The Buffalo Bills took a number of punches in their 28-25 Thanksgiving win against the Detroit Lions on Thursday, but continued to get off the canvas to tough out a gutsy win.
Despite coming out on the losing side, the Lions took the lead in the first quarter, re-took the lead in the fourth quarter, and after the Bills were able to pull back in front, they clawed their way down the field to tie it with 23 seconds remaining.
But every time the Lions thought they had the visiting Bills on the ropes, Josh Allen and company were always able to find the answer, using those final 23 seconds to make their way into field goal range and escape with the win in regulation.
Coming into the game without two key starters on defense with linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and pass-rusher Greg Rousseau out hurt, their injury list received another unfortunate edition in the second quarter when future Hall-of-Famer Von Miller was carted off with a knee sprain.
Touching on how the Bills continued to push through all the adversity they faced, top wide receiver Stefon Diggs said it comes from everybody's belief in the next-man-up to get the job done.
"That next-man mindset is real," he said. "I hate to preach it, sound like a broken record, but guys came in and played at a high level.
"We just preach it to everybody to do the job. You don't need to do more than your job and you do your one 11th, we'll find a way.
"I tried to tell the guys everything in the past is the past. We didn't get off to the best start, but you keep rolling with the punches.
"Things aren't gonna be perfect; I'm riding with my guy [Allen]. We just had to try to get on the same page, every week is different… things didn't happen perfectly, but we figured it out."
Allen echoed that sentiment, and highlighted the mental fortitude of kicker Tyler Bass to come out and nail the game-winner shortly after missing an extra-point.
"Guys are resilient, the ups and downs of an NFL game, that's a good team playing very well, playing good football right now," he said.
"But again, guys just continuing to grind, guys going down and stepping up finding a way. I'm proud of our guys for doing that.
"I don't think you understand how big it is for a guy to do that in this league, for [Bass] just to feel that rollercoaster of emotions, to go step up for our team and nail it."
Head coach Sean McDermott also made sure to praise his kicker, saying he knew he could trust him despite the previous miss.
"You're going to have some [misses]," he said. "But to be able to let a player reset after making a mistake and come out, that's how you earn trust when you do that, right?
"When you can give a player that second chance right there. I didn't have to mess with him. I knew he's so mentally tough, and he showed it again today."
The Bills are now 8-3 and atop the AFC East, with a Thursday fixture on the road against the New England Patriots up next.
After early flurry, quarterbacks finally come off board late in NFL draft
After a run of quarterbacks were selected early in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, it took quite a while for any other signal-callers to come off the board.
That 137-pick drought ended in the fifth round on Saturday when the New Orleans Saints took South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler with the 150th overall pick.
The New York Jets took Jordan Travis from Florida State 21 picks later and the New England Patriots used the 193rd selection on Tennessee QB Joe Milton III.
The final two quarterbacks drafted were Kentucky’s Devin Leary by the Baltimore Ravens with the 218th overall pick and the Green Bay Packers took Michael Pratt of Tulane, 245th.
This was just the third time in the common draft era that a quarterback wasn’t selected in the second or third rounds.
While some of the quarterbacks taken in the first round could very well find themselves starting in the NFL next season, it’s highly unlikely that any of the ones taken in the fifth round or later will be starting anytime soon.
Rattler could compete for the backup spot to starter David Carr now that Jameis Winston has departed from that role. His main competition figures to be Jake Haener, the Saints’ fourth-round selection in the 2023 draft, or Kellen Mond.
The backup role won’t be an option for Milton III in New England, barring injury. The Patriots signed veteran Jacoby Brissett to be their starter, or at least compete for that job with third overall pick Drake Maye.
Milton could be a No. 3 option if the team decides to move on from Bailey Zappe, who hasn’t impressed in 14 NFL games the past two seasons with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Travis is in a similar situation with the Jets, behind starter Aaron Rodgers and veteran backup Tyrod Taylor.
Travis is a long-term project, who, like Rodgers, is attempting to return from a major injury – a gruesome broken ankle last November.
Leary could figure in a backup role with the Ravens soon if not this season. Josh Johnson was signed for that spot, but he is 37 and the strong-armed Leary, an older prospect at 25, could serve as backup as soon as 2025.
Pratt has started 44 games at Tulane over the last four years, so he brings plenty of experience to Green Bay. He could compete with 2023 draft pick Sean Clifford to back up Jordan Love.
Bills, Chargers grab WRs to start NFL Draft Day 2
The run on wide receivers continued during Day 2 of the NFL draft, which began Friday with the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers using picks to fill glaring needs at the position.
Buffalo, which made two trades to move out of Thursday's first round, started the second by selecting Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman with the 33rd overall pick. The Chargers then moved up three spots to nab Georgia wideout Ladd McConkey at No. 34.
Both teams sustained significant losses at wide receiver this offseason. The Bills traded four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans earlier this month, while the Chargers moved on from two accomplished veterans in March by trading Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears and releasing Mike Williams to clear salary cap space.
After the first round saw a record-tying seven wide receivers go off the board, the second saw three taken with the first five picks. After working a trade with the Chargers to move down from pick No. 34, the New England Patriots chose Washington's Ja'Lynn Polk with the 37th overall selection.
On the flip side, this draft didn't have a running back taken until the Carolina Panthers ended the drought by trading up for Jonathan Brooks with the 46th overall pick. The former Texas standout was the lone running back picked in the second round, though the Arizona Cardinals selected Florida State's Trey Benson with the second pick of the third round (No. 66 overall).
Two more running backs did go later in Round 3. Blake Corum, the leading rusher on Michigan's 2023 national champion team, was taken by the Los Angeles Rams at No. 83 overall, while the Green Bay Packers chose USC's MarShawn Lloyd at No. 88.
Another former Michigan player will be playing for his college coach after the Chargers nabbed Junior Colson with the fifth pick of the third round (No. 69). The linebacker reunites with Jim Harbaugh after Los Angeles hired away the former Wolverines' boss in January.
Defensive tackles were also popular on Day 2, as seven went off the board in the second round after the Seattle Seahawks made Texas' Byron Murphy the lone player at the position chosen in the first.
Interior defensive linemen accounted for four of the first seven picks of the second round. The Atlanta Falcons started the run by trading up for Clemson's Ruke Orhorhoro at No. 35, one pick before the Washington Commanders chose Illinois' Jer'Zhawn Newton. The Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Rams then used back-to-back selections on Texas' T'Vondre Sweat and Florida State's Braden Fiske, respectively, at picks No. 38 and 39.
Fiske's selection was followed by four straight cornerbacks - Iowa's Cooper DeJean (Philadelphia), Alabama's Kool-Aid McKinstry (New Orleans), Georgia's Kamari Lassiter (Houston) and Rutgers' Max Melton (Arizona) - at picks No. 40-43.
Lassiter was this year's first draft choice of the Texans, one of three teams without a first-round selection along with the Bills and Cleveland. The Browns did not have a pick until taking Ohio State defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. at No. 54.
No quarterbacks were taken in Rounds 2 and 3 after six went in the first 12 picks of the first round.
Patriots select QB Maye with third overall pick
The New England Patriots hope they now have their franchise quarterback after selecting North Carolina’s Drake Maye with the third overall pick in Thursday's NFL draft.
Maye was the third straight quarterback selected after the Chicago Bears took Caleb Williams at No. 1 and the Washington Commanders chose Jayden Daniels second.
Since Tom Brady departed New England following the 2019 season, the Patriots used Cam Newton as their primary quarterback the following season before drafting Mac Jones 15th overall in 2021.
Jones had a strong rookie season with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions but tailed off to 24 TDs and 23 picks combined the past two seasons and was traded to Jacksonville in March.
Maye likely won’t be the Patriots’ starting quarterback at the start of the 2024 season after veteran signal caller Jacoby Brissett was signed to a one-year contract in March. Brissett has appeared in 79 NFL games with 48 starts and figures to serve as a mentor to Maye.
There is also the belief that Maye simply won’t be NFL ready in a few months and would be best served to sit a season, like what Patrick Mahomes did for the Chiefs in 2017.
Maye was the ACC Player of the Year in 2022 in his first season as a full-time starter at North Carolina, also being named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. He broke Mitchell Trubisky’s school record and set an FBS freshman record with 4,321 passing yards and tied Sam Howell’s mark for passing touchdowns with 38 and threw just seven interceptions. He also displayed his mobility with nearly 700 yards rushing and seven scores.
This past season wasn’t as productive for Maye, who before the season lost offensive coordinator Phil Longo and receivers Josh Downs and Antoine Green to the NFL. Maye was still named to the Second Team All-ACC team as he passed for 3,608 yards with 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 12 games.
Maye has all the physical tools to succeed in the NFL, namely excellent arm talent and good mobility for someone of his size (6-foot-4, 223 pounds). He made a host of impressive touch throws in college and understands where to deliver a ball for a receiver to make a play on it.
There are some issues with Maye’s footwork and his tendency to trust his arm strength almost too much and force some throws. His weaknesses, though, seem like the kind that can be improved upon rather quickly and sitting for a full season - or at least most of one - would help greatly in this area.
Maye has drawn comparisons to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers.
He isn’t quite the natural athlete that Allen is and probably doesn’t have Hebert’s arm strength, but it’s not far-fetched to think Maye could put up similar numbers to those two at the next level given the right coaching and situation.
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