The Buffalo Bills were big underdogs in their Week 16 road games against the New England Patriots, and although they played well for the first half, as time passed the Patriots slowly pulled away.
Now at 8-7, the Bills need a win over the Miami Dolphins and some help from at least one other game to reach the playoffs for the first time since the 1999 regular season. Before we start to discuss that game this weekend, first is a look back at the game that was for the Bills.
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 Patriots:
1) RB LeSean McCoy
Snaps on the Field: 51/70
Grade vs. Patriots: A-
2) S Jordan Poyer
Snaps on the Field: 71/71
Grade vs. Patriots: A-
3) WR Kelvin Benjamin
Snaps on the Field: 52/70
Grade vs. Patriots: B+
4) CB Tre’Davious White
Snaps on the Field: 69/71
Grade vs. Patriots: B+
5) DE Jerry Hughes
Snaps on the Field: 45/71
Grade vs. Patriots: B
6) WR Deonte Thompson
Snaps on the Field: 61/70
Grade vs. Patriots: B
7) LT Dion Dawkins
Snaps on the Field: 70/70
Grade vs. Patriots: B
8) RG Vladimir Ducasse
Snaps on the Field: 70/70
Grade vs. Patriots: B
9) C Eric Wood
Snaps on the Field: 70/70
Grade vs. Patriots: B
10) DT Kyle Willians
Snaps on the Field: 45/71
Grade vs. Patriots: B-
11) WLB Matt Milano
Snaps on the Field: 45/71
Grade vs. Patriots: B-
12) DE Ryan Davis
Snaps on the Field: 36/71
Grade vs. Patriots: B-
13) DT Adolphus Washington
Snaps on the Field: 45/71
Grade vs. Patriots: B-
14) DT Cedric Thornton
Snaps on the Field: 29/71
Grade vs. Patriots: B-
15) S Micah Hyde
Snaps on the Field: 68/71
Grade vs. Patriots: B-
16) LG Richie Incognito
Snaps on the Field: 70/70
Grade vs. Patriots: B-
17) WR Brandon Tate
Snaps on the Field: 20/70
Grade vs. Patriots: C+
18) TE Nick O’Leary
Snaps on the Field: 22/70
Grade vs. Patriots: C+
19) DE Eddie Yarbrough
Snaps on the Field: 37/71
Grade vs. Patriots: C+
20) RT Jordan Mills
Snaps on the Field: 70/70
Grade vs. Patriots: C+
21) TE Charles Clay
Snaps on the Field: 51/70
Grade vs. Patriots: C
22) RB Mike Tolbert
Snaps on the Field: 15/70
Grade vs. Patriots: C
23) SLB Lorenzo Alexander
Snaps on the Field: 30/71
Grade vs. Patriots: C
24) NC Leonard Johnson
Snaps on the Field: 51/71
Grade vs. Patriots: C
25) DT Deandre Coleman
Snaps on the Field: 21/71
Grade vs. Patriots: C-
26) CB Shareece Wright
Snaps on the Field: 60/71
Grade vs. Patriots: C-
27) QB Tyrod Taylor
Snaps on the Field: 70/70
Grade vs. Patriots: C-
28) WLB Ramon Humber
Snaps on the Field: 26/71
Grade vs. Patriots: C-
29) MLB Preston Brown
Snaps on the Field: 71/71
Grade vs. Patriots: C-
30) DE Cap Capi
Snaps on the Field: 24/71
Grade vs. Patriots: D+
Players with less than 15 snaps
FB Patrick DiMarco - 13
CB Lafayette Pitts - 9
RB Travaris Cadet - 5
TE Khari Lee - 5
QB/WR Joe Webb - 3
S Trae Elston - 2
Active players without an offensive or defensive snap: QB Nathan Peterman, G Ryan Groy, T Seantrel Henderson, LB Tanner Vallejo, LB Deon Lacey, S Shamarko Thomas
Inactives: T Conor McDermott (12), G John Miller (11), CB E.J. Gaines (5), WR Brandon Reilly (3), TE Logan Thomas (3), CB Breon Borders (2), WR Andre Holmes (1)
*(Total games inactive)
Season Grades (Last week’s rank)
*At least 225 snaps to qualify
1) DE Jerry Hughes - 3.30 (1)
2) CB Tre’Davious White - 3.18 (2)
3) RB LeSean McCoy - 3.15 (4)
4) S Micah Hyde - 3.11 (3)
5) S Jordan Poyer - 3.10 (5)
6) C Eric Wood - 2.98 (7)
7) WLB Matt Milano - 2.98 (6)
8) LT Cordy Glenn - 2.96 (8)
9) LG Richie Incognito - 2.92 (9)
10) DT Kyle Williams - 2.86 (11)
11) CB E.J. Gaines - 2.82 (13)
12) DE Eddie Yarbrough - 2.82 (12)
13) TE Charles Clay - 2.81 (10)
14) WR Deonte Thompson - 2.81 (20)
15) DE Shaq Lawson - 2.79 (16)
16) DE Ryan Davis - 2.79 (15)
17) FB Patrick DiMarco - 2.79 (14)
18) RG Vladimir Ducasse - 2.78 (21)
19) WR Jordan Matthews - 2.78 (18)
20) TE Nick O’Leary - 2.77 (17)
21) WR Andre Holmes - 2.77 (19)
22) WR Zay Jones - 2.72 (23)
23) LT Dion Dawkins - 2.72 (24)
24) QB Tyrod Taylor - 2.66 (22)
25) DT Cedric Thornton - 2.63 (25)
26) SLB Lorenzo Alexander - 2.52 (26)
27) NCB Leonard Johnson - 2.49 (27)
28) DT Adolphus Washington - 2.46 (28)
29) MLB Preston Brown - 2.34 (29)
30) WLB Ramon Humber - 2.27 (30)
31) RT Jordan Mills - 2.18 (31)
32) CB Shareece Wright - 1.89 (32)
33) G John Miller - 1.87 (33)
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 can be seen above.
