After finishing the 2015 season with a record of 8-8, the Buffalo Bills were looking to make a chase for the playoffs in 2016. In the offseason, they inked quarterback Tyrod Taylor to a blockbuster six-year, $92 million contract extension and kept intact a defense that was solid last season, despite losing defensive end Mario Williams and linebacker Nigel Bradham in free agency.
With expectations of a possible playoff berth on the horizon in 2016, the Bills were ready to show the NFL that they were a factor. However, that was not the case as the Bills started off this season 0-2.
As we hear every year in the NFL, if a team starts off the season 0-2, their playoff chances diminish rather quickly.
In the first two games of the season, the Bills’ offense was in shambles, the defense was giving up a ton of big plays and points, and it looked like head coach Rex Ryan was on the hot seat. But after losing to AFC East division rival, New York Jets on Thursday night in Week 2, Buffalo’s fortunes took a positive change.
The following day, the Bills fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman and came out the next week, defeating the Arizona Cardinals 33-18 in dominating fashion. Matter of fact, since the Bills let go Roman, they are on a four-game winning streak and looking to make it five this Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.
With the Bills playing better football, the question analysts are starting to wonder are they legit playoff contenders?
To answer that question, there are three keys to being a successful playoff team and playoff contender. Those three keys are quarterback play, defense, and a confident running game.
Let’s start off with the first key: quarterback play. To begin the season, dynamic dual threat quarterback Tyrod Taylor was not playing well and part of that could be attributed to Roman.
In the first two games of the season, Taylor was completing 63.5 percent of his passes for 408 yards but only had three touchdowns and an interception. He also had 36 rushing yards on seven attempts.
While the completion percentage and the one interception is fine, the 36 rushing yards and three passing touchdowns is not. When it comes to a dual threat quarterback such as Taylor, he needs to be an integral part of the running game to give the defense something else to think about.
However, in Buffalo’s last four games, Taylor has been outstanding as both his rushing yards (200) and passing touchdowns (5) have seen an increase. Also during this four-game winning streak, he is completing 61.9 percent of his passes for 668 yards and has only thrown one interception.
When your quarterback takes care of the ball like Taylor has you will be in a lot of games and that is a huge factor in the playoffs.
While Taylor has taken his game to another level, Buffalo’s defense has done the same. In the first two weeks of the season, the Bills’ defense was getting torched. They were giving up 25.0 points, 297.5 passing yards, and 103.0 rushing yards per game.
Then to make matters worse, they only had two takeaways. Despite struggling the first two weeks, the Bills’ defense has been on fire in the last four weeks. They have held opposing teams to 13.3 points, 214.3 passing yards, and 103.3 rushing yards per game. Also, during this four-week span, they had 10 takeaways, including five against the Cardinals.
If your defense can force 10 takeaways including five in a single game, that’s a sign of a budding playoff defense.
Finally, the last key to being a playoff contender is having a confident running game. Thankfully for the Bills, they have an All-Pro running back in LeSean McCoy, who is on pace to pass his rushing yard total from last season (895).
However, McCoy is dealing with a hamstring injury that could sideline him for multiple weeks, according to ESPN’s Josina Anderson.
McCoy just like the rest of the team, started the season off slow but over the last two weeks has turned it on. In last Sunday’s game against San Francisco, McCoy dominated the 49ers’ defense to the tune of 140 rushing yards on 19 carries and three touchdowns. Then in Week 5, against the Rams’ defense, McCoy torched them for 150 rushing yards.
McCoy is a playmaker and is a perfect piece for the Bills’ offense as he can catch and run the ball. We’ve seen in the playoffs what a good running back can do, just ask the Seattle Seahawks.
If Buffalo wants to be a legit playoff contender, they need to continue to feed the ball to McCoy, continue to cause turnovers on defense, and Taylor has to continue to play smart football. If they do those things, there will be playoff football in upstate New York.
