After the Buffalo Bills’ 34-31 loss in London to the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Bills’ coach Rex Ryan’s playoff guarantee looks like hollow words. The Bills proved in this game that they are capable of losing to any team in the league – indeed, rather than a playoff team, they have become a team that finds a way to lose. Here are the “lowlights” of the Bills’ overseas performance against a supposed inferior opponent:
1. E.J. Manuel’s complete first half meltdown, in which he turned the ball over on 3 consecutive possessions to hand the Jaguars 21 points. To his credit, rather than fold up the tents Manuel got up off the canvas and brought his club back from the dead in the second half. He still shows almost no awareness of situations during the game and has little pocket presence or awareness of oncoming pass rushers.
2. 10 penalties totaling 87 yards in losses, adding to the team’s sorry league-leading total. A costly pass interference call against Nickell Robey was a terrible call, and led to Jacksonville’s winning score, but the Bills shot themselves in the foot throughout the game with bad penalties. The special teams continue to be one of the worst offenders when it comes to penalties also.
3. Once again, as has become a pattern this season, the team’s vaunted defense failed to get a stop when it was most needed. They got the go-ahead TD on Corey Graham’s pick-six interception, but couldn’t keep the Jags out of the end zone at the end of the game, when they held a four point lead and only needed to keep the offensively challenged Jaguars from scoring a touchdown.
4. The Bills’ defense, seven games into the 2015 season, can now officially be considered overrated. They gave up another 100 yard rushing game, with Jacksonville running for 120 yards, 115 from rookie T.J. Weldon.
5. Despite the fact that he overcame his early struggles and helped mount the second half comeback, Manuel’s first half meltdown opens up serious questions as to whether he has the mental makeup to develop into a competent NFL quarterback. His inexplicable turnovers on 3 consecutive possessions brought back memories of past failures like J.P. Losman and Rob Johnson.
Ryan did have the excuse of having a lot of players injured going into the game, but still they should have been able to find a way to beat an inferior team like Jacksonville. They now have a bye week to get some of their regulars healthy and solve their unexpected defensive deficiencies, with an eye toward salvaging what is quickly evolving into another lost season for the Buffalo franchise.