Bills replay: Leaky run defense raises concern
Published: October 19, 2009, 10:35 pm
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Yes, the Buffalo Bills won on Sunday. But the most dominant issue coming out of the 16-13 overtime victory over the New York Jets — besides the six interceptions — was the amount of rushing yards the Bills gave up.
The Jets' 318 yards was just two yards short of the highest rushing total ever allowed by a Bills defense. The Dallas Texans ran for 320 yards in a 41-21 win over the Bills on Oct. 20, 1962.
At least the Bills were victorious on Sunday, but their problems stopping the run continue to mount. They have yielded more than 200 yards on the ground to three of their last four opponents. The Jets had 212 by halftime. Running back Thomas Jones set a Jets record with 210 yards, including runs of 64 and 71 yards in the second quarter. Backup Leon Washington finished with 99 yards on just 15 carries.
"We were upset with the amount of rushing yards they had, but the vast majority was on just two plays," said middle linebacker Paul Posluszny, whose return from a broken arm did little to shore up the run defense. "On both of those plays we knew we just made mistakes. We got out of our gaps and we knew it was something we could easily correct."
For the record Jones' two long runs accounted for less than half of the Jets' total. They also had two other runs of at least 25 yards.
Washington had the first 25-yarder, which came on the heels of a 13-yard run. On second and 10 from the Bills' 36-yard line, the Jets called a sweep to the left. Tight end Dustin Keller sealed defensive Ryan Denney to the inside and wide receiver Wallace Wright cut off Posluszny's pursuit. Washington turned the corner and ran through the arms of cornerback Reggie Corner. Left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson drove strong safety Donte Whitner to the sideline and wide receiver David Clowney pushed cornerback Drayton Florence out of bounds to create a path down the sideline for Washington, who juked safety Jairus Byrd before getting pushed out of bounds by linebacker Keith Ellison.
Great blocking and overaggressive Bills defense resulted in Jones' 64-yard run. On first and 10 from the Jets' 9-yard line, the Bills' linebackers overran the play and got caught in traffic created by the surge of the right side of the Jets' offensive line. Right tackle Damien Woody drove defensive tackle Spencer Johnson off the line of scrimmage while tackle eligible Robert Turner locked onto defensive end Chris Kelsay. That opened a crease for Jones, who ran past Whitner and linebacker Ashlee Palmer and into the secondary. Wide receiver Braylon Edwards shielded Florence long enough for Jones to gain an additional 30 yards before being chased down by cornerback Terrence McGee.
Jones' 71-yard touchdown came on first and 14. Posluszny attacked the right side of the Jets' offensive line, thinking the play was coming in that direction. But Jones cut up the middle where he had a huge hole because center Nick Mangold drove defensive tackle Marcus Stroud to the turf and left guard Alan Faneca took out Ellison. Ferguson held off defensive tackle Kyle Williams enough for Jones to hit the hole and burst past Whitner and Byrd. McGee hustled across the field to make the tackle, but not before Jones crossed the goal line.
A 33-yard run by Washington in overtime temporarily put the Jets in position to win. It was first and 10 from the Jets' 38. Right guard Brandon Moore locked up Stroud and wrestled him to the ground. Mangold came upfield and helped Faneca double-team Johnson. Posluszny got caught in traffic because he moved to his right. Washington started to his left, but cut right through a hole up the middle. Blocks by left tackle Wayne Hunter on safety George Wilson and Wright on Corner helped spring Washington.
Other observations
The Bills took advantage of some awful Jets coverage on Ryan Fitzpatrick's 37-yard touchdown pass to Lee Evans. On third and 7, cornerback Lito Sheppard gave Evans at least a 10-yard cushion, which made it a much easier throw. Once Evans had the ball, he was in no danger of being tackled by Sheppard. Safety Eric Smith should have been in position to make the play, but took too many steps outside and had no shot once Evans turned on the speed. Kudos goes to the Bills' offensive line for sliding to its left to pick up an overload blitz.
The one time the Jets blitz led to a sack was costly for the Bills. The Jets sent an eight-man rush and the Bills' offensive line slid to the left where most of the rushers were coming. But inside linebackers Bart Scott and David Harris blitzed off the other side. Running back Fred Jackson picked up Scott, but that gave Harris a clear path to the backfield. Outside linebacker Calvin Pace had beaten tight end Derek Fine with an inside move and Pace and Harris hit quarterback Trent Edwards, knocking him out of the game.
The Bills' running game benefitted when the Jets lost star nose tackle Kris Jenkins to a knee injury. The Bills ran for 93 of their 142 yards after Jenkins got hurt late in the first half.
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