SPORTS

Tyrod Taylor's late heroics bail out Bills

Sal Maiorana
@salmaiorana
  • The Bills managed just 13 first downs and 209 yards of total offense.
  • Tyrod Taylor set a new rushing record for a Bills quarterback with 76 yards.
Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) scores on a 22-yard touchdown run during the second half against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium.

Sal Maiorana doesn't need to wait to watch the game tape. Here are his First Impressions of Buffalo's rather incredible 14-13 victory over Tennessee.

THE FIRST WORD: As I write this, about an hour has passed since the final whistle here at Nissan Stadium, and I'm still struggling to grasp how the Bills won this game. More than a few players just admitted in the locker room how truly ugly that one was, but they followed it up by saying it's a win, and that's all that matters. They're right. No matter how it happened, the Bills are 3-2, but man, this team has some issues on offense. They were lucky to be playing the Titans today.

Report card: Your turn to grade the Bills

Bills overcome ugly start, stun Titans, 14-13

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Tyrod Taylor. How often does a quarterback complete 10 passes for 109 yards, and look as terrible as Taylor did for most of the game, end up being my selection as player of the game? Well, this might be the first. But there's no doubt, as solid as the defense was in keeping this game close, Taylor won it with his legs. He rushed for 76 yards, a new Bills record for a quarterback, and his 22-yard touchdown run, and his 24-yard scramble in a near impossible third-and-23 situation were the plays that gave the Bills a chance. That said, Taylor has to stop playing so awful in the first half of games.

PLAY OF THE GAME: The third-and-23 play was beyond belief clutch. The Bills were dead. Down 13-7, buried at their own 7, if they have to punt there, the game is likely over because the Titans would have been in field goal position almost immediately. Instead, Tennessee played two safeties deep, and when the play broke down, Taylor had a gaping space up the middle to run, and he made good use of it. He just barely got the 23 yards, and then a horse collar tackle by Zach Brown gave Buffalo 15 more yards and all of the sudden the ball was at the Bills 46. Five plays later, the Bills were ahead.

Maiorana: Bills showed some true resiliency in victory

UNSUNG HERO GAME BALL: Stephon Gilmore was fantastic in this game. Not only did he seal the win with a leaping interception, he also broke up four passes, and the Titans had almost no downfield passing game because Gilmore wouldn't allow it. The pass interference penalty he was nailed for, which gave the Titans a first down early in the fourth quarter, was a bogus call in my eyes. Gilmore is playing like a No. 1 cornerback this year.

KEY STAT: Zero, as in no touchbacks for kickoff man Billy Cundiff. Unless Rex Ryan cuts Dan Carpenter this week for the purpose of keeping only one kicker on the roster, the signing of Cundiff is simply ludicrous. Jordan Gay had 14 touchbacks in the first four games and I felt he warranted a spot on the roster, though I know many disagree. Carpenter is a good kicker who should not be fighting for his job. The Bills should have left this alone and kept both Carpenter and Gay, but with Cundiff here, I can't see Carpenter staying because then it makes no sense. By the way, Carpenter provided the game-winning point.

SOME OBSERVATIONS

    • Right tackle Seantrel Henderson is awful. The big guy had a brutal day, incurring two penalties in a row that put the Bills in that third-and-23 hole that Taylor excavated them from. He was beaten badly on a number of plays, and here's the really bad news: The Bills don't have a choice but to play him because Cyrus Kouandjio is very likely worse. 
    • What happened to Charles Clay? After back-to-back big games, he was invisible with one catch for seven yards. He would have had two catches, but he was sloppy along the sideline and didn't get both feet in bounds. I was surprised how little he contributed because in a game like this, when nothing was working, it would have been easy to check down to Clay to get things working, but either he wasn't open, or Taylor just couldn't find him. Still, he needs to be better.
    • How much do the Bills miss Sammy Watkins? Percy Harvin and Robert Woods, now getting increased coverage, combined for one catch (by Woods) for six yards. Harvin had a drop, Woods failed to get both feet in bounds on one play, and they were completely useless, except for Taylor's 22-yard touchdown run when Woods made a great block on the edge to help spring the quarterback. These guys have to get it together.
    • The Marcus Thigpen for Denarius Moore move didn't look so good. Moore, brought in to give the Bills' return game a boost, fumbled a punt in the third quarter that set up Tennessee's only touchdown. He did have a 27-yard return, but am I to believe that Thigpen couldn't have made the same play given the way that play unfolded? 
    • Marcus Mariota is going to be fun to watch. I was skeptical about him as the No. 2 overall pick, but he's clearly more polished than most of the spread offense running quarterbacks we see in college. Once he gains some experience, and gets some real offensive weapons around him which he doesn't have right now, he has a chance to be good.

LOOKING AHEAD: Next up are the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals who pulled out an incredible come-from-behind 27-24 victory over the Seahawks, overcoming a 24-7 fourth-quarter deficit. Andy Dalton is playing better than he ever has, and the Bengals have some serious weapons on offense who will give the Bills' defense a stern test at Ralph Wilson Stadium.