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Week 16 Game Recap: Buffalo Bills 30, Denver Broncos 23
What you need to know
| Buffalo Bills |
The Bills completed their sweep of the AFC West as they rallied back from an early 13--0 deficit to win 30--23 in the second coldest game in Denver history. After gaining a total of minus 17 yards on their first two drives Buffalo managed to score either a touchdown or a field goal on each of their next six possessions.
Trent Edwards returned to the lineup and threw one TD pass as he completed 17 of 25 for 193 yards. More importantly, he did not commit a turnover. Marshawn Lynch ran for one touchdown as he gained 34 yards on 11 carries, but was sidelined in the third quarter with a bruised shoulder. Fred Jackson took over and also scored a TD as he rushed for 43 yards and added another 70 yards as a receiver. Josh Reed led the Bills with nine receptions for 79 yards while Lee Evans struggled to gain 19 yards on two grabs.
The Bills played a bend but don't break style of defense as they gave up 532 yards but only surrendered two touchdowns to the second best offense in the NFL. Late in the game with Denver trailing by a seven points, Cutler was intercepted LB Kawika Mitchell at the goal line. On the Broncos' final drive rookie CB Reggie Corner broke up a fourth down pass to Brandon Stokley in the back of the end zone to seal the improbable win.
All pro left tackle Jason Peters was inactive with a knee injury although he was seen standing on the sideline throughout the game.
| Denver Broncos |
Denver's loss cost them the AFC Western Division title. They must now beat the Chargers in San Diego next week to advance to the playoffs. P.J. Pope, Denver's sixth starting running back this season, injured his hamstring in their second series and did not return. Selvin Young stepped in and by the middle of the second quarter the Broncos had already posted their best rushing total of the season, 147 yards. In the third quarter, after Young left the game with a pinched nerve making Tatum Bell their only back still standing, the Broncos all but abandoned the running game.
Jay Cutler completed 25 of 45 for 359 yards and swept left end for both Denver touchdowns. Brandon Marshall caught ten balls for 129 yards, and Eddie Royal, who was leading all rookie receivers coming into this game, caught five passes for 57 yards and gained another 71 yards on a reverse.
While the Broncos' offense is ranked second in the NFL, their defense is ranked near the bottom in four separate categories. They could not hold a 10 -- 0 lead in the first quarter or a 20 -- 16 lead in the fourth. They allowed six successive scoring drives to the Bills, and even when Marshawn Lynch was knocked out the game with an injury they could not contain his backup, Fred Jackson.
What you ought to know
| QB Trent Edwards, Pass: 17 - 25 - 193 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 10 - 0 |
Edwards got off to a rocky start. Champ Bailey sacked him on the second play of the game and later was the victim of a roughing the passer penalty. Buffalo lost a total of 17 yards on their first two drives but Edwards settled down and directed scoring drives on their next six possessions. On the first play of the fourth quarter, with Denver leading 20--16, Fred Jackson broke open on a wheel route down the right sideline. Edwards hit him and the play covered 65 yards which led to the go ahead touchdown. Edwards led Buffalo to a second fourth quarter touchdown and finished the game with a QB rating of 104.2.
| RB Fred Jackson, Rush: 10 - 43 - 1, Rec: 3 - 70 - 0 (4 targets) |
Jackson proved once again to be a strong compliment to Marshawn Lynch. Jackson led the Bills in rushing with 43 yards on ten carries, but made the play of the game for Buffalo on the first play of the fourth quarter just after Denver had gone ahead 20--16. Jackson beat LB Jamie Winborn on a wheel route, and was finally tackled at the three yard line setting up a touchdown. Later in the quarter he closed out the Bills' scoring with an eight yard TD run.
| RB Marshawn Lynch, Rush: 11 - 34 - 1 (1 targets) |
Like the rest of the team, Lynch had trouble getting started, but late in the second quarter he ran two yards for a touchdown to bring Buffalo back to within a field goal. In the third quarter he injured his shoulder and did not return to the game. He stayed on the sidelines, however, with his arm in a sling. Late in the fourth quarter, when the Bills called a timeout, Lynch accompanied the trainers out on the field. He was seen talking to Fred Jackson, encouraging him, slapping him on the shoulder pads with his good hand. On the next play Jackson dashed eight yards for a touchdown. Lynch, a former number one draft choice, respects Jackson the hard work it took to make it all the way to the NFL as an undrafted free agent from tiny Coe College.
| RB Xavier Omon, Rush: 2 - 0 - 0 |
Early in the fourth quarter, with Lynch sidelined and Jackson winded from a 65 yard pass play in the thin Denver air, the 5' 11", 227 pound rookie from Northwestern Missouri State got two cracks at the goal line from the three yard line but could not score.
| WR Josh Reed, Rec: 9 - 79 - 0 (9 targets) |
The Bills' veteran possession receiver, Reed averaged 8.8 yards per catch with the longest covering 16 yards. He's often the hot read, and Edwards gets rid of the ball quickly when he is pressured. Reed led the Bills with 79 receiving yards and caught all nine passes thrown to him.
| WR Lee Evans, Rec: 2 - 19 - 0 (5 targets) |
Denver used the same defensive game plan most NFL teams have found successful: Double team Evans and let another Buffalo WR try to beat you. He only caught two passes but also drew a 22 yard interference penalty on Dre Bley in the third quarter.
Evans needs 46 yards to reach 1,000. His best season was 2006 when he gained 1,292 yards.
| WR Roscoe Parrish, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (3 targets) |
Parrish continues to get playing time but he has yet to find his niche in this offense. He has shown tremendous open field running ability as a kick returner, but the Bills seem to have no clue on how to get him the ball in space.
| WR Steve Johnson, Rec: 1 - 3 - 1 (1 targets) |
Johnson, the 6'2 and 200 pound rookie out of Kentucky, scored his second TD of the season early in the fourth quarter. He beat the shorter Dre Bley on a three yard pass which put the Bills ahead 23--20.
| WR James Hardy |
Hardy's disappointing rookie season is over. He is scheduled for surgery after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while blocking downfield in last week's loss to the Jets.
| TE Robert Royal, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Royal had a tough time finding holes in the secondary but caught one pass for eight yards.
| PK Rian Lindell 3 - 3 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 12 points |
Another clutch day for Lindell who booted field goals from 37, 49, and 28 yards. He was also good on all PATs.
| BUF Rush Defense |
Denver already had rushed for a season high 147 yards midway through the second quarter, but injuries to Pope and Young encouraged them to abandon the running game to keep at least one RB healthy. Eddie Royal gained 71 yards on a reverse, and Jay Cutler added 30 yards and scored both Denver rushing touchdowns.
| BUF Pass Defense |
Kawika Mitchell intercepted Cutler on the goal line late in the game to stop one drive. Rookie Leodis McKelvin also intercepted Cutler but DT Marcus Stroud was flagged for holding. Really. Denver went after another rookie, Reggie Corner, who was credited with four passes defended. None were bigger than knocking the ball away from Brandon Stokley in the back of the end zone to preserve the victory.
Cutler threw for 359 yards. Up until this game, Chad Pennington was the only other quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards against the stingy Bills' pass defense this season.
| QB Jay Cutler, Pass: 25 - 45 - 359 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 8 - 30 - 2 |
Early in the fourth quarter Cutler broke the franchise record for most passing yardage in a single season. Obviously, the original record was set by the legendary Broncos' quarterback Jake Plummer. Even though Cutler probably helped a few fantasy owners nail down a championship, he didn't do Denver any favors. The problems seemed to start when his helmet receiver began acting up and he couldn't get the calls. He had to jog over to the sideline after every whistle to get the next play. Unfortunately, he was not mature enough to keep his focus. He kept wasting time arguing with officials and he was eventually flagged twice for delay of game. The first penalty was especially costly and came with about two minutes left in the half. It meant Prater had to attempt a FG from 54 yards away instead of 49 and the ball sailed just under the crossbar. Buffalo took over at their own 44, marched down to score a touchdown just before the half, and put the Bills right back into the game. Cutler also overthrew a wide open Eddie Royal down the sidelines and again in the end zone.
On the positive side Cutler ran for both Denver touchdowns on QB sweeps around left end, one from the six yard line and the other from the two. He threw for 359 yards and there were times when he seemed unstoppable. When Buffalo tried to blitz Cutler took advantage of their man coverage. When they played zone and only rushed four he had time to find the open receiver. Down near the goal line, however he was only able to score two touchdowns on six trips inside the red zone.
| RB Selvin Young, Rush: 7 - 16 - 0 (1 targets) |
Young replaced Pope and carried seven times for a 2.3 yard average. Young was sidelined in the third quarter with a pinched nerve and did not return to the game. Young's fumble late in the first half against Carolina earned a second half benching, but with so many injured Denver running backs he kept his job. Now the trainers will be working hard to get him back on the field.
| RB Tatum Bell, Rush: 5 - 20 - 0, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (2 targets) |
Bell averaged four yards per carry in limited duty, but by the end of the game he was the only healthy running back left on the Denver sidelines. Look for the Broncos to make moves during the week to bolster the position, but you have to wonder who in their right mind would agree to take a job as a running back for the Broncos. They already have five runners on IR and that number will probably grow.
| RB P.J. Pope, Rush: 6 - 44 - 0 |
On Denver's impressive eight play opening drive for a touchdown Pope carried six times. Unfortunately, he suffered a hamstring injury on their second series and did not return. If he is hurt severely he could become the sixth Denver running back to be placed on IR.
| WR Brandon Marshall, Rec: 10 - 129 - 0 (17 targets) |
Marshall is a beast of a receiver who is almost impossible to cover. As the Denver coaches like to point out, he's still learning and getting better. He has 98 receptions with one game to go should make this his second straight 100 catch season. He also has over 1,200 yards this season and six touchdowns.
| WR Eddie Royal, Rush: 1 - 71 - 0, Rec: 5 - 57 - 0 (10 targets) |
While Royal was open for two potential touchdowns but the passes were overthrown. He still caught five for 57 yards and an 11.4 yard per catch average. He also took a reverse around left end for 71 yards to the Bills' nine yard line which set up Denver's first field goal.
Coming into this game Royal led all NFL rookies with 75 receptions and 847 yards and could become the first Broncos rookie to top 1,000 yards.
| WR Brandon Stokley, Rec: 3 - 32 - 0 (7 targets) |
Stokley made some tough catches but took some big hits. He had the game tying TD pass in his hands on fourth down and less than a minute to play, only to have the ball knocked away by a Buffalo defender.
| WR Darrell Jackson, Rec: 1 - 30 - 0 (1 targets) |
Early in the game Jackson caught a 30 yard pass but then wasn't heard from again.
| TE Daniel Graham, Rec: 3 - 52 - 0 (3 targets) |
Graham caught three passes in the second half when the Broncos decided to air it out. He has pretty good hands and knows how to get open.
| TE Tony Scheffler, Rec: 2 - 56 - 0 (3 targets) |
The Broncos like to use Scheffler as a downfield threat. He gained 56 yards on two receptions in this game which only bolstered his 15.6 yard per catch average that was already best in the NFL among tight ends.
| PK Matt Prater 3 - 4 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 11 points |
Prater was good on field goals from 23, 30, and 43 yards, but missed his first 50+ yard attempt of the season. Ironically, he had only made four of ten from the 40 to 49 yard range so he increased his average there. The rookie apparently has the support of coach Shanahan who pointed out that Jason Elam also had some struggles as a rookie
| DEN Rush Defense |
The Broncos were able to limit Lynch to just 34 yards and a 3.1 yards per carry, while Fred Jackson carried ten times for 43 yards. Both Lynch and Jackson had rushing touchdowns, but as a team the Bills only ran for 87 yards.
| DEN Pass Defense |
Trent Edwards only threw for 193 yards and 65 of those came from RB Fred Jackson who picked up most of the yards after the catch. The Broncos were unable to force any turnovers and only sacked Edwards once, although they blitzed him throughout the game. They were penalized for roughing the passer once and could have been flagged for least one more.
