Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills vs Ravens: Offensive and Defensive Grades for Week 1

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Sep 11, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan (R) and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan (L) call a play in during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens won 13-7. Buffalo Bills vs Ravens. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

It was a disappointing loss for the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, but there’s still plenty of football left this season. Let’s take a look at the offensive and defensive team grades for Week 1’s Buffalo Bills vs Ravens matchup.

Although the spread gave the Buffalo Bills an advantage heading into Week 1 — a 3-point advantage to be exact — the team couldn’t seem to get any offense going. Ultimately, the game ended 13-7 in favor of the Baltimore Ravens. The Bills will start the season 0-1.

With the New York Jets traveling to our new “New Era Field” on Thursday, it doesn’t give either team a lot of time to figure out what went wrong in Week 1. The Jets, coming off a close 23-22 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, will be searching for the same thing the Bills are searching for — their first win.

Upcoming Schedule

Before that happens for either team, they will need to work out some kinks. For the Bills, we were a bit confused as to why our offense was so bad, while our defense actually looked pretty well out there. Remember, our defense was without Marcell Dareus, Shaq Lawson and Reggie Ragland — potentially three of our top weapons on that defense.

On the other hand, our offense not only pretty much stayed the same from a year ago, but also proved to be much healthier than a year ago. However, the quarterback couldn’t get anything going, the running backs were nowhere close to being the top rushing attack in the league, our wide receivers were virtually unnoticeable and our offensive line was letting anyone blow right by them.

What went wrong?

Well, that’s for the team to figure out. Obviously, in the eyes of a fan, it’s quite simple what went wrong: we didn’t score enough and we let the Ravens score too much. While the team hits the film room, let’s take a deeper look into how the offense and defense performed in their regular season opener vs. the Ravens.

As for the grading format, here’s how that will work:

A – Couldn’t have performed better.

B – Above average play.

C – Average play.

D – Needs to improve.

F – You said this is football? How do I play?

Continue reading on the following slide.

Sep 11, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) avoids a tackle by Baltimore Ravens linebacker ZaDarius Smith (90) at M&T Bank Stadium. Buffalo Bills vs Ravens Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

As stated earlier, the Bills’ offense was simply unproductive vs. the Ravens. That will need to change on Thursday if the team wants to avoid an 0-2 start.

Let’s dive right into it.

Here are the offensive grades for the Buffalo Bills‘ 7-13 season opener loss against the Baltimore Ravens.

Quarterback

Tyrod Taylor simply didn’t perform to the likes of Bills’ fans and certainly didn’t look like the franchise quarterback he’s been hyped up to be. I’m not saying he isn’t that guy and I’m certainly not losing faith in Taylor. However, I am disappointed that this is the start he got off to.

All in all, Taylor finished the game 15/22 for 111 yards and a rating of 79.9. Although he avoided any turnovers, he failed to throw a touchdown and was sacked twice for 16 yards. He was also unproductive in the rushing attack, only compiling 11 yards on five carries. His completion percentage was good, but only because he wasn’t throwing anything past 10 yards.

QB GRADE: F

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Rushing Attack

The Buffalo Bills only saw three different running backs take attempts vs. the Ravens: LeSean McCoy, Tyrod Taylor and Reggie Bush. In total, the three players only had 24 carries with 16 of those going to McCoy. At times, McCoy showed that he can control the game with several 8 (or so) yard runs back-to-back. However, an iffy offensive line made it difficult to find holes.

McCoy finished with 58 yards and a 3.6 yards per carry, adding a 1-yard touchdown run that came on a fourth down. Reggie Bush actually totaled -4 yards on his 3 carries, while Taylor only averaged 2.2 yards per carry. Overall, this running back squad didn’t look anything close to what they looked like last year as the league’s No. 1 rushing group.

RB GRADE: D

Receiving Attack

We were told Sammy Watkins would be better than ever, Robert Woods was ready to breakout, Charles Clay will be targeted more, McCoy will be featured more, etc. In short, we were told that our receiving corps would be ready to help make Tyrod Taylor one of the better quarterbacks in the league. Taylor didn’t do his part, but neither did the receivers.

Watkins finished with 43 yards on 4 catches, Clay had 40 yards off 2 receptions and Woods only had 20 yards on 4 catches. McCoy did see 4 catches as well, but only turned it into 12 yards. Other than that, Bush missed his only target of the game and Mike Gillislee had -4 yards on his single catch. If the O-Line would’ve given Taylor more time, these stats could’ve looked different.

In addition, Watkins will most likely miss several weeks after re-injuring his foot. That’s definitely not good.

WR GRADE: D

Offensive Line

The offensive line has three jobs: open up holes for the rushers, give the quarterback time to find receivers and don’t get hurt. In addition, those need to be done consistently. We saw McCoy get some space a few times and saw Taylor have more than enough time in the pocket on several occasions. However, it simply didn’t happen often enough for the Bills to make something out of it.

Also, we saw an injury to a major part of this team’s offensive line: Cordy Glenn. With our right side already weak, it hurts even more to have a member of our right side go down. It’s been reported that it was an injury to the same ankle that kept him sidelined most of preseason. Backup Cyrus Kouandjio replaced him on Sunday, but he’s our only backup other than Seantrel Henderson — who is suspended three more games.

Not looking good for this offensive line.

OL GRADE: D

Jul 30, 2016; Pittsford, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills tackle Cyrus Kouandjio (71) and defensive end IK Enemkpali (75) work together on blocking drills during training camp at St. John Fisher College. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Final Thoughts on the Offense

I still have a lot of faith in this offense and with 15 games left on the schedule, I hope no one has given up. I mean, it’s only the first game of the season.

We all know this isn’t the same Tyrod Taylor to expect the rest of the season. Not having Watkins will definitely sting, but we have some capable weapons working behind him that can easily give Taylor that deep threat we need.

Offensive Grade: D

There were a lot of D’s thrown out for the offense, meaning they definitely have a lot to improve on over the next few days as they prepare for the Jets. I believe most of the under-production was just a result of this being the first game. However, if we see the same offense show up on Thursday, those D’s might start turning to F’s.

Consistency is the key to a playoff spot, but only if you’re consistently good.

Now, let’s move on to the defensive grades.

Sep 11, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Buffalo Bills defense reacts after sacking Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens won 13-7. Buffalo Bills vs Ravens. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Bills’ defense during Week 1 was better than expected and most certainly better than the team’s offense. Let’s hope they can build off this momentum and stay hungry for Thursday.

Here we go.

Let’s take a look at how the Buffalo Bills‘ defense graded vs. the Ravens.

Defensive Line

Together, the Bills’ defensive line totaled 11 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 2 tackles for a loss vs. the Ravens. They did a great job of limiting the Ravens’ offense and making it tough to find a running role or find time to throw the ball.

Kyle Williams had a solid day back to action, after missing 10 games last season. He finished with 4 total tackles and one of those for a loss. Leger Douzable made a name for himself on Sunday, handling more snaps than rookie Adolphus Washington and totaling 1.5 sacks in the loss. Overall, the defensive line looked a lot better than last year and still even have some room to improve.

DL GRADE: C

Linebackers

The Bills used a total of six linebackers vs. Baltimore and will be expected to use most — if not all — of their depth at the position. Overall, the linebacker crew had 28 tackles Sunday — good for almost half of the team’s tackles. The Bills’ linebackers were easily the biggest strength on Sunday.

With our two “linebackers of the future” — Reggie Ragland and Shaq Lawson — sidelined due to injury, we can expect even better execution moving forward. That’s good news for Bills’ fans. Preston Brown and Zach Brown led the team with 8 tackles each, with P. Brown recovering Joe Flacco’s fumble. Jerry Hughes was the team’s MVP, totaling 2 sacks, while Lorenzo Alexander added a half-sack.

Get ready, Preston Brown is going to continue to show you why he deserves to be the brains behind this defense.

LB GRADE: B

Sep 11, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith (89) carries the ball as Buffalo Bills safety Aaron Williams (23) defends during the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive Backs

We were all a little worried about Aaron Williams taking the field. Coming off a neck injury that kept him out almost all of last season and then going through concussion protocol during training camp, we all cringed when he made his first tackle. Overall, the defensive backs totaled 23 tackles and one tackle for a loss.

Ronald Darby and Stephon Gilmore, although neither came away with an interception, did a fairly good job in coverage and limiting Joe Flacco down deep. With the exception of a 66-yard TD to Mike Wallace (covered by Duke Williams), the defensive backs looked ready for the regular season and will look to finally cause some turnovers against the Jets on Thursday. Darby got close to an interception that had the potential for six points, but it went straight through his hands.

DB GRADE: C

Final Thoughts on the Defense

Overall, I was happy with the Bills’ defense on Sunday.

Jerry Hughes did exactly what I expected from him — cause havoc for the quarterback. Personally, I think we should let Adolphus Washington get comfortable in the NFL before giving him 24 snaps on defense. With how Douzable looked, he could be a better option on the defensive line.

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Ronald Darby and Stephon Gilmore will continue to make a case for the best cornerback duo in the league and I firmly believe one of them will get a pick against Fitzpatrick on Thursday — if not both of them. As of right now, our linebackers are our biggest strength after the first week of football.

Defensive Grade: C

I see us possibly doubling our sack numbers from a year ago, when we totaled just 21 sacks all season (31st in the league). During Week 1, we managed to have the fourth most sacks in the league behind the Houston Texans (5), Seattle Seahawks (5) and New York Jets (7).

That does it for the offensive and defensive grades for the Bills’ season opener vs. the Baltimore Ravens. The Bills match up at home vs. the Jets on Thursday. With only four days to prepare after their loss, the Bills will need all momentum necessary.

Where was the Bills’ bright spot on Sunday? I’m sticking with the linebackers, more specifically Hughes and P. Brown. Leave your comments below!

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