Buffalo Bills 33, Cleveland Browns 13
Here are the biggest takeaways and highest-graded players from the Buffalo Bills' 33-13 Week 15 victory over the Cleveland Browns.
Quarterback grade: Tyrod Taylor, 83.4
Tyrod Taylor solid in the win
Taylor was efficient and took care of the football against the Browns. He was highly effective in the intermediate range (10–19 yards downfield), where he completed six of eight passes. Taylor’s QB rating dropped from 122.5 when not blitzed down to only 42.4 when blitzed. He also made plays with his legs, rushing for over 50 yards on QB scrambles and forcing two missed tackles.
Top offensive grades:
FB Jerome Felton, 94.9
TE Charles Clay, 86.1
T Cyrus Kouandjio, 81.5
G Richie Incognito, 81.0
HB LeSean McCoy, 80.6
LeSean McCoy and the Bills’ rushing attack prove to be too much
The Bills’ offense had a solid outing in the run game, and generated 280 rushing yards against the Browns’ defense. Jerome Felton, Cyrus Kouandjio, and Richie Incognito all graded well overall on the strength of their run-blocking grades. LeSean McCoy added 60 yards after contact, forced three missed tackles and scored two touchdowns. Charles Clay caught all seven of his targets, and Tyrod Taylor’s QB rating when targeting Clay was 149.1.
Top defensive grades:
LB Zach Brown, 80.8
CB Stephon Gilmore, 80.5
DI Kyle Williams, 80.0
CB Nickell Robey-Coleman, 79.8
ED Shaq Lawson, 78.5
Bills’ defense stifles the Browns
Kyle Williams graded positively as a run defender, and as a pass-rusher, he provided two sacks and one hurry on 28 pass-rushing snaps. Zach Brown was thrown at six times in coverage, and allowed four to be caught, but for only 33 yards. Stephon Gilmore was only thrown at twice and allowed one catch for 8 yards. Nickell Robey-Coleman was thrown at twice, allowing one catch for 3 yards; Robert Griffin III’s QB rating when throwing at Robey-Coleman was 56.3. Rookie edge rusher Shaq Lawson added one sack and one hurry on only 12 pass-rushing snaps.
Quarterback grade: Robert Griffin III, 70.9
Griffin plays well against pressure
It was a mixed-bag performance from Robert Griffin III. RG III only completed two of his six passing attempts thrown farther than 9 yards downfield. Oddly, his QB rating increased from 78.6 with no pressure to 109.0 when he was under pressure (nine dropbacks). Griffin also provided 48 rushing yards and one touchdown, and forced two missed tackles.
Top offensive grades:
C Cameron Erving, 81.2
T Joe Thomas, 73.5
G Jonathan Cooper, 69.4
T Austin Pasztor, 66.7
WR Andrew Hawkins, 63.4
Good grades hard to come by among Browns’ offense
It’s not a good sign when three of the top-graded offensive players listed earned marks in the 60.0s. The Browns were only able to generate 107 rushing yards for the game. Terrelle Pryor and Duke Johnson saw the bulk of the targets, but Pryor also had two drops, and Johnson did most of his work underneath the coverage. Cameron Erving’s 81.2 overall grade is his best mark of the year. Jonathan Cooper only allowed one QB hit on 40 pass-blocking snaps.
Top defensive grades:
CB Jamar Taylor, 73.2
LB Demario Davis, 73.0
ED Cam Johnson, 71.6
CB Joe Haden, 70.6
S Ed Reynolds, 66.2
Browns’ defense unable to stop Bills’ ground game
The Browns’ defensive line did not grade well against the run, as the Bills ran for 280 yards as a team. Jamar Taylor was thrown at four times and allowed two catches for 21 yards. Tyrod Taylor’s QB rating when throwing into Jamar Taylor’s coverage was only 65.6. Demario Davis had one QB hurry and two defensive stops. Cam Johnson broke up a pass in coverage, had a defensive stop, and also added two hurries on 10 pass-rushing snaps.
PFF Game-Ball Winner: Tyrod Taylor, QB, Bills
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