The Buffalo Bills got the regular season in 2017 started off with a victory over the New York Jets — a team that doesn’t possess a lot of talent. However, it was still a good base to work from to figure out exactly what this team will be in 2017.
Up next, the Bills have a much tougher opponent in the Carolina Panthers, but before we turn our attention to Week Two of the season, first we’ll take a look back at the week that was.
Each and every week, WKBW.com will review the tape, and bring you how each player graded out in the previous week, with the help of the Game Pass app on NFL.com. You can see a full explanation of how they are done at the bottom of the article.
Now, to the individual player grades of the Bills versus the Jets, along with full explanations of the top five and the bottom three:
The Top Five
1) DT Kyle Williams
Snaps on the Field: 43/58
Grade vs. Jets: A
- As for Kyle Williams, he just keeps getting older and things just seem to stay the same. Heading into the matchup, the Buffalo Bills had a tremendous advantage with their defensive line against the Jets offensive line, and once the game got to the second half, Williams took over. He was consistently pushing the pocket back, fighting through double teams, and creating negative plays by the Jets because of his individual efforts. It truly is amazing that he’s able to continue this high of a level of play at this point in his career, but he’s done it through the first week of the season.
2) RB LeSean McCoy
Snaps on the Field: 54/77
Grade vs. Jets: A-
- The most noticeable of the top five while the game was happening live, LeSean McCoy made a handful of plays that makes you shake your head after the fact as to say, “how the heck did he do that?!” That’s just how good he is, creating yards where they’re not. The best example of this was on a 3rd and long dump-off, where he turned a certain short gain into making about six Jets defenders miss on his way to a first down on the other side of the field. On offense, he is the most dynamic playmaker they have and there really isn’t anyone close to that distinction.
3) S Jordan Poyer
Snaps on the Field: 58/58
Grade vs. Jets: A-
- Upon watching the game live, Jordan Poyer stood out because of his sack in the second quarter, and then coming down with an interception in the second half to help lock up the game. However, his game was so much more than that. Above all else, his instincts were on display in sniffing out the play before the play even happened. Whether it was through tape study, or just seeing the natural design of the play unfolding and trusting his football intelligence to sniff out the play, Poyer was everywhere that he needed to be. This was a very encouraging start for an outright unknown of a starter.
4) QB Tyrod Taylor
Snaps on the Field: 77/77
Grade vs. Jets: B+
- After a bit of a slow start that included misfires, having a pair of passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, and then the interception, I thought Taylor settled in nicely and had a heck of a game from there on out. He used his legs to his advantage, he was smart with the football, he was throwing the ball over the middle of the field, and he was even going through his reads. I only counted a pair of plays where Taylor appeared to have someone open had he gone through his reads and didn’t pull the trigger, instead opting for a run. However, he turned one of those into a positive play with his legs, so you can’t negate the outcome of that play too much. This was not a perfect game for Taylor by any means, but it was very much a step in the right direction. I’m interested to see what he does against a bit of a better defense — and one that features a more talented group of linebackers, cornerbacks, and safeties, and I’m sure the coaches and front office are as well.
5) S Micah Hyde
Snaps on the Field: 58/58
Grade vs. Jets: B+
- While Micah Hyde didn’t make as many flash plays as Jordan Poyer did, Hyde was the picture of consistency throughout the contest. He was exactly where he needed to be, and usually playing as the deep safety, would have had more of an impact on the game had the Jets actually tried to push the ball down the field. Like Poyer, Hyde’s strongest asset was how instinctive he was to be in the right spot before plays developed. He added a centerfield style interception at the end of the game, putting a cherry on top of a fantastic debut for the new pair of starting safeties for the Bills.
The Middle
6) WR Jordan Matthews
Snaps on the Field: 67/77
Grade vs. Jets: B+
7) DE Jerry Hughes
Snaps on the Field: 46/58
Grade vs. Jets: B+
8) LG Richie Incognito
Snaps on the Field: 77/77
Grade vs. Jets: B
9) CB Tre’Davious White
Snaps on the Field: 58/58
Grade vs. Jets: B
10) WLB Ramon Humber
Snaps on the Field: 57/58
Grade vs. Jets: B
11) TE Nick O’Leary
Snaps on the Field: 43/77
Grade vs. Jets: B
12) WR Andre Holmes
Snaps on the Field: 39/77
Grade vs. Jets: B
13) DE Shaq Lawson
Snaps on the Field: 37/58
Grade vs. Jets: B
14) SLB Lorenzo Alexander
Snaps on the Field: 25/58
Grade vs. Jets: B
15) FB Patrick DiMarco
Snaps on the Field: 20/77
Grade vs. Jets: B
16) RB Mike Tolbert
Snaps on the Field: 23/77
Grade vs. Jets: B
17) C Eric Wood
Snaps on the Field: 77/77
Grade vs. Jets: B-
18) TE Charles Clay
Snaps on the Field: 65/77
Grade vs. Jets: B-
19) WR Zay Jones
Snaps on the Field: 66/77
Grade vs. Jets: B-
20) MLB Preston Brown
Snaps on the Field: 58/58
Grade vs. Jets: B-
21) CB E.J. Gaines
Snaps on the Field: 47/58
Grade vs. Jets: B-
22) DT Marcell Dareus
Snaps on the Field: 34/58
Grade vs. Jets: B-
23) NCB Leonard Johnson
Snaps on the Field: 46/58
Grade vs. Jets: B-
24) LT Dion Dawkins
Snaps on the Field: 21/77
Grade vs. Jets: B-
25) DE Ryan Davis
Snaps on the Field: 21/58
Grade vs. Jets: B-
26) DT Adolphus Washington
Snaps on the Field: 15/58
Grade vs. Jets: B-
The Bottom Three
27) LT Cordy Glenn
Snaps on the Field: 56/77
Grade vs. Jets: C
- Upon watching Cordy Glenn every single play, it creates some doubt that this ankle injury is still an issue for the starting left tackle. The Bills had to bring rookie Dion Dawkins in for Glenn for a few series due to the ankle, and just when you watched him try to move in this zone blocking scheme… it just didn’t look like the player we’ve come to know in Buffalo. On plays that required him to move off his spot as the whole line was blocking to the right, Glenn was slow out of his stance and couldn’t get out in front of the defender to secure the block. It’s a situation to monitor as we go forward, but something just seemed a bit off with Glenn.
28) RT Jordan Mills
Snaps on the Field: 77/77
Grade vs. Jets: C
- You’ll notice a trend here with the bottom three… and a lot of that had to do with the talent along the defensive line of the New York Jets. However, right tackle Jordan Mills saw his struggles from the previous season continue along into Week One of the season. That’s not to say he didn’t have some good moments in the game — in fact, I actually liked his movement skills more than I thought I would in the zone-based scheme. However, he lost track of his man far too often and it led to quite a few negative plays for the Bills. Until Cordy Glenn’s ankle injury subsides, though, the Bills really don’t have anyone else to turn to at right tackle at the moment with rookie Dion Dawkins practicing only at left tackle. Mills will need to pick up his play and capitalize on some of the positive signs he showed on Sunday.
29) RG John Miller
Snaps on the Field: 77/77
Grade vs. Jets: D+
- Heading in, I thought Jordan Mills was the clear weakness of the offensive line on Sunday. However, upon watching the film it became abundantly clear: Third-year player John Miller had the toughest time of any Bills player on the field. He was matched up quite a bit with former top ten draft pick and budding defensive star Leonard Williams, which led to some of his struggles. However, it was his lack of movement ability that was the most discouraging part of the game. There was clearly a reason as to why the Bills kept the starting competition open at right guard between Miller and Vladimir Ducasse, and perhaps Miller just isn’t a good fit for this movement-based zone blocking scheme. More of a power player, the shorter-armed Miller had trouble getting out in front of his blocking assignments as the game wore on.
Players with less than 15 snaps
DT Cedric Thornton (13)
DE Eddie Yarbrough (11)
CB Shareece Wright (11)
TE Logan Thomas (6)
WR Brandon Tate (2)
Active players without an offensive or defensive snap: QB Nathan Peterman, QB/WR Joe Webb, RB Taiwan Jones, RB Joe Banyard, OL Ryan Groy, LB Matt Milano, LB Deon Lacey, S Trae Elston, S Colt Anderson
Inactives: WR Kaelin Clay (1), TE Khari Lee (1), OT Conor McDermott (1), G Vladimir Ducasse (1), DT Jerel Worthy (1), LB Tanner Vallejo (1), CB Greg Mabin (1)
*(Total Games Inactive)
How they’re graded:
Every Tuesday, when the All-22 film becomes available, we’ll go through and watch each play and every player on each play as many times as necessary, to assess a letter grade for that game to the player. It is subjective analysis, and it’s important to note that we do not know the play calls and full responsibilities. With that written, the grades stem from technique, outstanding efforts, and presumed liability.
Only players that take a snap on offense or defense are accounted for, and players with under 15 snaps, unless they have a significant impact on the game, will not be factored into weekly rankings.
Season-long grades have been tallied and documented, with each individual game’s grade being weighted for how much the player was on the field in a given week. Those will be included following the Week Two contest against Carolina.
