I was definitely wrong on this one. I thought we were going to get totally embarrassed today. We didn’t. I have to say it was an impressive team effort by the guys on the field today. The story changes if our WR’s make those catches. If I’m a Bills fan today, I’m worried about next week. Josh Allen was not good today despite Tony Romo basically blowing him on the air. Regardless, we take the L. On to the grades:
QB — The Good: Skyler Thompson had some nice throws today. He was also the victim of some horrendous drops by our WR’s. 18 of 45 for 220 isn’t bad for a 7th round rookie in a playoff game.
The Bad: The problem was the 2 interceptions killed us. If he doesn’t throw those 2 picks…This would have been very interesting. The play calling fiasco between him and McGenius should NEVER happen in a playoff game. I blame McGenius for most of it….But Thompson takes some of the blame as well.
The Grade: D + . Not a great game by Thompson….And external forces contribute here to the low grade. Those include a BAD OL, WR drops, TE drops and being a rookie. No matter…I think we have a low cost backup for next year. Bridgewater should collect his gear now and just leave the building. One last word about Tua: If he’s in this game, we win it by 10.
RB’s — The Good: A TD dive by Wilson was a positive. He also had a nice catch and run for a first down that burned Milano. Ahmed did have 45 yards on 3 catches as well. Other than that not much to talk about here.
The Bad: 23 yards on 10 rushes isn’t good. 42 yards total rushing is bad.
The Grade: D + . Not much help from the OL here. I didn’t see many holes to run through at all. A drop by Wilson hurt us as well. This is barely a passing effort here, but because the OL was so bad….I gave them the D +.
WR’s — The Good: Hill and Waddle combined for 113 yards. Add in Wilson with a catch for 14 and that’s all there is to it.
The Bad: DROPS. Especially by Waddle crushed us today. Obviously, the QB is a hindrance here….But there were way too many drops today.
The Grade: F . Yes, they didn’t have an even decent QB throwing to them….But this unit way underperformed today. I don’t see how anyone gives them a passing grade.
TE’s — The Good: Gesicki’s TD. That’s it.
The Bad: Gesicki’s TD celebration. His 4th down drop. The awful run blocking.
The Grade: D - . Even with Gesicki’s TD, this unit was invisible today and I’m pretty sure Gesicki has played his last game for the Dolphins. They stay above the failing mark only because Gesicki caught a TD. We’re gonna need to add some talent here.
OL — The Good: There were some plays where Thompson wasn’t decapitated. Well….I think I remember 2 of them anyway.
The Bad: Without hyperbole, Thompson was hurried on at least half of his drop backs. No real movement on run blocks. Ugly. Very Ugly.
The Grade: F . There will be people saying that I should give a higher grade because of the injuries etc…. No. That’s not how it works. I grade the players on the field and the guys on the field today were overmatched. Period. That’s an F. Upgrading these guys has to be a priority in the off season.
DL — The Good: Scoop and score by Seiler. Only 107 yards total rushing allowed today. Wilkins loves to get under Allen’s skin and I love it. Seiler and Wilkins combined for 3 sacks. A good day by these guys.
The Bad: We need to get some pressure by only rushing 4 next year. We got none today…And we got none this year. But that doesn’t detract from an overall decent day.
The Grade: C + . We needed a stop near the end to get the ball back. We didn’t get it. That would have changed this to a B if we made the stop.
LB’s — The Good: Pressure by Phillips all day….Not to mention the amount of times I saw him get held with no call. Chubb with a strip sack. Baker made a couple plays. A decent effort by these guys.
The Bad: Baker getting burned for a TD and a penalty. Not being able to cover a TE to save our lives.
The Grade: B - . Great effort by these guys. They deserved a better outcome. The bulk of this grade comes from Phillips and Chubb. We need a couple new MLB’s next year.
DB’s — The Good: A nice pick by Howard and another one by Holland helped keep it close today. I would have liked to see some tighter coverage at times.
The Bad: The Achilles heal of the defense. Diggs had 114, Davis had 113. Not Good. We definitely need to upgrade this unit next year.
The Grade: D + . 2 picks is nice….But the Bills receivers running free all day hurt this unit. It looks to me like Howard is too far past his prime to keep paying what we’re paying him. I see a restructure in his future.
ST’s — The Good: Cedrick Wilson with a great punt return….Sanders made all his kicks….. Morstead with a decent day punting. Good day for these guys.
The Bad: Not much to complain about at all.
The Grade: B +. Not quite an A day…But close. If Morstead drives a couple more of those punts….it’s an A grade.
Coaching — The Good: This very depleted team fought back all day…. And actually should have won this game…For that…McDaniel and the rest of the coaching staff deserve credit.
The Bad: Can someone please explain to me why it takes McGenius 35 seconds to get the play in every down?? Today, it cost us the game. Literally. You could blame it on Thompson a little…But this has happened all year. Awful. Also, why does it take Boyer 2 quarters before he realizes that they were going to Diggs on every play? Stupid.
The Grade: F . Yes…This team fought today. However, not being able to get a ****ing play call in on time ALL DAY is inexcusable.
The Conclusion: Despite the F grade today, I’ll give McGenius a pass and give him next year. Hopefully, the injuries aren’t as bad as they were this year. However, Grier has to go. Just sayin. This was a VERY winnable game today. I would say 4 plays cost us this game. If I’m a Bills fan, I wouldn’t be happy at all with this win. I mean…They barely beat a team of backups with a 3rd string QB. Also, I’ll say this again….Josh Allen is WAY overrated. On to the off-season.
