The Bills opened up the season on the road in Baltimore and it they didn’t exactly put their best foot forward in this one. Penalties and game management are 2 big reasons why the Bills fell flat in Baltimore.
Here are my 3 Takeaways from:
- Buffalo Offense looked Uncomfortable all day
The Bills had a grueling time establishing anything on offense. After the 1st quarter they had 2 total yards, at half time they had 92, and at the end of the day they had 160. It was a painful display to see Reggie Bush get 2nd & 10 draw carries for a loss or no gain. Watching LeSean McCoy have little to know room to run and to see a Ravens defense in the backfield for the majority of the day. The offensive line looked out of sorts, they were missing blocks, couldn’t set up screen plays, and couldn’t keep a clean pocket for Tyrod to step up in, for the 2 passes he tried more than 20 yards downfield.
- Ravens had 1 Big Play and A Lot of Little Plays
Baltimore had a simple gameplan and that was, get positive yards. Both defenses played great but the Ravens offense looked like they had a solid plan and it worked. Breshad Perriman showed his big play ability with a 35 yards catch in the first, and Mike Wallace got loose for a 66 yard TD that gave the Ravens what turned out to be an insurmountable lead. The running game didn’t get the big plays but they got the right plays. Justin Forsett and Terrence West grinded away and they got small chunks of yards to sustain drives and gave the Ravens 2 field goals to make it 13-7 and that was the difference, 1 big play and the little things.
- SAVE YOUR TIMEOUTS
Game management was never Rex Ryan’s bread and butter and today should be a prime example. Granted he didn’t call those timeouts but it falls on his shoulders because he is the head coach. On the Bills only successful drive that resulted in a touchdown, the Bills challenged a touchdown, which they lost, then called a timeout right after that. That’s 2 timeouts burned within 2 minutes of real time. The 2nd half the Bills used 2 timeouts, both on 3rd down plays, and had 1 timeout left with 12 minutes left in the 4th quarter. This offense was not in sync and looked like the O-line was playing one way, the running backs were playing their way, the receivers were running for cardio and the quarterback had no control over any of it, but by all means, establish the run.
Extra Point: Offensive creativity
The real problem with the Bills is that they are about 5 years behind the rest of the league when it comes to in-game adjustments. It looks like the Bills are steadfast in their commitment to establishing the run to set up everything else and this game is a prime example of when your main plan doesn’t work you try to persevere and make it work. The Bills traded up in the draft a few years ago to get Sammy Watkins, he is an elaborate decoy and the offense only uses him when he complains to the media about getting the ball. Greg Roman is supposed to be this innovator that used Colin Kaepernick to the best of his abilities and it got the 49ers to a Superbowl. All it seems to be getting the Bills in the inability to get out of their own way.
