The Buffalo Bills and their run-heavy ways are at it again. The Bills upset the Falcons in week 4, but it wasn’t because their offense stole the show. Buffalo scored only 23 points, and that included a defensive touchdown, a 55-yard field goal, and a 56-yard field goal. The Bills had just 15 first downs, and four of the team’s 8 drives ended with three or fewer yards. But Buffalo is going to stick with the ground game, even when it isn’t working. And that makes them a unique team in 2017.
The highlight for the offense came on a 19-play, 82-yard drive that took over 11 minutes off the clock. Here’s the full summary: bonus points if you can figure out whether or not this counts as run-heavy:
| Quarter | Time | Down | ToGo | Location | Detail | BUF | ATL | EPB | EPA | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 8:20 | 1 | 10 | BUF 12 | LeSean McCoy left tackle for 8 yards (tackle by Keanu Neal) | 14 | 10 | -0.350 | 0.290 | 44.4 |
| 3 | 7:49 | 2 | 2 | BUF 20 | LeSean McCoy for 2 yards. Penalty on Eric Wood: Offensive Holding, 10 yards | 14 | 10 | 0.290 | -0.780 | 49.1 |
| 3 | 7:31 | 2 | 10 | BUF 12 | Mike Tolbert right guard for 7 yards (tackle by Dontari Poe) | 14 | 10 | -0.780 | -0.600 | 48.1 |
| 3 | 6:51 | 3 | 3 | BUF 19 | Tyrod Taylor right end for 5 yards (tackle by Deion Jones) | 14 | 10 | -0.600 | 0.540 | 42.1 |
| 3 | 6:17 | 1 | 10 | BUF 24 | LeSean McCoy right end for 7 yards (tackle by Keanu Neal) | 14 | 10 | 0.540 | 0.940 | 39.7 |
| 3 | 5:29 | 2 | 3 | BUF 31 | LeSean McCoy right tackle for 7 yards (tackle by Deion Jones) | 14 | 10 | 0.940 | 1.470 | 36.4 |
| 3 | 4:51 | 1 | 10 | BUF 38 | Mike Tolbert right guard for 3 yards (tackle by Brooks Reed) | 14 | 10 | 1.470 | 1.330 | 36.5 |
| 3 | 4:14 | 2 | 7 | BUF 41 | Mike Tolbert left guard for 6 yards (tackle by De’Vondre Campbell) | 14 | 10 | 1.330 | 1.420 | 35.4 |
| 3 | 3:35 | 3 | 1 | BUF 47 | LeSean McCoy right tackle for 4 yards (tackle by Deion Jones) | 14 | 10 | 1.420 | 2.320 | 30.4 |
| 3 | 3:02 | 1 | 10 | ATL 49 | Tyrod Taylor pass complete deep left to Zay Jones for 18 yards | 14 | 10 | 2.320 | 3.510 | 24.5 |
| 3 | 2:19 | 1 | 10 | ATL 31 | LeSean McCoy right tackle for 4 yards (tackle by Keanu Neal) | 14 | 10 | 3.510 | 3.510 | 23.6 |
| 3 | 1:39 | 2 | 6 | ATL 27 | LeSean McCoy right tackle for 7 yards (tackle by Sharrod Neasman) | 14 | 10 | 3.510 | 4.240 | 19.8 |
| 3 | 1:01 | 1 | 10 | ATL 20 | Mike Tolbert left end for 8 yards (tackle by Damontae Kazee). | 14 | 10 | 4.240 | 5.040 | 16.1 |
| 3 | 0:09 | 2 | 2 | ATL 12 | Patrick DiMarco left guard for -2 yards (tackle by Grady Jarrett) | 14 | 10 | 5.040 | 3.890 | 19.3 |
| 4th Quarter | ||||||||||
| 4 | 15:00 | 3 | 4 | ATL 14 | Penalty on John Miller: False Start, 5 yards (no play) | 14 | 10 | 3.890 | 3.100 | 22.5 |
| 4 | 15:00 | 3 | 9 | ATL 19 | Tyrod Taylor pass complete short middle to Andre Holmes for 10 yards | 14 | 10 | 3.100 | 5.140 | 14.5 |
| 4 | 14:20 | 1 | 9 | ATL 9 | LeSean McCoy left end for 6 yards (tackle by Brooks Reed and Keanu Neal) | 14 | 10 | 5.140 | 5.530 | 12.4 |
| 4 | 13:37 | 2 | 3 | ATL 3 | LeSean McCoy right tackle for 1 yard (tackle by Brooks Reed and Grady Jarrett) | 14 | 10 | 5.530 | 4.950 | 13.3 |
| 4 | 12:59 | 3 | 2 | ATL 2 | Tyrod Taylor pass complete short left to Jordan Matthews for 1 yard | 14 | 10 | 4.950 | 3.550 | 17.7 |
| 4 | 12:09 | 4 | 1 | ATL 1 | Penalty on Tyrod Taylor: Delay of Game, 5 yards (no play) | 14 | 10 | 3.550 | 2.990 | 18.8 |
| 4 | 12:03 | 4 | 6 | ATL 6 | Steven Hauschka 24 yard field goal good | 17 | 10 | 2.990 | 3.000 | 18.6 |
The drive opened with NINE straight running plays, and 15 of the 18 plays were rushes! A pass on 1st-and-10 following those nine runs was the only non-third down pass of the drive. That’s just crazy. The Bills ended the day passing on just 39% of plays despite this being a back-and-forth game throughout.
Below are the week 4 Game Scripts:
| Team | H/R | Opp | Boxscore | PF | PA | Margin | Game Script | Pass | Run | P/R Ratio | Op_P | Op_R | Opp_P/R Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | TEN | Boxscore | 57 | 14 | 43 | 18.8 | 36 | 42 | 46.2% | 22 | 19 | 53.7% | |
| GNB | CHI | Boxscore | 35 | 14 | 21 | 16.7 | 29 | 24 | 54.7% | 34 | 30 | 53.1% | |
| CIN | @ | CLE | Boxscore | 31 | 7 | 24 | 15.6 | 33 | 30 | 52.4% | 44 | 17 | 72.1% |
| PIT | @ | BAL | Boxscore | 26 | 9 | 17 | 7.9 | 31 | 42 | 42.5% | 53 | 15 | 77.9% |
| SEA | IND | Boxscore | 46 | 18 | 28 | 6.8 | 29 | 33 | 46.8% | 32 | 25 | 56.1% | |
| DEN | OAK | Boxscore | 16 | 10 | 6 | 6.5 | 30 | 32 | 48.4% | 38 | 14 | 73.1% | |
| PHI | @ | LAC | Boxscore | 26 | 24 | 2 | 5.6 | 32 | 42 | 43.2% | 40 | 13 | 75.5% |
| NOR | @ | MIA | Boxscore | 20 | 0 | 20 | 5.4 | 42 | 28 | 60% | 32 | 15 | 68.1% |
| TAM | NYG | Boxscore | 25 | 23 | 2 | 5.2 | 39 | 24 | 61.9% | 49 | 28 | 63.6% | |
| DET | @ | MIN | Boxscore | 14 | 7 | 7 | 2.7 | 37 | 31 | 54.4% | 32 | 22 | 59.3% |
| BUF | @ | ATL | Boxscore | 23 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 23 | 36 | 39% | 43 | 29 | 59.7% |
| NYJ | JAX | Boxscore | 23 | 20 | 3 | 1.9 | 36 | 32 | 52.9% | 36 | 39 | 48% | |
| CAR | @ | NWE | Boxscore | 33 | 30 | 3 | 1.7 | 31 | 29 | 51.7% | 48 | 19 | 71.6% |
| ARI | SFO | Boxscore | 18 | 15 | 3 | -0.4 | 57 | 22 | 72.2% | 52 | 27 | 65.8% | |
| LAR | @ | DAL | Boxscore | 35 | 30 | 5 | -2 | 37 | 31 | 54.4% | 38 | 27 | 58.5% |
| KAN | WAS | Boxscore | 29 | 20 | 9 | -4.4 | 41 | 31 | 56.9% | 24 | 26 | 48% |
The Eagles, Titans, and Jaguars also stood out as run-heavy. Philadelphia was remarkably pass happy in week 2, throwing on 75% of plays despite a neutral Game Script; in week 4, the Eagles passed on just 43% of plays, albeit in a more run-friendly context. Philadelphia had a true committee approach, with three different running backs getting 10 carries.
On the pass-happy side: Arizona, the Chargers, the Patriots, and the Ravens. No big surprises there.
What stands out to you?