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Week 15: Defense, Special Teams Shine In Upset Win
Great play by two units help overcome poor offensive effort.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:
Kyle Orton was very inaccurate throughout the game. There was no confidence in the passing game even when he made a good play it was despite his arm. His 40 yard bomb to Bryce Brown would have been a touchdown but Brown had to wait for the poorly thrown pass. He finished completing 14 of 27 passes for just 158 yards.
Grade F: When there was a play to be made he couldn't make it.
Running Backs:
Fred Jackson has definitely lost a step but has not lost his elusiveness. He ran hard and made a lot of plays after contact on his way to a season high 71 yards on 20 carries and was also the leading receiver with 27 yards and three catches. He did drop one pass.
Bryce Brown got wide open for a 40 yard catch and run that would have been a score if the pass wasn't underthrown. He also had 20 yards on four carries.
Boobie Dixon had some nice hard runs including a broken tackle, misdirection run that turned a five yard loss into a six yard gain. He did fumble the ball with just over 3 minutes to go but raked it back out of the defenders hands to keep possession. He had six hard carries for 26 yards.
Grade B-: Ran hard early in the second half to help put points on the board.
Receivers:
Sammy Watkins was called for pass interference when he was caught blocking downfield negating a big pass play to Woods. He was also called for a false start. He did make a nice leaping 28 yard grab unfortunately it was his only catch of the day.
Robert Woods dropped a pass just behind him that would have given the Bills a first down deep in Packers territory in the third quarter. The drop forced them to settle for three. He had a nice block on a successful screen pass to Fred Jackson.
Chris Hogan had one catch for six yards.
Scott Chandler had two catches for 22 yards including a big 12 yard catch to convert a third down late in the game.
Lee Smith was double teamed on a play and Orton still threw to him, he actually caught two passes for one yard.
Grade F: Can't help it though if the QB can't get them the ball.
Offensive Line:
Eric Wood had a devastating block after a run play reversed direction.
Seantrel Henderson was beaten by Matthews for two sacks.
Cordy Glenn was beaten for a first quarter sack and called for a false start as the Bills went no huddle in the 2nd quarter. Two plays later he was called for holding. He then got the trifecta with a hands to the face penalty that took away a first down and forced them out of field goal range.
Grade C-: Allowed three sacks but they were all because Orton held the ball too long. Averaged only 3.4 yards per run but opened up some holes in the third quarter.
Defensive Line:
Mario Williams knocked down a Rodgers pass in the third quarter and followed it up with a hit on a third down incompletion forcing a punt. Then had the game clinching play where he came around the backup tackle in because of an injury and knocked the ball out of Rodgers hand for the safety.
Jerry Hughes was called for an offsides penalty and was quiet with four tackles and one QB hit.
Marcell Dareus was called for an offsides penalty that helped Green Bay get a first quarter field goal. He also had four tackles.
Kyle Williams was so quiet he wasn't even on the stat sheet.
Grade C: Not a great came for this unit as they were pushed around on the ground early.
Linebackers:
Brandon Spikes saw very little playing time with the nickel on the field all day.
Nigel Bradham had eight tackles on the day.
Preston Brown read a late first half shovel pass well and made the hit for a loss on Lacy. Finished with six tackles.
Grade B: Did their part in getting the win.
Secondary:
Stephon Gilmore was injured on the second play of the game when making a tackle but came right back but it bothered him the rest of the way. He read a play perfectly in the 2nd quarter and had a sure pick six but dropped the ball. Two plays later he had great coverage on Nelson forcing a third down incompletion that led to a blocked field goal. Had a big tackle for a loss on Cobb but got the facemask and a 15 yard penalty. Was solid in coverage all game long.
Corey Graham had solid coverage on Jordy Nelson on a downfield pass on third down that forced a punt. Was called for defensive holding at the end of a 20 yard Rodgers scramble. He was also solid in coverage most of the day.
Ron Brooks replaced Gilmore and had decent coverage on a third down incompletion. Played a lot in the nickel and dime defenses and did well in coverage.
Nickell Robey went for a pick six and missed allowing Cobb to get open for a 19 yard gain. Had a nice pass breakup late in the first half and almost had the interception on that play as well.
Aaron Williams led the way with nine tackles.
Duke Williams had six tackles before leaving the game with concussion like symptoms.
Bacarri Rambo came on for Duke and had two interceptions. What a find for Whaley.
Grade A+: The secondary gets the headlines this week.
Special Teams:
Colton Schmidt had six punts for a 40.3 yard average with a solid 39.5 yard net. Three went inside the 20 including one that was downed at the two yard line by Marcus Easley.
Dan Carpenter was money again going 4 for 4 with field goals from 27, 51, 35, and 48 yards out.
Jordan Gay had a kickoff go out of bounds. You can't do that when you are a kickoff specialist.
Mario Williams blocked a field goal.
Marcus Thigpen had a 75 yard punt return for a score to give the Bills the lead after the first quarter.
Coverage Units allowed two returns for just five yards including a tackle for no gain by Easley.
Grade A+: They don't win this game without the special teams.
Coaching:
Doug Marrone showed his conservatism when punting on 4th and 2 from their 45 yard line after their first drive. The defense forced a three and out and got the ball back in Green Bay territory. His team was ready to play and they did just enough to get the win.
Nathaniel Hackett couldn't get anything going offensively but it may be because of the poor quarterback play. He took the ball out of Orton's hands in the 2nd half and ran it twice as much as they did in the first half.
Jim Schwartz may be seeing a head coaching offer or two in the near future. His unit is just getting better and better as the year has progressed and they were pretty good to begin with.
Grade B: First eight win season in ten years is something to be proud of for this staff.
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