The 2015 NFL schedule has now completed the first quarter of the season, and one conclusion can be drawn so far about the Buffalo Bills. They are wildly inconsistent, and have a real problem with undisciplined play. Sunday’s 24-10 loss to the New York Giants was a prime example of the “bad” Bills. Just like the New England game two weeks ago, the Bills were outplayed, outcoached and out of control as they took one personal foul penalty after another. It seems like Buffalo puts together a great game plan, goes out and executes it to near perfection and pulls out an impressive win, then they follow that up with a performance where they appear to have read too many of their press clippings and can just show up and easily defeat their opponent without any effort. And when that opponent, in this week’s case the Giants, takes it to them in the trenches and dominates the game, they respond with childish, macho actions after the whistle and wind up embarrassing themselves. Coach Rex Ryan has to figure out how to get his players focused each and every game so that they put in a consistent effort against every opponent, not just in the games after they’ve been humiliated. This game followed the same blueprint as the Patriots’ contest. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor was under siege early on and the running game produced nothing. It was an abysmal performance by the offensive line. Just like in the New England debacle, Taylor righted himself in the second half and guided the offense to touchdown drives. Unfortunately, two of those scores were nullified by bad penalties, the kind of mistakes players make when they’re not prepared to play. Overall, it just looked like the Giants wanted this win more than the Bills. Were there any positives to come out of this game? Rookie running back Karlos Williams didn’t fare very well in his first opportunity as a feature back with LeSean McCoy sidelined, gaining only 40 yards on 18 carries. He did, however, score a touchdown for the fourth consecutive week by hauling in a nifty 23 yard scoring pass from Taylor. On the drive where the Giants gained most of their yardage through dumb Buffalo penalties, Stephon Gilmore came up with an interception, Mario Williams deposited a Giant runner on his head with an emphatic tackle, and Corey Graham had a solid game at safety with 13 tackles and a sack. None of that could stem the tide of the poor play, bad penalties, missed tackles and general bad execution by the Bills. Next week’s opponent is the Tennessee Titans, led by rookie QB Marcus Mariota, who is enduring typical growing pains while learning on the job and should be an easy mark for the Bills’ defense, which will be in its’ bi-weekly, angry and ready- to- redeem themselves mode.
NFL – Bills’ Game Review
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