Watkins caught six passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, and then the issue of half-field reads cropped up. It seemed like Roman didn’t trust Taylor to go to Watkins when the Chiefs altered their coverage in the second half and it led to a 30-minute shutout of Watkins who was targeted just once after halftime.
Against Houston, Watkins was targeted just four times, partially because Taylor attempted only 21 passes in the game. Watkins caught three of the passes (he also had a 21-yard gain wiped out by a penalty) – a three-yard touchdown, and a pair of 53-yard bombs, one of which set up a touchdown pass to Robert Woods.
“Ty is just starting to trust us and put the ball in the air and let us make a play on it,” said Watkins. “I just tell him, throw it as far as you can and I’m going to go get it. That’s what he’s been doing. He is the guy we are rolling with and he is just getting better every week with leading this team, being a leader. Doing meetings by himself, just being a great quarterback and a leader for this team.”
Of course one of the keys to Taylor’s success is the Buffalo running game, now fourth in the NFL at 140 yards per game. The Bills rushed for 187 against the Texans as running back LeSean McCoy has really turned it on down the stretch. Running the ball well is imperative to the offense’s success, and you don’t have to look any further than this: When Taylor attempts 30 or fewer passes, the Bills are 6-0 this season. When he or EJ Manuel (who started two games when Taylor was injured) throw more than 30 passes, the Bills are 0-6.
“We need to learn from this game, it wasn’t a perfect game from us by any means,” said Taylor, who now ranks fourth in the NFL in passer rating at 104.3.
“There’s a lot of things we can clean up on offense and definitely some things we can clean up as a team. I know we’re down a couple guys being injured, but whoever steps in, we have confidence in those guys. Main thing is that we learn from the win and that we don’t just get complacent with it, that we learn when we win and when we lose. I think this team is definitely focused on learning and moving forward.”
REPORT CARD VS. TEXANS
–PASSING OFFENSE: A-minus. The Bills didn’t throw it very often, but they made good use of Tyrod Taylor’s limited opportunities. He completed 11-of-21 for 211 yards and three touchdowns and did not commit a turnover. Twice he hooked up with Sammy Watkins for 53-yard gains with perfectly thrown balls, and he hit Watkins, Charles Clay, and Robert Woods with scoring passes. The last one, a 40-yarder to Clay, was the game-winner with 1:53 left. The line, despite playing minus two starters on the right side, allowed just one sack, and J.J. Watt was never a factor.
–RUSHING OFFENSE: A. The Bills knew they needed to run the ball against the Texans, and they accomplished it with 187 yards on 36 attempts. LeSean McCoy continued his role as he gained 112 yards on 21 carries, including a pretty 32-yard scamper. Practice squad signee Mike Gillislee, playing his fourth NFL game and first with the Bills, had 41 yards including a 30-yard breakaway on the Bills’ first touchdown drive. And of course, Tyrod Taylor contributed 28 yards, including an eight-yard TD.
–PASS DEFENSE: C. The Bills suffered a tough loss when cornerback Stephon Gilmore hurt his shoulder in the third quarter and had to leave the game. But Leodis McKelvin stepped in and did a decent enough job. Rookie cornerback Ronald Darby was beaten for a touchdown by DeAndre Hopkins in the fourth quarter, but all in all, the Bills did a decent job on Hopkins as he had five catches 83 yards, 71 of the yards coming on the drive where he scored his touchdown. The pass rush produced two sacks and several pressures of Brian Hoyer, especially at the end of the game after Buffalo had taken the lead. Safeties Corey Graham and Bacarri Rambo both made some excellent plays, with Rambo breaking up three passes to tie nickel corner Nickell Robey.
–RUSH DEFENSE: C. Houston was able to gash the Bills a few times with a quartet of runners led by Chris Polk, who finished with 61 yards. Linebacker Kevin Reddick had to step in for injured Tony Steward, who was playing for injured Nigel Bradham. Linebacker Manny Lawson had a big day with eight tackles, and linebacker Preston Brown had nine.
–SPECIAL TEAMS: C. Kicker Dan Carpenter has become a worry. He did make a clinching 36-yard field goal to extend the Bills’ lead in the final minute, but that came after he also missed a 51-yarder in the third, plus he doinked another extra point following the Bills’ go-ahead touchdown with 1:53 left. He has now missed four conversions. Marcus Thigpen had a big punt return wiped out by a penalty. Punter Jordan Schmidt was excellent with a 45.3 net average. Jordan Gay produced five touchbacks on six kickoffs, again justifying his roster spot.
–COACHING: C. This was a big win for the Bills as it gets them back to 6-6 and keeps them in the hunt. In their first home game in nearly a month, they put up 30 points against a defense that had allowed just 35 over the past four weeks. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman put together an effective plan that relied on a strong running game and an opportunistic passing game, and it worked like a charm. On defense, there were some issues, but as Rex Ryan said, the defense bruised, but it didn’t bleed.