Throughout Tyrod Taylor's three seasons as Bills starting quarterback, he earned the reputation as a very competent game manager: he is a good athlete who can scramble to sustain drives, his ball security is almost always impeccable and he can make some of the throws which an NFL quarterback needs to make. But at particularly crucial times, his arm strength and accuracy would often fail him. I have oodles of respect for Taylor as the man who was under centre when the Bills 17 year playoff drought ended in Sean McDermott's first season six years ago. Last night in Orchard Park, Taylor made just enough plays to give his team a good chance to win but on the final play of a long and frustrating game, he was unable to deliver the pass to tight end Darren Waller. He has parlayed his talent and consistency into an impressive NFL career (mostly as a back-up) but has not been able to make key plays at critical times. Last night, in addition to coming up short at the end of the game, his audible on what turned out to be the final play of the first half cost his team a chance at crucial points which probably would have changed the trajectory of the game. Giants coach Brian Daboll, a hot-head at the best of times, was in full melt-down as the teams went to their locker rooms with the Giants leading 6-0.
The Giants, now 1-5, played as if their season was on the line - which it was. Wink Martindale, the 89 year-old former disc jockey and game show host turned defensive coordinator (how can two somewhat famous people with the same last name end up with the same nickname?) dialed up a solid defensive game plan which kept the Bills scoreless through three quarters. But he got little support from Taylor and the offence which could not find the endzone all night. The Giants effort and grit was impressive in a losing cause. It was clear that Daboll and Taylor really wanted this one - not only to try to salvage their season but on account of their respective histories in Buffalo. It must have been a bitter way to lose.
For the Bills part, they looked out of sync on offence for most of the game before finally finding the endzone twice in the fourth quarter. Josh Allen took some big hits including one where his helmet hit the turf, earning him banishment to the blue tent for two plays. He also wrenched his throwing shoulder although he finished the game and post-game X-rays were negative. We will hear more about this shoulder in the next couple of days. The Bills tight-end depth helped as little-used Quinton Morris, targeted for the first time all season, caught what turned out to be the game-winning score on a classic Josh Allen high risk thread-the-needle throw on a scramble with less than four minutes remaining.
A word on college football: Having attended a game at the Big House in Ann Arbor 20 years ago, I am a casual to sometimes serious fan of the Michigan Wolverines. Through seven weeks of the season, Jim Harbaugh's team has maintained its number two national ranking in the AP poll. How the poll voters can really know how good the Wolverines really are is beyond me as they have won all of their games by a combined score of 276 to 47. They have been double digit favourites in every game including this past Saturday where the spread was posted at 33 against the Indiana Hoosiers who as far as I know are quite good at basketball. Michigan won 52-7. In short, the college football schedule is a mystery to me with so many lop-sided games, especially in the first few weeks of the season. The Wolverines have feasted on the likes of East Carolina, Bowling Green and UNLV - with all of these game played at the Big House before crowds of more than 108,000. I don't know who benefits from these mis-matches. Certainly not the Michigan fans unless they value being able to leave before halftime to beat the traffic. Aside from the season finale against Ohio State, the Wolverines will not face any legitimate competition at all this season with the exception of a trip to State College PA to pay the Nittany Lions on November 11th. I guess there just aren't enough quality teams for the NCAA to present a competitive schedule in September and October as the top 10 programs in the country sign all of the top national recruits every year. Maybe the time has come for a high school draft. College football remains popular with television ratings up this year but I can only imagine how much more compelling the games would be with more competitive balance throughout the season.
Up next for the Bills is a trip to Foxborough to play the sad-sack Patriots who sit at 1-5 as their fans question whether Bill Belichick is still a good coach and if Mac Jones is a legitimate franchise quarterback. Gillette Stadium was death valley for the Bills (and most other teams) for so many years, it's still hard for Bills fans to feel comfortable about it but maybe with the ill-fated trip to London and last night's nail-biter in the rear view mirror, the time has come for the team to regain their form as a Superbowl contender.
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