rayonsports.com

After the Buffalo Bills’ postseason hopes came crashing down last week in the team’s meltdown performance in Washington, all hell broke loose, in the locker room with players openly questioning the defensive scheme and the effort of their teammates, and in the local media with heavy criticism of head coach Rex Ryan and reports that general manager Doug Whaley’s job could be in jeopardy. So, with all the negative karma surrounding the team coupled with the announcement that the team’s only Pro Bowler, LeSean McCoy, would be out with a knee injury, all of Buffalo’s fan base wondered how the Bills would come out and play in a meaningless game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Well, their effort was certainly there, even though the game resembled an early preseason game. Both teams were missing key pieces due to injury, big plays were at a minimum and you needed a program to identify some of the players on the field. Buffalo pulled out a 16-6 win, as their defense managed to hold the Cowboys’ offense to just over 300 yards of total offense and only a pair of field goals. Facing a fourth string quarterback making his first NFL start in Kellen Moore, the Bills’ defense still couldn’t muster any kind of a pass rush and allowed Dallas to convert half of their third downs into first downs. They did manage to come up with a couple of turnovers, with A.J. Tarpley intercepting a tipped pass and forcing a fumble on a kickoff that sealed the win.

The offensive star of the game was Buffalo’s diamond-in-the-rough running back, Mike Gillislee, who rushed for 93 yards on only 9 carries. He set up Buffalo’s first score when he took a Tyrod Taylor swing pass and fought his way down to the one yard line, setting up a Karlos Williams TD. He then put the game away with a 50 yard scoring run in the final minutes. Gillislee is using these last few games of the year to make a strong case for a permanent roster spot in 2016. The push for the playoffs is over for the Bills, but their finale next week is anything but a meaningless game. They’ll face the New York Jets, coach Rex Ryan’s old team, who will likely need to win to secure a wild card playoff spot.

Sunday’s 35-25 defeat by the Buffalo Bills at the hands of the Washington Redskins , which officially eliminated the Bills from the playoffs, may have been the most disheartening loss for coach Rex Ryan’s team in what has been a completely disappointing season. As has been the pattern in most of their losses this year, the Bills’ defense, which was ranked fourth in the NFL last season, couldn’t stop anything when it mattered, and put QB Tyrod Taylor in a bad spot, having to try to come back from a multiple score deficit before the game was very old. The Redskins shredded Ryan’s supposedly vaunted defense for touchdowns on their first three drives, then after the Bills finally put some points on the board with a Dan Carpenter field goal, responded with a 77 yard touchdown throw from QB Kirk Cousins to Desean Jackson to up the lead to 28-3. Speaking of Cousins, as has also been customary this year, the Bills’ defense made him look like a Hall of Famer, rather than the average signal caller that he is. He was allowed to hit on 22 of 28 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for a score. The Bills didn’t force a punt until well into the third quarter. They didn’t force a turnover, again, and recorded only one sack, by Jerry Hughes, who was about the only defensive player who showed any interest in competing. The Bills’ special teams contributed almost nothing, and if there were any positives to take out of this game, they were provided by the offense. Despite the early hole, the offense fought back and got their team back into the game in the third quarter, only to have the defense respond with another fold to keep Washington’s lead a comfortable one. Taylor wasn’t spectacular in a game when he needed to be, thanks to his impotent defense, but he was his usual consistent self, hitting on 16 of 27 throws for 235 yards, two scores and no turnovers. Both his TD passes went to Sammy Watkins, who had another spectacular day. Unheralded running back Mike Gillislee, who saw game action when LeSean McCoy was injured, had his second straight eye-opening game, with a solid effort that included a 60 yard scoring run. Karlos Williams returned from injury to battle for a hard-earned 40 yards, and another rookie, tight end Nick O’Leary, made his season debut with a 37 yard catch and run.

Buffalo now closes out an embarrassing season with home games against Dallas, an even more disappointing team than the Bills, and Ryan’s old team, the New York Jets, who may need the win to secure a playoff spot. Despite a lost year, the Cowboys are an NFC East team, and the Bills have been manhandled by the other 3 teams from that division this year, despite being probably the weakest division in the NFL. It would be the ultimate embarrassment for Ryan to get beaten by his old team to get that team into the playoffs, but Buffalo has shown little or no desire to rise to the occasion for anything this year.