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The Buffalo Bills defeated the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, thanks to a Sammy Watkins touchdown catch with one second remaining in the game. (Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig — USA Today Sports)
BBD Editor: Dan Hope
For the first 57 minutes of Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, it looked as though this column would be all about everything that went wrong for the Buffalo Bills offense on Sunday.
The Bills flipped the script in the game’s final three minutes and seven seconds, as quarterback Kyle Orton led a 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, which ended with just one second remaining in the game, to give Buffalo a 17-16 victory in a game that was otherwise ugly for both teams.
Winning the game in the final seconds didn’t come easily. It required a 24-yard connection from Orton to Scott Chandler to convert a 4th-and-20, followed by a 18-yard completion from Orton to Sammy Watkins on 3rd-and-12 on the next set of downs, to keep the drive alive.
After getting to the red zone, pressure on Orton forced an intentional grounding that backed the Bills up to the 30-yard line. But wide receiver Chris Hogan came up huge on the next play as he made a leaping grab at the sideline over coverage for 28 yards, landing at the 2-yard line. This put the Bills in position, following an Orton spike and a Vikings timeout, to win the game as Orton connected with Watkins for a two-yard touchdown.
Before the game-winning drive, it had not been a very impressive day for Orton. In a game where the Bills had four turnovers, the quarterback was responsible for two of them—he was intercepted by Vikings defensive back Robert Blanton on an overthrown pass over the middle intended for Chandler, and he lost a fumble when he held onto the ball too long attempting to escape a sack by Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen, who ended up stripping the ball to be recovered by Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr.
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Kyle Orton was responsible for two Bills turnovers Sunday, including a fumble on a sack by Everson Griffen. (Photo: Kevin Hoffman — USA Today Sports)
Turnover troubles
Turning the ball over four times—the Bills’ first two drives of the game each ended with wide receiver fumbles, first by Hogan and then by Robert Woods—is typically a recipe for a loss.
The Bills gave the Vikings no shortage of opportunities in this game, but Teddy Bridgewater and the Minnesota offense never took advantage. The Vikings scored just six combined points off the Bills’ four turnovers, while they had two turnovers of their own, both Bridgewater interceptions.
Buffalo’s only other touchdown of the game, a 26-yard pass from Orton to Watkins, came on the subsequent play following Bridgewater’s second interception.
Running backs injured
After the turnovers on the team’s first two drives, things really started to look bleak for the Bills offense after its third possession, on which running back Fred Jackson was not only stopped on a 3rd-and-1 rushing attempt, but suffered a groin injury that forced him out of the game.
Making matters worse, the Bills lost the other of their top two running backs, C.J. Spiller, to a shoulder injury in the second quarter.
The Bills were ultimately able to overcome those losses thanks to the second-half production of Anthony Dixon, who fought his way to 51 rushing yards for the game in Buffalo’s first triple-digit rushing day since Week 2, while he also had three receptions for 15 yards.
Going forward, however, the Bills rushing offense could be in trouble if it has to rely heavily on Dixon, who lacks the all-around game of Jackson and the dynamic playmaking ability of Spiller.
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A 53-yard run on which C.J. Spiller broke his collarbone could be the final run of his Bills career. (Photo: Kevin Hoffman — USA Today Sports)
It sounds as though Spiller, who suffered the injury on a 53-yard run—his only rushing attempt of the day—will not be back anytime soon. Tim Graham of The Buffalo News reported Sunday that “it sounds like C.J. Spiller is done for the year,” though he reported that to be unofficial, with a shoulder injury that CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported is a broken collarbone.
Jackson, according to La Canfora, will undergo an MRI to assess the extent of his groin injury.
As discussed in my halftime column, it’s likely that Bryce Brown—an explosive athlete with a similar skill set to Spiller—will start to factor into the Bills offense next week.
The offseason acquisition, whose game BBD’s Joe Marino analyzed in May, has been inactive for all of the Bills’ seven games thus far. That said, Brown is an explosive athlete with a similar skill set to Spiller, and his presence should help offset the loss of Spiller, who has likely played the last game of his Bills career as he is set to become a free agent in 2015. Bills coach Doug Marrone said after Sunday’s game that Brown is “likely to see an increased load and be active next week,” according to the team’s official Twitter account.
Pass protection problems
While the losses of Jackson and Spiller hurt and so certainly did the turnovers, the biggest reason why Orton and the Bills offense never got into rhythm was the lack of pass protection by the Bills offensive line, whose woeful play continued Sunday.
Minnesota had six sacks Sunday, including three by Griffen himself. The entire offensive line struggled but especially the left side, anchored by left tackle Cordy Glenn and left guard Cyril Richardson, upon whom Griffen and others wreaked havoc throughout the game.
It’s going to be hard for the Bills, despite their 4-3 start, to continue to win games if its pass protection continues to be as abysmal as it was Sunday. While Orton has been a significant upgrade over EJ Manuel as a downfield passer, one thing the Bills lost in that quarterback transition was the mobility that Manuel brought to the position. Orton does not have the athleticism to extend plays with his feet, so the Bills offense will continue to be arrhythmic as long as pass-rushers are invading its backfield with regularity.
After Sunday’s game, Marrone said he will consider making changes to the team’s offensive line, according to WKBW’s Jeff Russo.
Glenn is usually the Bills’ best offensive lineman, so his job is safe, but Buffalo will have to strongly consider replacing Richardson in the lineup going forward. He has been a massive liability on the team’s interior offensive line, arguably even worse than right guard Erik Pears, who has been rated by Pro Football Focus (subscription required) as one of the NFL’s two worst guards.
It’s been clear since last season that Kraig Urbik has fallen out of favor with the Bills coaching staff, as he was replaced from last year’s starting lineup and has seen no significant playing time this year, but it’s hard to believe that Urbik wouldn’t be an upgrade at either guard spot. He was a steady if below-average starter last season, and can at the very least do better than either Richardson or Pears have this year.
Star of the day: Sammy Watkins
There’s been a good Sammy/bad Sammy effect for the Bills this season, as the rookie wide receiver has four games in which he has had no more than 31 receiving yards, but has looked well worth the No. 4 overall pick Buffalo used to draft him in his other three contests.
One of those games—truly, his best game to date with the Bills—happened Sunday. He set new personal bests with nine receptions, 122 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
The first touchdown was his biggest play, as he burned Captain Munnerlyn to the end zone for a 26-yard catch, but the second reception was certainly clutch. Throughout the day, Watkins showed his ability to get open, both along the sidelines and working into the middle of the field, and he gave the Vikings defense—especially Munnerlyn—trouble all game.
In assessing whether Watkins can truly be valuable enough to justify the Bills’ trade up to the No. 4 overall pick to select him, a big factor is how many wins Watkins actually contributes to this season, as Buffalo gave up its first- and fourth-round picks in next year’s draft.
Without his performance Sunday, the Bills would be sitting at 3-4. Instead, they’re back above .500 and remain just one game back in the AFC East.